Smith and Bybee Wetlands: Something to See, Anytime of Year

Recently we've had some very Spring-like days here in Portland. The days last a little longer, and the sun feels a little warmer. We're already seeing the first blossoms of Spring.  Native plants like Red-flowering Currant and Indian Plum don't wait around for the calendar to say that Spring is here.  They just bloom whenever it feels right.  I know there are many more showery, gray days to come (and rain is a good thing), but I can't help looking forward to the drier, greener days ahead.

Red-flowering Currant

Sometimes our weather memories are rather short-term.  Here in western Oregon, we gripe about the rain until it's time to gripe about how hot it is.  So to help us not take the current mild temperatures for granted, I thought I'd look back a couple of months and share some photos that I took out at Smith and Bybee Wetlands on a very cold and frosty January morning.

 Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area - often referred to as Smith and Bybee Lakes - is the largest protected wetland within an American city.  Located in North Portland, west of PIR and Delta Park West, the park is a great place to see water fowl, raptors and other birds, as well as beaver, river otter and one of the few remaining populations of Western Painted Turtles in the lower Willamette Valley (listed as "critical" on Oregon's sensitive species list).  Facilities at the park include a paved, accessible trail between the two lakes (complete with viewing platforms), restrooms, a launch for non-motorized boats, and some very nice interpretive signs.  Some interesting public art is sprinkled throughout the developed areas.


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 It looked like I was the fist to arrive by car on this January day.

Informational signs by the parking area

 I walked past frosty Nootka Rose hips...

...frozen cattails...

 

...and frost-dusted Oregon Grape.

Then I came to the viewing area looking out over the frozen slough.

This is the place where you can spot Western Painted Turtles basking in the sun during the warmer months.  Hopefully they're all tucked snugly into the mud at the bottom of the pond where they hibernate - their body temperatures dropping to just above freezing.

Moving on down the trail, I saw a Brown Creeper and a Bushtit, but didn't get a good picture of either one.  Then I looked up to see this juvenile Bald Eagle looking down at me.

It either got tired of me staring up at it, or it decided it had better things to do.

Here's the observation platform on Smith Lake.

And the view from the platform,

 which included some American Coots (I believe).

The Coots seemed nervous, and I thought it was because of me, but it might have been that juvenile eagle that was flying overhead.

So even in the rain, snow, or heavy frost, you can always see something interesting out at Smith and Bybee Wetland.  

Just a few more photos to wrap it up...

Frozen perimeter of Smith lake

Signs of Beaver in the neighborhood

One of the many pieces of public art

This last photo was taken south of Portland, in the area of Donald and Aurora, but it could have been taken at many places in the Portland Metro region.  I wanted to share it here because it goes so well with the frosty theme of this post.

Canada Geese flying in front of a frosty old Oak

Brrrr... looks cold, doesn't it?  

Remember to get out and enjoy the mild temperatures we've been having lately.  Pretty soon it will be too hot.  ; )

Afternoon on the Esplanade

It's Rose Festival time in Portland. 

 Last week, I decided to go down to the East Bank Esplanade to watch the ships come in for Fleet Week.  It was a beautiful afternoon, and in between ships I was able to do a little bird watching.

Just a quick post to share a few pictures...

I saw an Osprey coming upstream toward me - keeping an eye on the water below for any possible meals.

He got closer, then hovered over the river very close to where I was.

I was hoping I'd get to see him dive for a fish, but no luck.

Then I heard a bird singing loudly nearby.  I'm just a newbie birder, so I didn't recognize the song, but I spotted the bird in the growth along the river bank.

It's a Song Sparrow.  Pretty common bird - I know - but he sure was singing his heart out!

Apparently the Song Sparrow is known for its energetic singing - it's one of the most persistent singers throughout the spring and summer within its wide range.

Since I was down there to watch the ships, I can't resist throwing in just one of those pictures...

And one gratuitous picture of our beautiful city, celebrating Rose Festival...

Battle of the Ospreys at Camassia

On a recent trip to Camassia Natural Area, I was lucky enough to catch some interesting Osprey behavior on film.

The Ospreys have a nest atop a cell phone tower, just outside the park's boundary.  When I first spotted the nest, there were two adults in it.  After a few minutes, a third adult Osprey flew in, and they all had a bit of a scuffle.

The third Osprey was not this year's offspring because this was on April 15th - right at the beginning of the nesting season.  It could have been a chick from the previous year - I'm told that sometimes they return with the parents, and may help guard the nest.  If that was the case here, its help did not seem to be appreciated.  Maybe it was an unrelated bird competing for the nest site.  Who knows?

Watch this montage of photos and see what you think...

Spring Blooms at Camassia Natural Area: Part II

Picking up where we left off, let's see the park's namesake - the Camas lilies...

The path through the wet meadows uses boardwalks to get you from rock to rock.

Bumblebee on Camas lily (Camassia quamash)

Camas lily with a Pacific Madrone backdrop

The rocks give the meadow a very Zen look and feel.

I think the yellow flowers above are Swamp Buttercup (Ranunculus orthorhynchus). The pink flowers below are Rosy plectritis (Plectritis congesta).  Both colors really set off the Camas.

There are a few white Camas sprinkled around, like the one pictured above.

Camas reflected in a puddle

 No shortage of wildlife in the park.  Woodpeckers have done a number on the dead tree above, and it looks like something has been munching on the plants below.

Maybe the deer that left these tracks in the mud.

Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)

The Spotted Towhee kept his bright red eye on me.

Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus) on Oregon Grape

Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus)

There is an Osprey nest atop a cell tower at the edge of the park.  Great viewing opportunity.  I saw a skirmish between three Osprey while I was there, but I'll show those pictures in a later post.  For now, just a pic of one Osprey doing a fly-over.

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)

One of the highlights of the trail is a great view of Mt. Hood.

OK.  I know that was a ton of pictures, but it's such a great place to visit and photograph.  I hope you can find your trail to Camassia Natural Area soon!

Spring Blooms at Camassia Natural Area: Part I

Common Camas lily and Rosy plectritis

One of the many reasons the Portland metro area is such a special place, is its knack for preserving healthy, natural habitat in close proximity to urban (and suburban) areas.  Camassia Natural Area in West Linn is a perfect example.  Mere steps away from the heavy traffic of Interstate 205 - as it crosses the bluff between West Linn and Oregon City - this beautiful, 27 acre parcel protects habitats ranging from wooded wetland, to open prairie, and the increasingly rare Oregon white oak savanna.  A fragile stronghold of rare plants and diverse wildlife species - Camassia is a truly wonderful place to experience the Nature of Portland.




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 Camassia Natural Area was the first preserve to be purchased and protected by The Nature Conservancy in Oregon (in 1962).  It's named after the common camas lily (Camassia quamash) which blooms heavily here every spring, alongside other wildflowers like Rosy plectritis (or Sea Blush - Plectritis congesta), Trilliums (Trillium chloropetalum, and T. ovatum), Fawn lilies (Erythronium oregonum) and many more.  Since acquiring this special place, The Nature Conservancy staff and volunteers have worked to protect the area from the threats of encroaching development, which include invasive species, altered hydrology, and fire suppression.  Because the area no longer undergoes the periodic renewal by fire, Douglas-fir trees creep from the edges of the woodlands into the more open oak savanna.  In those areas, the Douglas-fir are removed, allowing the Pacific Madrone (Arbutus menziesii) and Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana - sometimes called Garry oak) to continue providing the perfect mix of sun and shade for the meadow wildflowers.


The unique terrain at Camassia - like terrain everywhere - owes its existence to ancient history.  Between about 17 and 6 million years ago, a series of lava flows covered northern Oregon, eastern Washington, and western Idaho, creating a deep layer of basalt rock.  Fast forward to the end of the last ice age (12,000 - 15,000 years ago) - a time when the continental ice sheet created dams and huge lakes along the Idaho-Montana border.  Those dams would periodically give way, causing catastrophic floods that scoured soil and rock from eastern Washington, carved the Columbia Gorge, and deposited soil and glacial erratic boulders in the Willamette Valley.  Those same floods stripped the soil from some areas of Camassia, creating the underlying structure for the shallow-soiled, rocky meadows and hollowed-out, wooded wetlands you can see today.

I've been meaning to visit Camassia during the peak bloom of the camas lilies (late April - early May) for a couple of years now, but didn't make my first visit until just this year.  I hiked the loop three weekends in a row - starting the weekend of April 14th - to be sure to catch the meadows at their colorful best.

Entrance to the park, at the end of Walnut Street in West Linn

There is a small gravel parking lot at the end of Walnut Street in West Linn.  Oh - and as with most nature parks in the Portland area, no dogs are allowed.  This is to protect the habitat and the wildlife that uses it.

See my pictures below, and to find out more about the park, you can go to The Intertwine, or The Nature Conservancy's website.  (Click here for driving directions.)

The trails in the park are well marked - even when the "trail" is not a boardwalk like the one below.  Please stay on the trails to protect the delicate habitat (and avoid the poison oak!).

boardwalk through the woodland

Western sword fern (Polystichum munitum) unfurling

 One of the hollowed-out, wooded wetlands is near the center of the park. 

Lots of Trillium and Fawn lilies along the trail to the wetland.

Trillium

Fawn lily

 I love the mottled pattern on the leaves of the Fawn lily - it reminds me of light reflecting off a water surface.

Trilliums and sword ferns

There are at least seven Trilliums hiding among the sword ferns in the photo above.

Oak galls

Saskatoon serviceberry

Miner's lettuce (Claytonia perfoliata)

Miner's Lettuce is a native, edible plant - whether it's the "true" Miner's Lettuce (above), or Western Spring Beauty (below) which is also called Siberian Miner's Lettuce.

Western Spring Beauty - Siberian Miner's lettuce (Claytonia siberica)

Yellow Violet, or Pioneer Violet (Viola glabella)

Bittercress??

I believe the flowers in the photo above are a type of Bittercress - but if anyone knows for sure, please comment.  Unfortunately, I don't think the plant's leaves really show in the photo.

Blue-eyed Mary (Collinsia grandiflora) growing with moss and Licorice fern

A tiny moss forest

Tall Oregon Grape (Mahonia aquifolium)

Indian Hellebore (Veratrum viride)

Licorice Fern (Polypodium glycyrrhiza) on a mossy tree trunk

Gnarly, moss and lichen-covered Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana)

We thought the odd-looking oak limb above looked like Mr. Snuffleupagus.

Wow - that was a lot of pictures, and I haven't even made it to the Camas photos yet.  Let's continue the photo tour in Part II...