Walk Through For Ravenna Park, If you are interested in exploring the parks of Seattle a good place to start is Ravenna Park. Located near the university district it is a smaller inner city park that incorporates the woodlands native to the pacific northwest!
1) Animal Behavior
At the south entrance of the park there is a concrete path that leads to one major gravel access road that goes throughout the main length of the park, this is where my walkthrough is concentrated. As you move down the concrete path you will come across a small bridge, right before this bridge you can find a birds nest this a a great example of animal behavior. If you watch for while you will see the mother bird go back and fourth finding food for its young, it will hop between the canopy and the ground looking for insects and invertebrates to feed its young and will fly in and out of the nest. The sounds you here are different than a simply mature version of the species in this case the species thats nest was examined is a common Bushtit. This bird is small and brownish in color and has a long tail. You can identify it by its call which is given frequently as a weak and small "pit". It is a common species in parks and thickets.
2) Lichens and Fungi
You can see many things from the main walkthrough as long as you are aware of your surroundings and paying attention. As you walk into the park you will find that on the side of the trail there are many fallen logs and debris that are exposed in the brush, one of the first things you may come upon is some Fungi. These mushrooms on the dead log are very quickly found on downed trees in the park on the left side just off the main entrance. These particular Fungi pictured here are Deep Splashcup or (Cyathus olla) and are commonly found in the forest growing on twigs, wood or other organic debris. as you move through the park you may see this Fungi elsewhere as it is common though the blooming season for this particular species is July to October so this one is out slightly early and may be blooming as a result of location, being in the city there is more exposure to pressures and even temperature gradients that would not be experienced in a native forest of the northwest and this may be contributing to the early bloom of this species.
3) Plants
As you work your way into the park you will be bound to find many plants one of the major species present to the region is Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus). This plant is commonly referred to as natures toilet paper as its soft fuzzy texture would resemble that of charmin ultra! It can be distinguished in the spring time by both its texture and its characteristic white flower that blooms off the stocks. However this is not the only species of plant you will see in the park you will find multiple species of Trees and Plants that are native to the pacific northwest and even some that are not native. You may find some Himalayan Blackberry a non-native species that has taken over in regions of disturbance, many people recognize this species by the berries that it sprouts every summer and the large size of the brush. Other species may include Douglas Fir trees which can be distinguished easily by their pine cones which have small trials that stick out between the furrows of the cone. Also the Big Leaf maple is easy to distinguish as its leafs have a characteristic 5 lobes that set it apart from other maples and it grows larger than many other species of maple. Keep your eyes peeled for these key species that make up portions of the undergrowth and canopy of the forest.
4) Invertebrates
Some of the most interesting organisms in the park come after looking closely at your environment. Soon after the fungi and thimbleberry there is some dead logs on the right side of the trail right before you hit the major intersection that branches to all of the surrounding smaller trails and where the trail opens up. In these dead logs if you sweep away some of the debris you might find some organisms that are invertebrates such as Millepedes (Harpaphe haydeniana) that have many pairs of legs. these organisms are usually found under logs or stumps and try to remain in more moist conditions. another very common organism of the northwest is the pillbug or potato bug which is found in similar habitats.
5) Ecological Disturbance
In terms of ecological disturbances in our region one of the most common is fallen trees. These trees will fall in high wind events or when the soil is strutted with water making the root system not stable enough to support the structure of the trunk. It is common for tree to fall in the spring and fall when there are storms and other high wind and water events. One of the things you will find right after the intersection of the park is a fallen tree where the soil it has exposed is just being inhabited by competitive species. Things you can note from this location is which species and types of plants will be first to try and inhabit a disturbed area. thinking of this you can see that in this case the disturbed soil is inhabited by such species as giant horsetail or some grasses, but it is key to keep an eye on this location as it develops so we can see what plants and organisms take advantage of the freshly exposed soils and it is important to try and understand why it is that these species are the first to repopulate the area.
6) Land Use / History
The more you walk into the park the further you feel like your getting from the city, the outside noised begin to calm down and become muffled, as you are walking you will get to a point that is near the middle of the park, at this point there will be a bridge that crosses over the creek and deviates from the main trail, the bridge then goes up some stairs but along the bridge you will see it wraps around a massive boulder. This is the Ravenna Park Erratic. An Erratic is a glacial deposited rock in this case a huge boulder that probably originated in Canada and was deposited here when the puget lobe of the last glaciation retreated circa 18,000 ya. The history of our region is why this boulder is in this park and it is crazy to think that the boulder is not from around here and was originally from much further north. This is just one good example of how our land history shapes the environment around us and is present in our everyday lives, people don't realize that the shape and distribution of land mass in Seattle is majorly a result of the retreat of the major glaciers that covered our region.
The more you walk into the park the further you feel like your getting from the city, the outside noised begin to calm down and become muffled, as you are walking you will get to a point that is near the middle of the park, at this point there will be a bridge that crosses over the creek and deviates from the main trail, the bridge then goes up some stairs but along the bridge you will see it wraps around a massive boulder. This is the Ravenna Park Erratic. An Erratic is a glacial deposited rock in this case a huge boulder that probably originated in Canada and was deposited here when the puget lobe of the last glaciation retreated circa 18,000 ya. The history of our region is why this boulder is in this park and it is crazy to think that the boulder is not from around here and was originally from much further north. This is just one good example of how our land history shapes the environment around us and is present in our everyday lives, people don't realize that the shape and distribution of land mass in Seattle is majorly a result of the retreat of the major glaciers that covered our region.7) Ecological Interactions
If you move closer to the Erattic you can see that there is heavy moss coverage on it and this moss is depended on the rock for the space necessary to thrive and develop. However there is not just moss on this rock, there is also a species of lichen known as Veined Lichen (Peltigera membranacea) this fungi is commonly found on rocks wood or even the solid in humid wet forests and here it is competing with the moss for space on the rock. This competition is an example of ecological interactions. Both of these types of organisms are well adapted to live on the surface of the boulder but their is still competition going on here as they each thrive for sunlight and prime rock space for growth and development. If there were to be a disturbance on the rock and a big chunk of space were left bare on the rock you can believe that both species would want to claim the bare space as their habitat and this is what is happening there is a constant struggle to grow in the environment and even between plant species this struggle will lead to competition. 8) Geology / Geomorphology
The history of our land is present all around us whether it is from such things as the hilly formations to the Erratics left behind by the glaciers you can tell a lot from a place by looking at it geology and geomorphology. Knowing where we live we could imagine that a lot of what was left behind from the glacier as it melted away was barren bedrock and hard solid all of this coated in the finer sediments sands and silts that dropped out as the melted ice pulled drew the smaller sediments from the body of the glacier. As time went on there was the formation of soils on top of the sand silts and bedrock that was left by the glaciers. This solid formation over the top of the sand and silts would over thousands of years result in the compression of the silts into clays, an impermeable solid that would sit atop the bedrock. Now imagine the rivers in the region, all the rain and snow of our region from before Seattle was a city, before people had influenced what the region looks like. There would be a smaller river flowing from what now is Green Lake down into Lake Washington. This is what Ravenna creek would have been only a couple of hundred years ago. Nowadays we can still see this history by looking around the park, if you head back out to the main trail from the erratic and walk up another 50 meters and look to your left there is a good example of the clays and sands that still remain and are exposed by the creek carving out and removing the sediments that would have otherwise buried this history. You can see this as you find that some soils like the one picture above will seem to be seeping water even though it is not a part of the river bed. This happens because the soil is sitting atop clay which is impermeable so the water from a recent rain will not be able to soak through the soil but will instead it will run downhill through the soils and when it hits a spot where there is a pace for it to settle out it will seep out of the soil.
9) Birds
After taking a walk through the park you will have seen all of the eight stations above but no trip through Ravenna or anywhere for that matter would be complete without noticing what else is going on in this case we are talking about the birds! After the walkthrough there are two things you should focus on thinking about and looking for the first being birds and the second I will address in the next section. There are many birds that are common to the ravine region of Ravenna park to start I will list a few of the most common and then describe them. First and one of the most notable is the Song sparrow. The song sparrow is a smaller bird that is usually found around watersides, parks, marshes, and shrubs. It is a smaller bird with dark brown stripes over its body and it has a distinct dark brown spot on its chest. Its song is usually composed of two distinct chirps then a burrrrr or bzzzzz followed by a few more diddle diddle notes. Another species to keep an eye out for would be the Bushtit, this small garish brown bird is easy to pick out because of its size and color it is a very plain bird and does not have a lot of nuances to it. It has a high trill for a call and is commonly found in similar locations to the song sparrow. The last of the smaller species bird you could come across and easily distinguish is the Black-Capped Chickadee, these birds are easy to remember because they are very distinct in both their call and color, the back wings and tail are all a grey color and it has buffy sides, when you look at its head it has a very distinguishable black cap that covers the top of its head and a small portion of its neck, in between these portions is a white band that wraps back around the lower head. It has a call of fee bee, fee bee, and a song that sounds just like its name Chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee. Fun fact is that the number of dee's that are on the end of this species call indicate the threat level of whatever is near them and will go up with greater threats. There are two other bird species that you may want to look out for and are fairly sure to see, first is the american robin which is easily distinguished with its slow melodic call and it bright red chest, and second is the crow which is a plain black bird and a voice of a distinguished kawwww. As you leave the park keep your ears peeled and see if you can pick out any other sounds and if you find one that interests you follow it and try to get a good look at the bird so you can later identify it.
After taking a walk through the park you will have seen all of the eight stations above but no trip through Ravenna or anywhere for that matter would be complete without noticing what else is going on in this case we are talking about the birds! After the walkthrough there are two things you should focus on thinking about and looking for the first being birds and the second I will address in the next section. There are many birds that are common to the ravine region of Ravenna park to start I will list a few of the most common and then describe them. First and one of the most notable is the Song sparrow. The song sparrow is a smaller bird that is usually found around watersides, parks, marshes, and shrubs. It is a smaller bird with dark brown stripes over its body and it has a distinct dark brown spot on its chest. Its song is usually composed of two distinct chirps then a burrrrr or bzzzzz followed by a few more diddle diddle notes. Another species to keep an eye out for would be the Bushtit, this small garish brown bird is easy to pick out because of its size and color it is a very plain bird and does not have a lot of nuances to it. It has a high trill for a call and is commonly found in similar locations to the song sparrow. The last of the smaller species bird you could come across and easily distinguish is the Black-Capped Chickadee, these birds are easy to remember because they are very distinct in both their call and color, the back wings and tail are all a grey color and it has buffy sides, when you look at its head it has a very distinguishable black cap that covers the top of its head and a small portion of its neck, in between these portions is a white band that wraps back around the lower head. It has a call of fee bee, fee bee, and a song that sounds just like its name Chick-a-dee-dee-dee-dee. Fun fact is that the number of dee's that are on the end of this species call indicate the threat level of whatever is near them and will go up with greater threats. There are two other bird species that you may want to look out for and are fairly sure to see, first is the american robin which is easily distinguished with its slow melodic call and it bright red chest, and second is the crow which is a plain black bird and a voice of a distinguished kawwww. As you leave the park keep your ears peeled and see if you can pick out any other sounds and if you find one that interests you follow it and try to get a good look at the bird so you can later identify it.
10) Station Of Choosing
The last thing you should consider before leaving the park is the fact that this is just a small part of what the pacific northwest has to offer as far as diversity, but it is a very good example and sample. As you walk through the park you can tell that the trails are well maintained and that there is a strong human impact on the surrounding environment. Be wary of how things may have changed or be different compared to nature that has not been greatly influenced by people. Also recognize that some species have adapted because of the human impacts. One great example is the fungi that live on red alder and are very dependent on the red alder for their habitat are not found in the city or if they are found they are greatly diminished in size because their sensitivity and consequently their response to pollution does not allow them to develop well if at all in the forests or parks near the city. As you move forward and exit the park their are some take-home thing to be thinking about. One of the most important issues especially in this day and age is how will climate change impact the ecosystems and organisms around us. We can begin to see this and will see the affects sooner in parks like Ravenna where the alterations are more immediate. Other things you may think about is reflecting on what you have learned or witnessed in the park and remembering and recognizing that there is a reason these parks are made and maintained and that people value their interaction with nature and the outdoors and it is important not to let this interaction disassociate from our roots and values.NOTE: Below is a map with the trails of Ravenna Park.
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