Walking Tour of Magnuson Park

Welcome to my walking tour of Magnuson Park! After observing this spot for the last few months, I have created this easy to follow tour of the common species and phenomena that can be found here. My suggestion would be to visit in the springtime, as this is when I was able to observe the species I am describing on this tour. Also spring is just a great time to see singing birds and blooming plants! Enjoy!


First you are going to want to enter Magnuson Park on 65th street. Turn onto the frog pond trail until you get here. This is where my tour begins!

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Site 1, Land Use History: This is probably the most appropriate to start with on a tour of Magnuson Park. It was not always the beautiful community park that it is today. It was once home to Sandpoint Naval Air Station. When the air station closed, there was much controversy between many stakeholders over how the land should be used. Eventually, it was decided that some of the land would go to the Western Headquarters of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) while the rest was turned into Warren G. Magnuson Park, named after a US Senator. It officially opened on May 29, 1977. While I do not have a specific spot to show this, I am labeling it at the very beginning of the walking tour. I think that it is important to think about and appreciate the history of this park. Imagine if it were still an airport today! There is an incredible amount of species diversity to view at this place even though it is still relatively young. It will be interesting to see how this park changes over the years. Hopefully it remains a protected wetland area and the species continue to thrive. Not only that, but it is such a great recreational area for families, and that has a great deal of merit as well.

Site 2, Birds: At this spot, a plethora of birds can be found. Not only can mallards, gadwalls and their ducklings be found swimming, but this is also prime territory for red winged blackbirds. You will often see them perched on top of a willow or cottonwood giving their territorial call and showing their red epaulets. Red winged blackbirds are active all over Magnuson, but this is a spot where I always see them. Lower down in the willows I sometimes see a female red winged blackbird, but not nearly as often as I see the male, likely because the male needs to defend his territory. Male red winged blackbirds will have multiple female mates, so it may seem somewhat surprising that one does not find many red winged blackbirds. However, since it is spring, the females birds are likely tending to nests and young, which is often away from where they could be disturbed by people. Also I have seen a few black capped chickadees in this area, as well as hear their alarm call. Anna's hummingbird can also be seen from time to time flying above the trees/shrubs, landing on rare occasion. Again, all of these birds can be found all over the site, but this is one good spot if you are interested in bird watching or just looking for an interesting element of Magnuson.

Site 3, Invertebrates: Here is where you can find the many cool invertebrates of Magnuson! The image to the right is a meadowhawk dragon fly. This is one species of dragonfly found at this site, generally flying near the edge of the water, very rarely landing. You can also find pacific forktail dragonfly, which is much smaller and skinnier with transparent wings. It sometimes lands for enough time that it can really be observed, unlike the meadowhawk! There is another larger blue species of dragonfly I have observed at this site. It is flying constantly, making it nearly impossible for me to identify! Perhaps if you stay for long enough it will eventually stay still enough to get a really good look at it! However, the window for really seeing dragonflies is somewhat small. If you are intrigued by dragonflies and would really enjoy observing them, I would suggest going in May-June. Not only are there dragonflies at this site, but if you look closely at the logs, you can see very tiny ants coming in and out of the crevices, and you can sometimes even see them holding pieces of leaves much larger than they are! You will also see the occasional bee or fly, but often not for long enough to determine the species. Don't be afraid to move logs to look for more insects at this site! While I had a hard time moving the logs, I am sure many people could easily move the logs and find many awesome invertebrates here- just be sure to replace the log when you are done!

Site 4, Ecological Disturbance: Ecological disturbances come in many shapes and sizes. Some are induced by humans, others are facilitated by nature. Unfortunately, during a windstorm, many pacific and scouler willow branches were broken. As mentioned previously, these willows seem as if they could be the homes of many birds. Usually though, it will take time to tell how severe the impact of the disturbance will be. I think this will not have too large of an impact on the organisms living at this site. Broken branches as well as the high winds was likely able to disperse plenty of willow pollen, which is very beneficial to this willow species even though this particular one was damaged. It is important to remember however that everything has an ecological niche, so devastation to one species can almost always translate to some sort of ill effect for another.

Site 5, Plants: Keep in mind, plants are found everywhere at Magnuson Park, including the water. That being said, this particular site has a few plants I would like to highlight. One of which is tall oregon grape, pictured to the right. This plant has a bright yellow cluster of flowers, which I found to be in bloom in April. Not long after this, end of April or beginning of May, the flowers have all disappeared. Then, late May it begins to get berries. One really awesome aspect of observing my site at the time that I did, I was able to see the plant change quite drastically. I found this with many other plants as well, including twin berry. I witnessed it going from no flowers to flowers to berries. A variety of grasses can also be seen at this spot, especially as spring goes on. Western buttercup (the small yellow flower you would hold under your chin as a child to determine whether or not you like butter!) is also seen in abundance here. In this general vicinity, you will also come across a few other species of plants. One is common vetch with small skinny leaves that are opposite each other with small pink flowers (at least during this time of year). Also pacific ninebark, a plant with white flowers and dark green veined leaves.  Walking just a little farther back (carefully, the trail does not go back here) you will also find snowberry and broad leafed cattails. The plant diversity at Magnuson is incredible, and this is just a small taste of it.

Now we will continue walking down the trail to our next site seeing spot!

Site 6, Invasive Species: Invasive species occur in a number of places throughout the Pacific Northwest. A common one is ivy. It was brought to America for ornamental purposes, but it can have a very negative impact on the native populations of plants. You may be thinking, "What's the big deal? Its just a plant!" The problem with invasives is that they have no natural predators in the area they are introduced to, so their populations can grow wildly out of control. It can outcompete native species for resources. In this specific case with ivy, it may be outcompeting other plants for light, water, and space. As discussed at other sites, one species or one plant may have a much greater and far reaching impact on the ecosystem than is anticipated. While Magnuson Park seems to be doing just fine, even with a little ivy, it is important to realize the possible implications and why we should not introduce a new species into an environment without much careful research and planning. Even then, it is still a risk.

Site 7, Fungi and Lichens: Here is an awesome spot on the walking tour for any aspiring mycologists. The lichen I have pictured to the right is what I believe to be some sort of shield lichen of the genus Parmelia. The red alders in this area have many interesting lichens. Lichens are neat because they are half fungi and half algae and/or cyanobacteria. The fungi can provide protection while the algae or cyanobacteria can provide nutrients for the fungi. A fun fact about lichens is that they are a good indicator of air quality. If there are lots of lichens around it probably means the air quality is very high! Also on the red alders I found some bushy fruticose lichen as well as a couple different species of crustose lichen. If you check some of the logs, you may also find a few species of fungi. While I am not a mycologist and I am not able to really identify them myself, I believe they are types of wood decomposing fungi, which is one important ecological role that fungi can play. Look carefully, these fungi blend in quite well with the logs! As with many of the species I have mentioned, lichen and fungi can be found other places besides here. Almost every log I came across had some sort of fungi on it, so be sure to keep an eye out at other places in the park.

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Site 8, Animal Behaviour: Magnuson has many interesting animal behaviors but one that I would like to highlight is that of the american robin. I would often see this bird fly up into the cottonwood trees and hear its young squawking, likely trying to tell them that it is hungry! While I never actually saw the nest, I am sure that is where the pair of robins was going each time they flew into the cottonwood tree. Robins build their nests using twigs, grass, etc and then reinforcing it with mud. The robin will then line the nest with dry grass. Robins will build a nest many places (including gutters and rooftops) but they will often pick mid-height horizontal branches of trees to build their nest on, which is  likely what the Magnuson robins have done. Robins eat fruit and insects, and you can often find a robin pulling insects out of the ground, as I'm sure you've probably witnessed many other places as well. You likely also recognize a cheery robin song, and I have attached their song and call as well so that you can keep your ears open for them if they are not visible with the eyes. Follow this link! http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/168314

Site 9, Ecological Interaction: Perhaps one of the arguably most important ecological interactions is between fruit and flowers and pollinators. Pollinators play an essential role in our every environment, from Magnuson Park to our agricultural industry. Bees and other pollinators are essential to help plants reproduce. Pictured here is a mason bee on a nootka rose. This site on the walking tour has a lot of nootka rose plants that always seem to have bees buzzing around them. They're really cute to watch, and I've seen a few bees buzz pollinate, so its almost like they grab onto the flower and shake it. But now lets get down to the details of pollination. How does it work? Bees really have no idea all the good that they do and how important their role is. They are looking for nectar, which they eat, and as they are getting the nectar from the flower, pollen gets stuck to them. They then fly off to another flower, in search of more nectar, and the pollen from the previous flower comes off onto the next flower and pollination occurs.This ecological interaction has led to the evolution of flowers that attract bees. Nootka rose for example is bright colored and has a very open landing spot for bees. Other flowers have adapted to attract hummingbirds, which are another pollinator of Magnuson Park. This ecological interaction benefits the plant, the pollinator, and the whole ecosystem!

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Site 10, Geography/Geomorphology: The last site I would like to share with you on this walking tour is another that does not really have a specific location where you can look to see what I am talking about, but I thought I would wrap up the tour with some information for you. The Puget Sound Region was formed largely by glaciers. The Cordilleran Ice Sheet is broken up into 3 lobes and the one that we will focus on is the Puget Lobe. This glacier extended far into what is today the Puget Sound. As the glacier melted and retreated it formed the terrain and water ways of this area, including nearby Lake Washington. Lake Washington is long and thin which is further evidence of its glacial history. Glaciers also left the sediment that we see, generally sand and gravel on top of clay. Magnuson Park has been dramatically changed by humans over the years, so there is very little glacial history left here to explain. But imagine a time thousands of years ago where the place you are standing on is a solid sheet of ice. The way that glaciers have changed this region is incredible, and I think it was important that I ended my tour with this. Magnuson Park is not the same as it was thousands of years ago or even decades ago. It will continue to change into the future, so use your imagination for what it could possibly become!

Thank you for joining me on this walking tour of Magnuson Park. I hope that you will enjoy exploring here as much as I have. If this is your first natural history experience I hope that this has piqued your curiosity and you want to go explore more regions. If you are an experienced natural historian or an avid outdoorsman, then I hope that you were still able to learn something from this tour. Again, thanks for reading!

References: 
 Map Of Cordilleran Ice Sheet. N.d. 0, 0. ISU Geology. Web. 7 June 2014.
"American Robin." , Identification, All About Birds. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 June 2014. <http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/american_robin/id>.
Journal Staff. Sand Point Naval Air Station. N.d. 0, Seattle, WA. Daily Journal Of Commerce. Web. 3 July 2014.
"The Free Encyclopedia of Washington State History." HistoryLink. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 July 2014. <http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=2287>.