Station 2: Birds

We begin the tour at the cross streets of 62nd St. & Ravenna Ave. NE. Venturing in one block from the cross street sign, you come upon an entrance into the park at the end of a dead end street idled by two posts

The surrounding area is beautiful, complacent, calm, and tranquil. Much of the neighborhood is quiet and peaceful with many varieties of flower and plant in gardens lining houses and backyards. Children are playing in the streets; the fusion of wildlife and urban living is very apparent in this communal setup.

Coming into the park past the posts, you come to a split in the road of two bridges. One to the left and right, both of similar construction. For this journey, we will be taking the left of the two bridges.

Heading onto the bridge, you immediately hear the banter of several species of commonplace bird including: Bewick’s Wren (Thryomanes bewickii), White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys), American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), and the Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)

Bewicks Wren is the hyperactive (ADHD) little birds marked with white eyebrows. They also have a constantly flickering and prancing tail. They are the masters of song in this forest setting. Preferred habitat includes dry brushy areas, chaparral, trees, bushes, and near flowing streams, like the one below this bridge.

To welcome you to the park is the all-familiar American Robin (Turdus migratorius). Usually present towards the end of winter, their unmistakable cheery song and pale-orange chest make these a great first species to start off the journey through the park.

The Crow is a familiar face in just about all of America. The distinct cawing call and pitch-black feathery body are telltale giveaways for this species. Forests and open woodlands are home to this creature as much as the towering stone giants of the inner city.

Although the sparrow species are different in size and shading, they are two of the species you should suspect if you see a blurry streak of flocks of birds through the canopy tops or through bushes. The sparrows prefer open areas from stream edges to open overgrown fields. And all the birds love insects, especially mosquitoes come sunset.

As a special treat, if you are lucky enough, during the early to late evening, barred owls (Strix varia) fly about on the prowl for a tasty morsel. I witnessed this owl during an earlier than normal time of the evening.

Apparently, a curious squirrel piqued the interest of the owl and his fellow mate. As I walked away, both owls were stalking the squirrel through the trees attempting to catch it in mid climb. They must have been starving!

Station 3: Plants

At the end of the bridge, you will come to a service trail sign, hang a left at the sign and follow the winding, root worn path down to the bottom.

Along the path, keep your eye out for Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis), both Tall Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium) and Short Oregon grape (Mahonia nervosa), Nootka rose (Rosa nutkana), Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus), and Snowberry (Symphoricarpos).

There is a wide variety of vegetation throughout the Ravenna Park area. My observation area has a stream running through it. The environment is water plentiful, and shade/partial shade. The common understory plants include Sword Fern (Polystichum munitum), Lady Fern, (Athyrium filix-femina), Horsetail (Equisetum), and Skunk Cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) near the waters edge.

Dominant trees of the region include Big-leaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum), Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata), Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), and Red Alder (Alnus rubra).

Take the right path and it will lead you to a clearing. At the bottom of the path, you will reach a fork in the road with a singular tree as a sort of divide between the two.

This will act as the center point of the journey. From here, you can branch out to view different portion of the observation area and surrounding area of Ravenna Park. Following the upper right hand fork will allow you to view the listed plants below and more.

Lining many of the paths I came upon a variety of other plants as well. One such plant was the (Oregon) Bitter cherry (Prunus emarginata).

This tree/shrub is a native of the Pacific Northwest (PNW) and is known for producing 3/8" bright red, bulbous cherries. They have quite a bitter taste to them yet are juicy at the same time.

Leaves are oblong with toothed edges, usually with three lobes, the middle of which is larger than the two exteriors. Flowering is usually in clusters of white-pedaled flowers in a spherical grouping with yellow interiors.

The tree can grow as a shrub with multiple stems, or a tree variant, which can reach upwards of 50'. In Ravenna Park, they are the first of the two growth patterns. The preferred habitat for this plant is moist, nutrient rich soil with a full exposure of sunlight, although it has adapted to grow in partial shade.

Another wonderful plant growing alongside the road is the plentiful Gold finger Shrubby cinquefoil (Pentaphylloides floribunda).

This a all summer persisting bloomer. It has a vast spreading shrub like appearance. Very common and hardy, this shrub can either form multi-stemmed bodies or grow as a low mat.

Flowering is throughout the summer months. Flowers have 3-5 leaflets of golden hue with white hairs protruding.

Leaves are 3-9 leaflets, toothed edged and wide lobed. Prefers wet and moist soil with proper irrigation. Adapted to survive drought like conditions.

Another commonplace plant is the Pacific Crabapple (Malus (Pyrus) fusca).

A fantastic springtime, early summer flower. It has white flowers in the springtime and is followed by yellow and red fruit (apples) during progression of the season. Apples are edible by wildlife and humans.

Flowers are 5 lobed petals of either white or yellow color. Yellow interior and usually grow in clusters. Leaves are tooth edged and lobed, oblong to oval shaped. Prefers moist soil with partial shade or full sun exposure.

Station 4: Inverts

I have one thing to say about inverts: bring bug spray after dark. The mosquito population in Ravenna Park is quite extensive and you are likely to find every relative to be present waiting to make thanksgiving feast of your flesh and blood. Aside from that note, the extensive list of inverts living in the forest is quite extensive from a range of butterflies, snakes, worms, beetles, flying species, etc.

Station 5: Ecological Disturbance

If you follow the river down stream a little ways, you will notice a lot of debris littering the waterway from leaves, fallen logs, and a rocky bottom. Many tree branches, especially during the rainy season fall off the trees only to land in the river.

Here is another common disturbance lining the forest edges. Say hello to English Ivy (Hedera helix). This is an evergreen, perennial climbing vine that attaches to various almost any structure: trees, buildings. The plant exudes sticky substance to adhere to structures. Flowers bloom late in the summer-early fall.

This invasive species is fairly persisting in many conditions. Seeds are consumed and carried by birds and dispersed to new areas. Ivy is a very competitive plant brought by Europeans in late 1700s. It is known for killing off most of its competition by choking and spreading vigorously to dominate nutrients in a region.

Station 6: Geology/Geomorphology:

The deep history of Ravenna Park is directly tied to that of the nearby Green Lake Park — with the lake being a physical vestige of the Vashon Ice Glacial Sheet of 50,000 year ago. Green Lake had an outflow creek that meandered southeastward (along the path of today’s Ravenna Boulevard) through an increasingly steep and heavily wooded one-half-mile-long ravine and down into what is today called Union Bay (on Lake Washington). The western shore of that bay was the site of one Native American village and just northeast of the ravine (at the mouth of Thornton Creek) was another, so it may be presumed that the cutthroat trout and Coho salmon runs in the Green Lake (Ravenna) Creek were well known to those Indians. They also likely took note of the sulfuric mineral springs — natural features that would later be touted for having healing properties.

Source (Station 5): http://www.historylink.org/index.cfmDisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=9559

Station 7: Lichens/Fungi:

If you center yourself in the “home base” photo, then you will be able to hear and see a running stream. A bench marks this location. Off to the side of the bench is a grove (below) one of the main areas of my observation area.

The main tree is Western Red cedar. It is a thinned out stand, heavily shaded with a river coursing through. Near the river is a landscape dominated by skunk cabbage, mixed ferns, and horsetail. The rest is covered in a light moss with lurking fungi.

Above is the Artist’s Conk (Ganoderma applanatum). This can also be found near the waters edge. The main body is 12-16 inches across with a max spread of 20 inches. It has a hard and woody outer surface and is inedible. The conk is classified as a wood-decay fungus; it attaches itself to trees (locally: W. Hemlock, Douglas Fir, Alders, and Spruce) and weakens wood. Other fungi and woodpeckers use the weakened wood to start holes.

Station 8: Ecological interactions:

There are many forms of clear ecological interactions between species throughout the Ravenna Forest complex. Below is but one example.

Here is a log near the rivers edge deeper into the grove mentioned above. It is covered in Meadow Mushrooms (Agaricus campestris). These are very common. Characteristics include white-brown bodies, a silky outer covering, flat caps, a height of 5 inches and a width of about 4 inches.

Here, they are growing on a downed log, possibly fallen/ broken off from the tree nearby. The mushrooms are decomposers and rotting deadwood near a river is the perfect growing environment for these mushrooms. Here, the wood provides an ideal growing environment and nutrients for the mushrooms. In turn, the mushrooms break the wood down and create new soil from the decomposition process.

Station 9: Animal Behavior:

If you follow the path (below) from the open area, you will eventually come upon a baseball field and a play area for children. But before I get there, let me point out that in the canopy above, and for mot of the park, groups of crows flying around the upper foliage of the trees. You may be lucky enough to spot a nest up high in the trees or will witness groups of crows ganging up on squirrels for a tasty morsel.

Either way, crows are going to be one of the more audible birds in the area. Pay close attention as you walk the path, the different bird calls per section of the trail and see if you can spot any patches where a certain species dominates. It is fascinating to listen to the varying bird cries and see how the birds communicate with one another.

Station 10: Restoration

A series of bad planning efforts by the city of Seattle, took place between the 1930s-60s including failed bulldozing operations damming up the springs to attempting to drain the remainder of Ravenna creek into the sewers, the city could not please the public at any turn. The surrounding community grew tired of such actions and formed the “Ravenna Creek Alliance”. Due to the efforts of these upstanding and caring citizens, several portions of the park have received, in recent years, gorgeously landscaped sceneries, with new trails and a good deal of habitat restoration along the long-exploited creek.

The journey ends with a visit to a baseball field, where you might be lucky enough to catch an in progress ball game of local youth children’s teams.