Hello!
I obviously have to explain this blog.
I've done a few birding blogs at this
point, starting with 39counties (www.39counties.blogspot.com), and continuing with close
looks at Mason (www.masoncountybirding.blogspot.com) and Chelan (chelancountybirding.blogspot.com) counties here in Washington.
It's always been birds, it's always been a year, and it's always been
off to some part of the state that's a little off the beaten path.
This one will be a little different.
There will still be birds. Birds are
amazing. They make up most of the sounds of life around us, and
they're the most likely to surprise us by showing up somewhere we
just weren't expecting them. But I want to take a deeper look at
everything around the birds – the habitat; the life around them
that works to make them happy and healthy, or in some cases not.
I'm still going to be on this for about
a year, but with a little extra time tacked on – 425 days. About an
extra two months on top of the usual year.
I'll still be exploring, but not off to
some other part of the state. I'll be focused on home. I saw on
Tweeters a little while back that someone had accomplished a feat –
finding their 253rd species of bird in Pierce County,
which is largely area code 253. I actually thought for a billionth of
a second, “Hey, I should try to oh yeah never mind.” Seeing 425
species of birds in the state is not likely a goal I would ever hit,
let alone 425 in the area code east of Lake Washington.
But what if I added butterflies?
Salamanders? Mosses? Mushrooms? I think an article about fish in
Puget Sound pushed me further towards this idea. Over 100 species of
fish are running around in the sound. and this sent my brain reeling a little. And my
knowledge of fish is like... PhD level, relative to my knowledge of
sedges or beetles.
So there's the goal:
425 kinds of living things in the 425 area code in 425 days.
This will all end, interestingly
enough, on 4/25.
Where is this... 425?
Figuring out the lines for this has
included a little tiny town trivia. Ravensdale is 425. Kanasket is
not. Maple Valley is 425. Black Diamond is not. Renton is 425. Kent
is not. That defines the southern end, and then in the North, it
swings all the way up to Duvall, and all the way East to Snoqualmie.
Skykomish? Nope.
On the North end, to be honest, I'm a
little stymied. Monroe is not in the 425, but Edmonds is. Even
Everett is in the 425. Will I need to go that far North? I thought of
this as a freshwater challenge, but I may find that come next March,
some sea anemones, seals, and murrelets might be necessary to get to
425. We'll see.
It's also worth asking. If a tree calls
in the forest. . . does it have an area code? My answer will be yes,
and it will be the area code of whatever town is closest to said
tree, or mountain, or peat bog.
What counts?
People? No. Birds? Yes, with the same
restrictions I always apply – alive, free, wild. Mammals? Goodness.
. . I have seen a cougar before in the wild, and if I don't see one
this year, honestly, I'm good. If I find cougar tracks, I may count
it. Once I came across a shrew-mole carcass. I don't think I'm likely
to see one of those alive unless I start in on trapping, night vision
goggles or some other method that is just beyond what I'm interested
in doing. I do want to try for some nocturnal species, but I'll be
gentle with myself on the ID's. I will do my best to identify living
things down to the species, but if it needs microscopes or DNA, I'll
pass. Spore tests? Careful looks? Measurements of plants? Sure!
Plants are a funny one, however.
Douglas Fir? Yes. Uncle Stuart's prize tomatoes? No. Scot's Broom?
Well, yes. I don't want to go overboard with invasives, but I want to
include them. Understanding Scot's Broom is part of understanding
local ecosystems now.
Rubber boas, spotted owls, and chanterelles. I think the deal with all of the above (and perhaps numerous other species) is that some level of secrecy is needed regarding locations. I'd love to come across any of them. I'm not going to work too hard to do so, but hopefully a year of exploring will turn up some nice surprises. Regardless of what turns up, there will be a gazillion common things that have been living around me this whole time that I'll finally take the time to notice.
Car miles will be down. Foot miles will
be up. Breakfast at the local cafe. . . I'll still try to work that
in. These blogs have always been a way to shine a little light on
good places out there, so I'll be sure to include a picture of a
plate of eggs and hash browns at some point.
Documentation: I want to do as much as
I can to document things well with pictures and sound. I want to find
ways to clarify how I knew that this was Notodonta Pacifica and
not some other moth. Sometimes it will mean highlighting the
pictures, and it will certainly mean adding links to the many sites
available online.
I will say again. I
have no idea what I'm going to find. I hope that this adds to your
walks.
Tim Brennan
February, 25 2020
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