Crater Lake

This month is six years since my visit to fabulous Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. America's deepest lake at nearly 2000 feet in depth, it sits inside the collapsed caldera of an ancient volcano. Wizard Island near the west side of the lake is a volcano within a volcano. The lake is fed entirely by rain and snow. The amount falling in each year is nearly equal to what evaporates of leaks out the bottom. Crater Lake is what I can only describe as being impossibly blue. Pictures don't do it justice.

Crater Lake seen from West Rim Drive

In addition to the lake, the park also features forests, wildflower meadows, waterfalls, pumice deserts, cinder cones, and formations called pinnacles. The pumice deserts were formed by volcanic eruptions depositing pumice. Like sand, it drains very well so there is little moisture retained in the ground. Like in a true desert, only the hardiest plants can scratch out a living. 

Pumice desert

The pinnacles were originally volcanic steam vents. As gas and steam were released, moisture mixed with the surrounding ash and formed a thick cement. Mount Mazama, the ancient volcano that formed Crater Lake, had its last major eruption 7700 years ago. Following a massive eruption of ash and pumice, a huge explosion caused the mountain to collapse into itself. 

Wizard Island, a caldera within a caldera

Red Cinder Cone, a shadow of the volcanic past

While visiting Crater Lake, I got to do a bit of exploring. I started a sunset hike up The Watchman, one of the peaks along the crater's rim. I got turned around by an incoming thunderstorm. On another hike across the pumice prairie and through a burned forest, I turned around when I lost sight of the horizon with more storms in the forecast. I went down into a canyon along a mountain stream and back up, saw the pinnacles, a waterfall, and small meadow with varying degrees of wetness. Different wildflowers were growing in different areas due to elevation, soil, and moisture levels- a great example of zonation.

Some of the wildlife in the park includes Clark's nutcracker, golden mantled ground squirrels, mule deer, black bears, foxes, bobcats, and pika. I was lucky enough to see the ground squirrel, deer, gray jays, and a tiny frog.

After leaving Crater Lake, I headed to the coast and stayed at the Oregon Dunes. There was no activity at the Sea Lion Caves nearby. The next stop before going home was a quick visit to Mount Hood. I stank after a week in the woods without showers, but the adventure was worth it. This week's information comes from USGS and NPS. All photos are my own. I'll be taking a break for vacation and will return in September with a look at some hard workers, just in time for Labor Day.

Herring Spawning

One of the great spectacles in North American wildlife watching is the Pacific herring spawning. It happens every year in late winter and early spring. Not only does the event produce the next generation of an important fish species, it also sustains the current generation of many other animals.

Pacific herring form an important strand in the food web. They are classified as forage fish, meaning they serve as meals for larger fish like salmon. As we'll see a little later, herrings feed the larger community beyond just the salmon.

Herring spawning turns the sea white (Prince William Sound Conservation Center) 

Herring move to shallower seas during spring, which happens to be right around the same time hungry humpback whales arrive from the tropics. The herring are looking for eelgrass or kelp beds for their sticky eggs to attach to. After the females lay their eggs over the vegetation, the males swim over and release their milt to fertilize the eggs.

Before reaching the spawning beds, the herring must navigate a maze of predators: sea lions, sea birds like cormorants and gulls, bald eagles, and those hungry, hungry humpbacks. Once the work is done, the eggs aren't safe and the smorgasbord continues as diving ducks pick them off. About two weeks later, the remaining eggs hatch and the herring larvae are carried by the tide and are subject to predation by fish of all shapes and sizes.

Herring eggs attached to kelp (US Geologic Survey)

With all that eating going on, it's a wonder any herring survive to adulthood. Females typically lay 20,000 eggs a year, and if she lives a long life, she'll do this three times. Multiply her by a million of her closest friends, and you have about 20 billion eggs. If only 1% hatch, that's 200 million baby herring.

Sea lions await their feast (Tillamook Coast)

In a good year, spawning herring will color the sea white. However, the spawning isn't nearly as good as it used to be. Overfishing is one reason, but loss of habitat (spawning and feeding areas) and pollution are also big contributors.
This week's information comes from Wayne Hoffman, Ph.D. and Washington Department of Natural Resources.
nm1: Prince William Sound Conservation Center https://pwssc.org/herring-spawn/
nm2: USGS https://www.usgs.gov/media/images/pacific-herring-eggs-macrophytes
nm3: Wayne Hoffman https://tillamookcoast.com/blog/spawning-of-pacific-herring/

Species of the Month

Shark Week is nigh upon us and we're getting in on it with July's Species of the Month. I've chosen the most famous (or infamous) sea creature, the great white shark. While they've been known to attack people, we are not their prey. Shark attacks may be curiosity or just a case of mistaken identity. Unlike Jaws, these apex predators won't eat you, even if they do happen to bite. Sink your teeth into this quick profile!

Scientific name: Carcharodon carcharias

Great white shark (NOAA)

Kingdom: Animalia (animals)

Class: Chondrichthyes (rays and sharks)
Order: Lamniformes (mackerel sharks) 

Range: Coastal ocean areas of Asia, Australia, Oceana, North and South America, Africa, and Europe

(NOAA)

Habitat: Marine
Lifespan: 30 to 40 years
Diet: Fish, seals, sea lions, sea birds, squid, sea turtles, dolphins, whale carcasses, rays
Predators: Humans, killer whales, other sharks
Conservation Status: IUCN consideres great whites to be vulnerable, protected in the US

(NOAA)

Other information: This massive apex predator can grow to lengths of 20 feet and weigh as much as 6600 pounds! It's mouth can open to over three feet wide, plenty of room for anything it wants to eat. And that mouth is packed with razor sharp teeth. Unlike humans, gifted with two sets of teeth, the great white can apparently grow an unlimited number, replacing teeth as needed. The shark's streamlined body is built for speed and power. Not much is known about their reproductive habits. Females give birth to live young, which eat unfertilized eggs and possibly even siblings in the womb. They are mostly solitary creatures, but sometimes congregate to feed, such as at a whale carcass. In situations like this, they form social hierarchies. In addition to a well-developed sense of smell, great whites can detect electrical fields. These highly developed sense allow them to detect prey by a single drop of blood in 100 liters of water, or by the beating of its heart. The great white's prefer hunting method is to strike from below. A powerful blow is enough to stun the prey, avoiding a chase or a struggle. Across the board, fish populations are declining at an alarming rate and the great white is no exception. Sport fishing, commercial fishing bycatch, and finning take a toll, and as a large species reproductive rates are generally low. As an apex predator, populations are already low to begin with. Sadly, despite its deadly reputation the great white shark has more to fear from us than we from it.
This month's information comes from the University of Michigan's Animal Diversity Web.
nm1 https://swfsc.noaa.gov/textblock.aspx?ParentMenuId=123&id=21434
nm2 https://sos.noaa.gov/datasets/marine-migration-great-white-shark-3d/
nm3 https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/18whitesharkcafe/welcome.html

Species of the Month

Wherever you live, fishing season is in full swing. This month we'll profile one of the most common game fishes, the rainbow trout. They can be found in lakes and streams almost everywhere around the world, though introduced to many of them.

Rainbow trout (State Department)

Scientific name: Oncorhynchus mykiss

Kingdom: Animalia (animals)

Class: Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
Order: Salmoniformes 

Range: Pacific coast of North America from Alaska to Mexico

Habitat: Aquatic, some also have a marine phase

Lifespan: 6-8 years average, up to 11 years
Diet: Insects, insect larvae, crustaceans, small fish, algae
Predators: Lampreys, eagles, osprey, herons, mergansers, bears, mink, river otters, seals, sea lions, other fish, humans

Fish on! (NPS)

Conservation Status: No special protection for freshwater only fish; nine populations of steelhead are listed as threatened or endangered

Steelhead (NOAA Fisheries)

Other information: Rainbow trout get their name from a colorful iridescent streak along the sides of its body. State fish and game agencies around the country raise them to stock streams and lakes for fishing season. Stocked trout remain in freshwater; some native trout along the west coast are anadromous (have a saltwater phase) and return to their birthplace to spawn and die. The anadromous trout are called steelhead. Females lay eggs in a gravel nest called a redd. Fertilized eggs hatch after a few weeks, and the hatchling remains attached to the yolk sack as a food source before leaving the redd for the wider world. Young trout tend to stick to slower, shallow water. Young steelhead remain in the stream for up to three years before heading out to sea. Due to habitat degradation and loss, several western steelhead species are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Meanwhile, introduced trout are becoming a problem in some areas. They eat and/or outcompete native fishes such as cutthroat and brook trout. They threaten genetic integrity by hybridizing with native species. They also carry a parasite responsible for whirling disease, which causes deformities that make a fish easier prey.

Steelhead (NOAA Fisheries)

This week's information comes from University of Michigan's Animal Diversity Web and the US State Department, of all places.

Species of the Month

September’s Species of the Month is our first fish to be featured. Pink salmon are returning to their birth rivers along the Pacific coast. They are the smallest and most abundant of the five Pacific salmon species found in North America. When you buy canned salmon, it is most likely pink. Besides feeding us, they also support entire ecosystems.

Scientific name: Oncorhynchus gorbuscha

Kingdom: Animalia (animals)

Class: Teleostei (ray-finned fishes)

Order: Salmoniformes (salmons)

Range: Northern Pacific Ocean from East Asia to California and upstream

Habitat: Rivers and ocean

Lifespan: Two years typically, some may live three years

Diet: Insects and plankton (juvenile) and fish (adult)  

Predators: Bears, killer whales, osprey, eagles, sea lions, seals

Conservation Status: No special conservation status

Other Information: Pink salmon is an anadromous fish, meaning it is born in freshwater then moves to a saltwater phase before returning to the stream it hatched in to spawn. These fish typically spawn close to saltwater, sometimes even in the saltwater. After hatching, the salmon fry immediately swim downstream to the ocean. Pinks are also known as humpies, named for the large hump spawning males grow on their backs. The two-year life cycle of the pinks is the only completely predictable salmon life cycle. Other species may spend 2-5 years at sea, depending on the species and the individual. Pinks, like other salmon, are an important food source for bears fattening up for winter. They are also incredible swimmers, amazingly agile in just a few inches of water. I walked in the river with them and despite their fins being above the surface and my longer stride, I was unable to keep pace with them. Due to low river levels followed by flooding that affected the 2015 spawners, the 2017 pink salmon run is forecasted to be a fraction of the previous run.

Info this week is from USGS  and Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Spawning female pink salmon, Mashel River 2015

Spawning male pink salmon, Mashel River 2015

Sea Lions and Whales

Summer weather is hear for most of us (off and on here in the Northwest- off as I write this) so let’s take another trip to the beach in search of marine mammals. Actually, this a recap of a trip to the beach I took in December 2014. I went to Florence, Oregon to check out the local pinnipeds and cetaceans. What are those you ask?

Cetaceans are whales and pinnipeds are critters such as seals and walruses. Pinniped means fin footed, and the feet of these critters are modified into swimming flippers. Maybe you’re wondering why I went to the beach in December. I actually stopped by the Sea Lion Cave in August, but the sea lions weren’t home. Sea Lion Cave is the largest sea cave in the world, home to a Stellar sea lion rookery. During the summer the sea lions are out to sea, and I got so see some swimming at a distance. Because they weren’t home, I got a rain check to return any time within a year and chose December because they would be roosting and migrating gray whales would be passing by.

For those of you outside of the Northwest, this was a big gamble, picking out a weekend to get a hotel months in advance. The weather is notoriously wet in this corner of the world, especially during the winter months. On the coast, winds can reach hurricane force during a good storm. And I was betting that I’d have good enough visibility to see a whale out there somewhere.

I was either lucky or a genius. Saturday’s drive to Oregon and Sunday at the cave were great for driving and whale watching. Inside the cave smelled of sea lion, but the fresh sea breeze kept the smell from becoming overwhelming. It’s a noisy place, alive with the sounds of crashing waves and the grunts and groans of half-ton beasts. No flash photography, and humans are in a cage to keep us and the sea lions safe from each other.

 

Lion's den, devoid of sea lions (summer 2014)

Incoming wave at the sea-facing opening of the lion's den (summer 2014)

 Outside, squadrons of gulls and guillemots patrolled the skies above. Heceta Head Lighthouse kept watch to the north, southward were the city of Florence and the towering Oregon Dunes. The back side of the Sea Lion Cave gift shop (at the top of the elevator down to the “lion’s den”) is a picnic area and observation deck on a bluff over a hundred feet above the Pacific Ocean. All around were sea bird rookeries. It’s a huge area to scan, hoping to see a whale drift by. What are the odds that one would surface right where I was looking? I didn’t see any whales that day but I did see the spouts of a few. This was exciting for me, since I’d never seen a whale before, other than Shamu and friends in Orlando.

Pigeon guillemot (from Audubon Society)

Gray whale (from NOAA)

Stellar sea lion (from NOAA)

Rain and fog settled in north of Salem as I headed back home after a successful day of new wildlife encounters. Since then I’ve encountered harbor seals just offshore from Tacoma and I would love to do a whale watching cruise in the San Juan Islands. What do you watch for when you hit the beach?

Ocean-going sea lions (summer 2014)

Shore bird rookery #1

Rookery #2

Whale jaw bone at Umpqua Lighthouse in Oregon

Sea lion (NOAA) http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2010/20100806_sealion.html

Gray whale (NOAA) http://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/whales/gray-whale.html

Pigeon guillemot (Audubon) http://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/pigeon-guillemot