A late Bucket on this Friday morning. Come join me in a marsh.
The Daily Bucket is a regular feature of the Backyard Science group. It is a place to note any observations you have made of the world around you. Rain, sun, wind...insects, birds, flowers...meteorites, rocks...seasonal changes...all are worthy additions to the bucket. Please let us know what is going on around you in a comment. Include, as close as is comfortable for you, where you are located. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the patterns that are quietly unwinding around us.
The tide was super high the last time I came through the ferry dock at Anacortes. Usually I walk along the beach down as far as the derelict pilings that are all remaining of the fish canneries giving this bay the name Ship Harbor. I had an hour or so to wait for my boat though, so I wandered around by the marsh behind the beach instead. The dormant vegetation was surprisingly colorful, even on this classically overcast Northwest day.
Never bypass an opportunity to walk around outside...you never know what surprises you'll find, even right next to a giant parking lot.
Extreme high tide :
(All photos by me. In Lightbox...click to enlarge)
More marsh winter color...
Looking back up toward the ferry holding lanes:
In summer this cattail marsh is busy with RedWinged Blackbirds, dragonflies, damselflies and a variety of other wildlife. Today it's much quiter in the marsh than out in the bay where winter wigeons and buffleheads flock. Spent cattails and their fluff:
The open water of the marsh has islands of rushes and other emergent vegetation. Some are solid enough to support shrubs and even small trees. Native Crabapples are common here, providing a terrific source of food for winter birds. Up the hill you can see one of the residential subdivisions of Anacortes. The city owns this wetland.
Puddle ducks forage and rest in the marsh all year. Today some Mallards groom and nap.
This publicly owned marsh has many benefits, from habitat to stormwater runoff water quality mitigation. Its proximity to the ferry holding lanes means city folk on their way out to the San Juan islands can experience a bit of nature incidentally while they wait. It's rare to have a site like this adjacent to a ferry dock. A grass roots group of local interests -
the Anacortes Park Foundation (coordinating the effort), City of Anacortes, Western Washington University’s Shannon Point Marine Center, the Anacortes School District, Evergreen Islands, the Port of Anacortes, Washington State Ferry Service, and a group of local citizens. (Anacortes Parks)
- has been developing a boardwalk interpretive access, which is in progress. Nice work.
The Daily Bucket is now open for your own observations of nature from where you live.
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