Smith and Bybee with Angela

A few weeks ago, my cousin, Angela, from Seattle expressed an interest in birding together. I was tickled. She is currently earning her Master of Arts degree in Museology from University of Washington, and is also a talented science illustrator focusing on “microhabitats” such as slime molds, mosses, and ferns. She’s pretty kick-ass.

We met at Smith and Bybee wetlands to see what we could find.

 

From Bald Eagles to Eurasian Collared-Doves, Smith and Bybee did not disappoint. Overall, we saw (and/or heard) 23 bird species. Angela’s favorite sighting was this Anna’s Hummingbird flittering from flower to flower in the Red-flowering Currant.

Angela also pointed out a Bombus melanopygus, the Western bumblebee on the currant I hadn’t noticed (and failed to get a picture of).

My favorite point of the trip was when she rolled over a log on the forest floor, uncovering a Long-toed Salamander.

 

It was fun birding with Angela. She’s a naturalist at heart who takes interest in learning about the world around her. Just earlier in the month she’d been on a nature walk with an entire class of biologists, graduate students, and nature-nerds identifying the full spectrum of flora and fauna of the woods. This was a fun way to explore Smith and Bybee too.

Tweets and chirps,

Audrey