Photo Roundup: May 7 2017

Every Sunday I will be posting photos collected from various NCI graduate students and staff. Please enjoy this glimpse into our everyday lives here in the North Cascades.

Rufous hummingbirds in Diablo, Washington. Photos by Daniel Dubie

A fun photo by graduate student, Daniel Dubie, watching the rufous hummingbirds take over his bird feeder in the town of Diablo. These feisty hummingbirds are common visitors to bird feeders and can be quite territorial, chasing much larger visiting bird species away. Don’t let their tiny size fool you – despite being just over three inches long, rufous hummingbirds travel roughly 4,000 miles from Alaska to Mexico (one-way), during their long migration each year.

Heartleaf twayblade (Listera cordata), a small orchid, near Ross Lake trailhead. Photo by Daniel Dubie

Glacier lily (Erythronium grandiflorum) on the Fourth of July Pass Trail. Photo by Daniel Dubie

Side channel on Thunder Creek with leafing willows. Photo by Daniel Dubie

When Daniel Dubie isn’t found under the forest canopy with binoculars and a Sibley Guide to Birds, you can find him exploring the trails with his camera in hand. Warm temperatures have brought the mountain valleys to life with colorful spring flowers and leafing trees.

A Villa Academy student using meter tape to mark off his sample study area. Photo by Angela Burlile

Last week, our Mountain School instructors hosted students from Villa Academy in Seattle, Washington. These 6th graders participated in our Carnivore Field Investigation Program, conducting field studies on habitat potential surrounding our Environmental Learning Center for various forest carnivores. Students work in small groups, designing sample sites to gather data and then present their findings in a symposium-style discussion with their peers and teachers.

Graduate students taking in the San Juan Islands from Anacortes. Photo by Rachael Grasso

Nicole Gilmore, Education and Outreach Coordinator for Taylor Shellfish Farms, teaching graduate students about shellfish farming methods during their recent field trip to Anacortes. Photo by Rachael Grasso

Graduate students and their instructor trying to stay dry on the Shannon Point Marine Center research vessel. Photo by Melissa Biggs

The second half of our graduate M.Ed. cohort journeyed down valley to the town of Anacortes, for a three day field trip that examined climate change impacts in Skagit and Whatcom Valley. Students visited Western Washington University’s Shannon Point Marine Center, the Washington State University Mount Vernon Northwest Washington Research & Extension Center and Taylor Shellfish Farms to hear from researchers and educators on how climate change will specifically impact food and agriculture production in the region.

The Orion anchored off Yellow Island. Photo by Kay Gallagher

Wildflowers line the trail on Yellow Island. Photo by Kay Gallagher

Graduate student, Kay Gallagher, assisted participants and staff on the Jones and Yellow Island Field Excursion, hosted by North Cascades Institute. Participants boarded the Orion, a beautifully-restored 1934 wooden sailboat and spent the weekend studying the natural history of seabirds, marine mammals and island wildflowers on Jones and Yellow Island.

Check out previous Photo Roundups here!

Title photo of pacific bleeding hearts (Dicentra formosa) with Thunder Arm and Sourdough Peak in background. Courtesy of Daniel Dubie

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