Interpretive Trail Guide

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Interpretive Trail Guide Plants and Animals Found at The Tacoma Nature Center Welcome The Tacoma Nature Center is a 70-acre nature preserve encompassing The trails through this 70-acre Trees Birds Snake Lake and the surrounding wetlands preserve traverse open water, Sitka Alder Canada Goose Chestnut-backed and forest. Stroll nature trails to experience wetlands and forested hillsides. Oregon Ash Wood Duck Chickadee native birds, animals and plants. Join in Cascara Buckthorn Gadwall Bushtit Black Cottonwood American Wigeon Red-breasted Nuthatch exciting nature programs and summer Douglas Fir Mallard Brown Creeper day camps. Learn about landscaping with Pacific Madrone Northern Shoveler 5 Bewick’s Wren native plants and purchase them here May Scouler Willow Bufflehead Pacific Wren 7 6 through September. To help protect this Garry Oak Common Goldeneye Golden-crowned Kinglet 8 special place, please: Hooded Merganser Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4 Shrubs & Groundcovers Discover nature by joining in… 6 7 • Smoke only off park property Red Elderberry Pied-billed Grebe Swainson’s Thrush • School group programs Viewpoint Loop Viewpoint 8 • Use the trails without dogs or Clustered Wildrose Great Blue Heron Hermit Thrush • Summer day camps Osprey cats along Indian Plum American Robin • Nature classes for all ages Bald Eagle • Leave bicycles with your vehicle Oceanspray Varied Thrush • Homeschool science programs Cooper’s Hawk or locked in bike rack Tall Oregon Grape European Starling • On-site Nature Preschool 3 Sharp-shinned Hawk Douglas Spirea Cedar Waxwing • Scout adventures • Take out only what you take in Red-tailed Hawk Black Twinberry Yellow-rumped Warbler • Birthday parties Interpretive Trail Guide 5 2 • Stay on designated trails Glaucous-winged Gull Make a difference in your 9 Evergreen Huckberry Black-throated • Special events own neighborhood! Protect • Enjoy watching the birds and Rock Pigeon Gray Warbler 2 Orange Honeysuckle • Volunteer opportunities wetlands and prevent 3 other animals without Barn Owl Wilson’s Warbler pollution… 1 Baldhip Rose feeding them Beaked Hazelnut Barred Owl Yellow Warbler Visit the indoors… • Pick up pet poop, bag it, and place it 4 1 Common Snowberry Anna’s Hummingbird Spotted Towhee • Gift shop in the trash Belted Kingfisher 6 Red Huckleberry Fox Sparrow • Small animal displays • Fix vehicle leaks False Lily-of-the-valley Downy Woodpecker Song Sparrow • Wetland & wildlife discovery exhibits • Wash cars at a commercial car wash, 7 Northern Flicker White-crowned • Conference/meeting hall (available for rent) Hillside Loop ExtensionHillside Loop Salal or in the grass Olive-sided Flycatcher Sparrow • Minimize use of chemicals in your 5 Trailing Blackberry Explore outside… 8 Dwarf Oregon Grape Western Wood-Pewee Golden-crowned lawn and garden 9 • Nature Trails Pacific-slope Flycatcher Sparrow Sword Fern • Plant trees Loop • Discovery Pond play area Meadow Warbling Vireo 4 Creeping Snowberry Dark-eyed Junco • Find out more at Bracken Fern Cassin’s Vireo Western Tanager www.PugetSoundStartsHere.org 10 Hutton’s Vireo Black-headed Grosbeak 3 Mammals Steller’s Jay Red-winged Blackbird Nature Center Hours Red fox American Crow Brown-headed Cowbird Monday through Saturday, 9 AM to 4 PM 11 Coyote 2 Common Raven Purple Finch Trails open 8 AM to sunset year-round Raccoon Violet-green Swallow House Finch 1 Virginia Opossum Barn Swallow Pine Siskin Eastern Cottontail 12 Cliff Swallow American Goldfinch Douglas Squirrel Black-capped Chickadee House Sparrow Eastern Gray Squirrel Townsend’s Chipmunk Discover this wildlife oasis Norway Rat Let us know if you spot something not on this list. in the heart of Tacoma Deer Mouse Vagrant Shrew 1919 S. Tyler Street Self-guided Wetland Walk First Bridge Loop Trail (.5 mile) Townsend’s Mole Tacoma, WA 98405 Black-tailed Deer 253.591.6439 Self-guided History Walk Amphibians/Reptiles Near Cheney Stadium off Hwy 16 www.TacomaNatureCenter.org Outdoor Access Route (.5 mile one way) Pacific Tree Frog (Chorus Frog) Bullfrog The Tacoma Nature Center is dedicated to enhancing our understanding and appreciation Second Bridge Loop Trail (1 mile) Long-toed Salamander of the natural world through education and recreation. Northwest Salamander Self-guided Forest Walk Rough-skinned Newt Western Painted Turtle Please record your wildlife sightings on the daily nature Partners in Education with Tahoma Audubon Society Hillside Loop Trail (.65 mile) Hillside Loop Extension (.25 mile) Common Garter Snake observation chart located at the information desk Northwestern Garter Snake inside the Nature Center to add to our knowledge of A facility of Metro Parks Tacoma In partnership with 25% Viewpoint Loop (.15 mile) Meadow Loop (.2 mile) Cert no. XXX-XXX-XXXX Northern Alligator Lizard what species are using the park each month. Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium and Northwest Trek Wildlife Park 253.591.6439 www.TacomaNatureCenter.org Self-guided Wetland Walk Self-guided History Walk Self-guided Forest Walk 1 What is a Wetland? – A wetland is any place where the land is wet for a portion 7 Volunteer Bridge – Step across this 1 Rock Wall – This pile of rocks is evidence of the Tacoma Nature Center’s long history and 1 Shady Characters – As you climb this small hill, notice of the year, so the area is considered a wetland, even though it may not contain water tiny foot bridge and thank the many continuing tradition of habitat restoration and conservation. Rocks were piled here to serve all the changes around you- the temperature may be cooler, year-round. Tree and shrub species such as willow and Douglas spiraea, thrive in these volunteers who helped construct it and as reptile habitat in order to encourage and increase the biodiversity of the preserve. How it may be a bit darker and maybe even dryer. That’s because moist, poorly drained soils. These porous soils soak up rain water and release it slowly this new section of trail. Countless hours can you improve wildlife habitat in your yard or neighborhood? you are entering a predominately Douglas fir forest, with trees into the lake. What do you think would happen during the rainy months if this area were went in to planning, acquiring land, clear- with densely growing needles creating lots of shade. This 2 Historical Uses – Imagine this area as it may have looked 200 years ago, when paved instead? All of the water in Snake Lake comes from the neighborhoods around the ing trails and much more in order to gain shade affects everything that grows here, encouraging some members of the Puyallup and Nisqually Tribes lived near here. Snake Lake and the park. Small streams used to feed the lake but now all the water is channeled in through access to this special habitat. Do you want species and deterring others. What would happen over time if surrounding area would have been a treasure trove of resources. Tall reeds and grasses the storm drain system. to make a difference in your community? Douglas fir trees closed the canopy? were used to make mats to place on the ground and walls of their dwellings, Berries, bulbs Volunteer! 2 Water Lovers – It’s no wonder explorers sought out these trees when they were thirsty. and tender shoots were important food sources. How do humans continue to use wetland 2 “Litter” Critters – Look down at the ground. It is covered with litter – leaf litter. This Cottonwoods love water, so the sight of one of these tall, majestic beauties is often a sign 8 Nurse Stumps – Two very different resources for food and shelter? organic debris rots and decays and supports new life, including flowers, trees and fungi. of a drink. These are common wetland trees, easily identified by their triangular, or deltoid, stumps can be seen in this area. One Animals benefit from the insects, seeds and roots that spring from this cluttered ground. 3 Filling In – In this area, the dominant plants are shaped leaves. Their root systems are shallow, however, so they can blow over in heavy stump has a small salal plant growing Some kinds of litter, however, are unwelcome and harmful to wildlife. Can you think of Douglas spiraea and willow. Douglas spiraea can storms, creating habitat and nutrients in the form of nurse logs! out of it. We call this a nurse stump, ways to encourage people not to litter? be 5-8 feet tall with a fuzzy pink flower cluster. The because the nutrients in the decaying 3 Duck Habitat – Wetlands like this one provide important willow is 6-40 feet tall with alternating elongated 3 New Life from Old – This dead standing tree is useless, right? Wrong. This is a snag, stump help nurse along seeds and young nesting and rearing habitat for a variety of waterfowl. Canada leaves 1-3 inches long. Willow branches were useful and snags like this one provide homes and food for wildlife, even though they are no plants that fall and grow there. A little geese, mallards, shovelers, wood ducks, common goldeneyes, for native people for fashioning nets­­ – perfect for longer living trees. Woodpeckers, squirrels, owls and insects all benefit from snags. How farther down the trail is another stump bufflehead and hooded mergansers have all been spotted here, catching fish living nearby! Douglas spiraea and many snags can you count in this forest? riddled with holes. This stump also and may use the wetland in different ways. Cavity nesters, like willow grow in dense thickets and over time can fill provides nutrition, but for bugs and the 4 Lonely Oaks – Heading along the switchbacks, you will find two elongated Oregon wood ducks and mergansers, benefit from the nesting boxes in a wetland, helping it evolve from a wetland to a birds that eat them. What would a forest white oaks, also called Garry oaks. This is the north end of what was a large oak prairie around the lake, while other ducks and geese build nests in the meadow or forest.
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