Metro Parks and Nature Field Guide
GRAHAM OAKS NATURE PARK story by Sheilagh Diez PHOTOGRAPH BY Yuxing Zheng
Rising above an expanse of prairie, a lone tree’s gnarled branches reach in every direction. This heritage oak has been a witness to the history of this land, one filled with the complex relationship between people and place. Nestled in the suburban landscape of Clackamas County, Graham Oaks Nature Park offers a glimpse into oak prairie habitats once common across the Willamette Valley. Now, they cover only about 7 percent of their original while the Kalapuya leeched, ground young frogs. Recent restoration work range. into flour, and then cooked acorns for has increased the amount of water Oak prairies reflect the food. flowing to Arrowhead Creek, creating communities they support. The Along the southwest edge of the new habitat for sensitive species, such Kalapuya managed this land for park, pockets of towering old-growth as the red-legged frog. thousands of years and used seasonal Douglas firs invite visitors into a Returning to the prairie, birds flit fires to maintain vast open spaces for contrasting world of steep canyons about the sentinel tree. They come hunting and gathering practices. The blanketed in dense ferns and native for shelter when winter storms blow fires also supported a rich diversity of shrubs. Woodpeckers can often be through, and they find insects for native wildflowers that continue to heard in the dappled sunshine canopy. food in the crooks and crannies of draw unique pollinators from across On the eastern flank of the park, the bark. Like the gnarled branches the region to this day. songbirds flock to a wetland oasis filled of this heritage oak, Graham Oaks Western gray squirrels thrived on with insects and flowers. Springtime Nature Park knits together a mosaic of plentiful acorns for winter caches brings the omnipresent sound of habitats for local wildlife and people.
Be on the lookout!
PILEATED WOODPECKER MEADOW CHECKERMALLOW NORTHERN HARRIER
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Graham Oaks Nature Park t W W SW 0 1/4 1/2 miles metro parks and nature 1320 2640 Feet ille Rd Buttev Whether you’re in the mood for a short NE hike or a weekend camping trip, a boat ride or a picnic, Metro has a destination for you. IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD You’ll share the landscape with salmon The park is a short distance from the Wilsonville Family Fun Center, where visitors can play swimming in restored streams, birds streaking across the sky and giant, old oak laser tag, ride a roller coaster simulator or play arcade games. Refuel with a visit to Mc- trees towering overhead. Thanks to voters, Menamins Old Church & Pub, a family-friendly brewery in a historic, renovated church. you can explore 17,000 acres of parks, trails and natural areas across the Portland metropolitan region. season by season SPRING: Watch as amphibians emerge FALL: Stroll along the Legacy Creek trail and If you picnic at Blue Lake or take your kids from hiberna-tion and begin to breed. Listen enjoy the brilliant reds of vine maple leaves in to the Oregon Zoo, enjoy symphonies for the sounds of eager frogs along the the forest. As green pigments begin to break at the Schnitz or auto shows at the Arrowhead Creek trail. The familiar peeps so down, the red color shines through these convention center, put out your trash or drive your car – we’ve already crossed recognizable from common recordings belong small trees with their many pointed leaves. As paths. So, hello. We’re Metro – nice to to Pacific chorus frogs. Formerly known as the trail rejoins the prairie, search for the hid- meet you. tree frogs, these tiny creatures range from den wonders of oak galls. These large, round bright green to dusky brown, but all share and vaguely apple-like structures are caused Metro Council President dark masks across their eyes and take part in by chemicals injected by larva of certain gall Tom Hughes this vigorous spring chorus. wasps. Oak galls were once the main source Metro Councilors of ink from the middle ages through the early Shirley Craddick, District 1 SUMMER: Take the family for a bike ride along 20th Century, and they continue to fascinate Carlotta Collette, District 2 the first five miles of the Ice Age Tonquin Craig Dirksen, District 3 botanists and artists alike. Kathryn Harrington, District 4 Trail. Planned for an eventual 22 miles, this Sam Chase, District 5 paved trail will stretch from the banks of the WINTER: Watch northern harriers glide across Bob Stacey, District 6 Willamette River in Wilsonville through the the landscape on a crisp, clear morning. Auditor Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge to These unique raptors have disc-shaped faces Brian Evans Tualatin's Cook Park. Along the way, discover similar to owls that allow them to use hearing the scablands, rich wetlands and kolk ponds as well as sight when hunting. Identify them left by the ice-age Missoula floods. At Graham by their low flight above open lands and Oaks, enjoy a leisurely ride through the re- distinct white rump patch that’s obvious in Printed on recycled-content paper. 16050 stored prairie on a wide, paved trail. flight.