Green Lake, WA. 2012/4/21

Green Lake. 15:00. Today was a truly gorgeous day to be outside and enjoying nature. Hardly a cloud in the sky and 15C weather are good enough for me, especially considering how poor the weather has been in recent months. My girlfriend and I decided to go on a walk around Green Lake to get some sun, and I figured it would be an excellent reason to journal. While Green Lake is in a distinctly urban area, it is still a good resource for local flora and fauna to thrive. It took about an hour to walk around the lake at a slow pace (I found out that walking and writing is a difficult task) and during the walk I saw a variety of species. First off, I saw a Raccoon (Procyon lotor) running across Green Lake Way towards the park with something in its mouth as we were approaching the lake. The object appeared to be red and crumpled, but it was moving too quickly to tell.

As soon as we approached the lake, I saw a Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) on a rock airing its wings out. It had bright green eyes and looked quite wet from a recent dive into the water. It was not eating at the time I saw it. I saw a two groups of Mallard Ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) swimming near the shore. It appeared that they were looking for scraps of food from people eating near the water. One group consisted of an adult female and 10 offspring, and the other group consisted of an adult female and 9 offspring. As I looked at the ducks I noticed several large Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio) near the shore.

The trees around Green Lake are numerous. They are mainly deciduous, and include many foreign introduced species, such as white and red Japanese Cherry Trees (Prunus serrulata), which are extraordinarily beautiful at this time of the year. It looks like they will be shedding their blossoms very soon though. There are a large number of Red Alder (Alnus rubra) and Bigleaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum) here as well along the path.

Red Alder (Alnus rubra)
Japanese Cherry Trees (Prunus serrulata)
Bigleaf Maple (Acer macrophyllum)

Raccoon (Procyon lotor)

Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus)
Mallard Ducks (Anas platyrhynchos)

Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio)

Posted on 30 April, 2012 09:29 by ablevins