Subject: [Tweeters] Subject: Re: Seattle vertebrates
Date: Aug 15 12:53:17 2006
From: Scott Atkinson - scottratkinson at hotmail.com


Tweeters:

Don't know if present-day Shoreline fits the bill of within Seattle, and I'm
a bit past the last ten year limit, but here goes. I grew up in Lake Forest
Park and had occasion to make special efforts to find reptiles and
amphibians, while also fishing a number of the lesser-known creeks across
what is now called Shoreline, during the 1970s. For Allyn Weak's list, I
found all but W. Rough-skinned Newt (although locally abundant in some lakes
not far away) and W. Red-backed Salamander. Ensatina was the most common
salamander then, pretty regular in rotting firewood piles (a preferred site)
or under various debris in the forest. I remember finding Northwestern
Salamander (Ambystoma gracile) at several sites in early spring. Once I was
digging out the sediment buildup in one of the ponds we had at 18944 40th
Place, and ended up accidentally injuring one of two huge (10"-12" long)
Pacific Giant Salamanders (Dicamptodon ensatus) apparently accessing the
muck via subterranean burrows. We nursed the one back to health before
releasing.

I found it difficult to find N. Alligator Lizards, but do recall that there
were a couple sites near Shoreline CC and St. Luke's School. I never saw W.
Fence Swift in the area, only recalling them from the s. end of the Toandos
Peninsula near Quilcene. Among the mammalia, the only notable species I
recall from Lake Forest Park was a N. Flying Squirrel that the cat brought
in one evening; after release it scaled a tree and glided off.

Scott Atkinson
Lake Stevens
mail to: scottratkinson at hotmail.com