Wildlife
Elk Facts
Weight: 400-1100 lbs.
Height: 4-5 ft.
Total Length: 6-8 ft.
Description: The summer coat is generally golden brown. The winter coat is longer and grayish brown. The head, neck and legs are darker brown, and there is a large yellowish rump patch.
Bull Elk starts growing antlers in their second year. By the fourth year, a bull’s antlers typically bear six points. These antlers are shed in March, with new ones beginning to grow in April and maturing in August.
Habitat: Elk prefer upland forest, logged areas, and grasslands. They tend to move to higher elevations in the spring and lower elevations in the fall. In wild areas the Elk are active during the daytime. However, in areas of high human activity they become nocturnal.
Food: Elk are adaptable grazers. Woody plants and fallen leaves form much of their winter diet. Sedges and grasses make up much of their spring and summer diet. Salt is a necessary component for all animals that chew cud; Elk will travel large distances to devour salt-rich soil. In high population areas Elk will graze on golf courses, farm fields and residential yards.
Young: A cow Elk gives birth to a single calf between late May and early June, following a eight and a half month gestation period. The calf will stand and nurse within an hour of birth. The calf will be weaned in the fall.
Local Viewing: Elk can be viewed in multiple locations within the Snoqualmie Valley. Here are a few suggestions: Rattlesnake Lake, Mt. Si Golf Course, Cascade Golf Course, Meadowbrook Farm.
By Julie Nelson Education Center Volunteer
Common Loons On Rattlesnake Lake and Chester Morse Lake
Breeding Grounds
- Lakes and ponds
- One brood per season
Courting and territorial rituals
- Bill dipping, splash diving or surface diving followed by search swimming and inviting
- “Penguin dancing” birds raise up into a vertical position with wings spread
- Yodel calls signal territorial ownership
Nests
- On aquatic vegetation at the edge of shallow water which can be a problem when the lake has a fluctuating level.
- Nests built by male and female.
- The loon has legs set very far back on their bodies so walking on land is almost impossible hence, they build a platform-type nest big enough for the bird to land on with or without a depression to hold eggs.
Eggs
- Colored olive brown/green with black or brown markings
- Eggs are about 3" in diameter
- Usually 1-2 eggs per brood
- Most common mating system is monogamous for one season - one male mates with one female
- Incubation
- Both parents incubate eggs
- 26-31 days incubation period to hatching
- Young are mobile at hatching but remain at nest and swim to nursery pools for feedings
- Flying from nest happens 75-80 days after hatching
- Young are tended by both parents
Food
- During the breeding season they feed at a “nursery pool” located some distance from the nest.
- They eat small fish and aquatic invertebrates like snails, shrimp or crayfish
- Food is pursued and swallowed underwater
Young
- Incubation occurs as the eggs are laid resulting in asynchronous hatching. This draws the hatching period out over several hours or days
- Downy chicks ride on the backs of swimming parents
- Learn to swim after two days
Conservation Issues
- Loss of nesting habit
- Acid rain threatens lake fish used as food
- Boaters scaring birds from nests leaving the eggs vulnerable to predators
- Loons will use artificial platforms
Other Interesting Information
- Loon nursery pools are where they feed. They are located at water’s edge where the lake bottom drop off in steep enough to allow underwater arrival and departure for adults. Water should be clear to spot their prey yet shallow enough to limit the size of predators. There needs to be a rich food supply to feed chicks for 11 weeks. Chicks swim to the nursery pool two days after hatching.
- Young chicks are transported on the backs of their parent. They use their bills to clamp down on the feathers of the transporter. This way they can ride down underwater as well as on the water surface.
By Susan Rafanelli Education Center Volunteer
Coho Salmon
Oncorhynchus kisutch
Other names: silver
Average size: 6-12 lbs, up to 31 lbs
Fall spawner
Coho are a very popular sport fish in Puget Sound. This species uses coastal streams and tributaries, and is often present in small neighborhood streams. Coho can even be found in urban settings if their needs of cold, clean, year-round water are met.
Spawning: Coho spawn in small coastal streams and the tributaries of larger rivers. They prefer areas of mid-velocity water with small to medium sized gravels. Because they use small streams with limited space, they must use many such streams to successfully reproduce, which is why coho can be found in virtually every small coastal stream with a year-round flow.
Returning coho often gather at the mouths of streams and wait for the water flow to rise, such as after a rain storm, before heading upstream. The higher flows and deeper water enable the fish to pass obstacles, such as logs across the stream or beaver dams, that would otherwise be impassable.
Rearing: Coho have a very regular life history. They are deposited in the gravel as eggs in the fall, emerge from the gravel the next spring, and in their second spring go to sea, about 18 months after being deposited. Coho fry are usually found in the pools of small coastal streams and the tributaries of larger rivers.
Source: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Sockeye Salmon
Oncorhynchus nerka
Other names: red salmon, blueback (Columbia and Quinault Rivers), kokanee or "silver trout" (landlocked form)
Average size: 5-8 lbs, up to 15 lbs
Fall spawner
Sockeye are the most flavorful Pacific salmon. In Washington, sockeye are found in Lake Washington, Baker Lake, Ozette Lake, Quinault Lake, and Lake Wenatchee.
Spawning: Sockeye are unique in that they require a lake to rear in as fry, so the river they choose to spawn in must have a lake in the system. This seems to be the most important criteria for choosing a spawning ground, as sockeye adapt to a range of water velocities and substrates.
Large rivers that supplied sufficient room for spawning and rearing historically supported huge runs of sockeye, numbering into the millions. One such run still exists today on the Adams River in British Columbia, a tributary to the Fraser River. The Canadian government has built viewing platforms for visitors, and annual runs of over a million
Rearing: Juvenile sockeye rear for one or two years in a lake, although they are also found in the inlet and outlet streams of the lake. Sockeye fry are often preyed on by resident lake fish, and because they use freshwater year-round, they are susceptible to low water quality.
Source: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Steelhead
Oncorhynchus mykiss
Other names: steelhead trout, sea-run rainbow trout
Average size: 8-11 lbs, up to 40 lbs
Spring spawner: summer and winter runs
Steelhead and rainbow trout are the same species, but rainbow are freshwater only, and steelhead are anadromous, or go to sea. Unlike most salmon, steelhead can survive spawning, and can spawn in multiple years.
Spawning: Steelhead spawn in the spring. They generally prefer fast water in small-to-large mainstem rivers, and medium-to-large tributaries. In streams with steep gradient and large substrate, they spawn between these steep areas, where the water is flatter and the substrate is small enough to dig into. The steeper areas then make excellent rearing habitat for the juveniles.
Like chinook, steelhead have two runs, a summer run and a winter run. Most summer runs are east of the Cascades, and enter streams in summer to reach the spawning grounds by the following spring. A few western Washington rivers also have established runs of summer steelhead. Winter runs spawn closer to the ocean, and require less travel time.
Rearing: Steelhead fry emerge from the gravel in summer and generally rear for two or three years in freshwater, occasionally one or four years, depending on the productivity of the stream. Streams high in the mountains and those in northern climes are generally less productive. Due to their faster growth, hatchery steelhead smolt at one year of age.
Fry use areas of fast water and large substrate for rearing. They wait in the eddies behind large rocks, allowing the river to bring them food in the form of insects, salmon eggs, and smaller fish.
Source: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
Chinook Salmon
Oncorhynchus tshawytscha
Other names: king, tyee, blackmouth (immature)
Average size: 10-15 lbs, up to 135 lbs
Fall spawner: fall, spring, and summer runs
Chinook salmon are the largest of the Pacific salmon, with some individuals growing to more than 100 pounds. These huge fish are rare, as most mature chinook are under 50 pounds. Chinook spawning in the Cedar River usually peaks in early to mid- October and continues through mid- to late November.
Spawning: Chinook tend to spawn in the mainstem of streams, where the water flow is high. Because of their size they are able to spawn in larger gravel than most other salmon.
Chinook spawn on both sides of the Cascade Range, and some fish travel hundreds of miles upstream before they reach their spawning grounds. Because of the distance, these fish enter streams early and comprise the spring and summer runs. Fall runs spawn closer to the ocean and more often use small coastal streams. All chinook reach their spawning grounds by fall, in time to spawn.
Rearing: Chinook fry rear in freshwater from three months to a year, depending on the race of chinook and the location. Spring chinook tend to stay in streams for a year; fish in northern areas, where the streams are less productive and growth is slower, also tend to stay longer. Rearing chinook fry use mainstems and their tributaries.
Source: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
