Author Archives: Tony Moreno

Back to School: Canyon Tours and Tree Tours!

New to the canyon? Curious about what's going on down there? As part of new student orientation, Zac Perry will be leading a tour of the canyon on Wednesday, August 27th. The one-hour walk will start at the fish ladder… Continue reading

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Seen any spraints?

Another interesting bit about river otters, taken from Cascade-Olympic Natural History by Daniel Mathews: Fishermen here see otters regularly. Look on riverbanks and lakeshores for otters' easily recognized slides, tracks or "spraints." The latter are fecal scent-markers placed just out… Continue reading

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River Otter in the Canyon!

For all you readers bored with notes about chicory, here's canyon news of a livelier sort: We may have a river otter in the lake! Zac Perry tells me he saw a river otter near the fishladder entrance the other… Continue reading

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Who let the frogs out?

I just got a note from Lee Hallagan, class of '03, this afternoon. Lee wrote his Reed thesis on the reintroduction of the Pacific treefrog (Hyla regilla) into the canyon. As part of that thesis, Lee did a habitat… Continue reading

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American Bittern

Check out this great picture of an American Bittern sitting in a Doug fir:     The photo was taken by Mac McKinlay ’67 in the lower canyon in late July. Has anyone else seen this bird? It doesn’t show… Continue reading

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Green-Backed Heron

I saw a green-backed heron again today, under the cross-canyon bridge. It seems to be a very skittish bird. Great blue herons don't like human company, but they're sly enough to stand still and disappear into the scenery when humans… Continue reading

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Chicory

Residents of the RCAs are walking to school through fields of blooming chicory at this time of year. You can see the bright blue flowers in all of the waste areas around the community gardens and there's just a bit… Continue reading

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Tree-of-Hell

As I was walking along the gravel path by the rugby field today, I noticed that we have a tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima) growing on the edge of the canyon. Ailanthus was considered an exotic Asian beauty when it was first… Continue reading

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Osprey

This tuesday, as the thunderstorms rolled in, I saw what looked like a seagull. As it flew closer, and began circling over the Anna Mann lawn, I could the see how much larger the wing span was and that the… Continue reading

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Invasive Species Weblog

If you have an interest in the invasive species we're fighting here at Reed, you might want to visit the Invasive Species Weblog to learn more about the subject. Blog owner Jennifer Forman posts almost-daily updates about the various battles… Continue reading

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