Fauna

SPECIES PRE-COLONIZATION

Records of the Native group inhabiting the area pre-colonization suggested that they lived off the fish that migrated into Lake Washington from the Cedar River and Black River (see “Mapes Creek Watershed & Fish” section). They also hunted waterfowl, small mammals, and the occasional larger visiting mammal.

Confluence of Cedar and Black Rivers, showing dam which will divert Cedar River toward Lake Washington, ca. 1899. Public domain. **Attribution:** **University of Washington: Special Collections**.

“If you look at what people ate five or six generations ago on an annual basis, there are hundreds of types of foods. Research now is showing that most Americans eat less than twelve foods on a regular basis. In this very short period of a couple of generations we've gone from eating an incredibly complex diet, eating with the seasons, eating many types of foods, to just eating a few.”

- ELISE KROHN, Traditional Foods Specialist, Northwest Indian College, via Burke Museum's Traditional Coast Salish Foods list

INTRODUCTION

Recent informal observations have spoken of raccoons, salamanders, frogs, an owl, and a number of other birds on-site. More formal reports have also been conducted through the years. The Critical Areas Study in 2010 was completed using “set observation points and a meandering assessment of the project site.”

Though Kubota Gardens is a different site, some of its wildlife may overlap due to its proximity. In May 2018, a garden excursion organized by the Kubota Garden Foundation and the National Wildlife Federation made observations of the species present. These have also been included in the list below, though some have been omitted by this list due to their lack of likelihood of being on our property.

Any species that were known to be traditional Coast Salish foods are labeled with [TRAD]. The reference comes from a Traditional Coast Salish Foods list compiled by Burke Museum, who compiled 30 food sources from a 2003 survey of 130 archeological sites in King, Kitsap, and Snohomish counties, along with information collected by Northwest Indian College from ethnographic accounts and Coast Salish elders, hunters, fishermen, and gatherers.

This section includes images of specimen fauna to aid in visual identification. These photos were not taken on yəhaw̓’s site unless otherwise noted.

FISH

No fish are presently on the site (see “Mapes Creek Watershed” section above), but it may have once provided a habitat suitable for them.

Historically, it was said that the S'kate'lbfab people “drew their livelihood primarily from the resources of Lake Washington.” The most important species they fished were “anadromous salmon and smelt stocks that migrated into the lake via the Duwamish and Black Rivers, in particular sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) and longfin smelt (Spirinchus thaleichthys), and resident fish populations of landlocked sockeye (also known as konakee), peamouth (Mylocheilus caurinus), whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis) and suckers (Catostomus macrocheilus).”

These fish were caught using spears and dip nets, especially at weir sites on the Black River and on the Lake’s tributaries. One of their fishing techniques “involved groups whipping the water at shallow stream mouths with fir branches and driving schools of fish upstream where they were caught in woven tube weirs.”

It is also likely that they may have caught crayfish and freshwater mussels in Lake Washington or occasionally migrated to other water bodies for sustenance.

BIRDS

Indigenous people hunted waterfowl in the area – particularly, large flocks of duck and geese that visited Lake Washington during spring and fall migrations. “The largest marshes were located at the southern end of the lake, at Mercer Slough and Union Bay, but hunting was doubtless carried out at smaller marshes located at Pritchard Island, Genesee Creek, at the isthmus of the Seward Peninsula and at Wetmore slough.”

The hunters “commonly built fires on beds of earth in the bows of their canoes and paddled out at night to the edges of the marsh. Attracted to the light, the birds were caught with large, multi-headed spears launched with an underhand toss. The spear's prongs lodged in the bird's feathers, enabling it to be pulled to the hunter.”

CONFIRMED SPECIES ON-SITE

The following species were observed on the yəhaw̓ in October 2009 during the Critical Areas Study. Those with asterisks (*) were also observed nearby at Kubota Gardens during their walk:

AMERICAN CROW *
(Corvus brachynchos)
TRADITIONAL FOOD
AMERICAN ROBIN *
(Turdus migratorius)
TRADITIONAL FOOD
BLACK CAPPED CHICKADEE
(Parus atricapillus)
DARK EYED JUNCO
(Junco hyemalis)
NORTHERN FLICKER
(Colaptes auratus)
RUFOUS-SIDED TOWHEE
(Pipilo erythrophthalmus)

BLACK CAPPED CHICKADEE *(Parus atricapillus)*

RUFOUS-SIDED TOWHEE *(Pipilo erythrophthalmus)*

POSSIBLY IN THE AREA

Other birds which may be expected to “feed, nest, rear, and seek cover throughout the varying plan communities within and adjacent to the project site” might be (again, the birds with a single asterisk (*) were only observed at Kubota Gardens, and those with two asterisks (**) were observed nearby at Kubota Gardens and in the Critical Areas Study):

CHESTNUT BACKED CHICKADEE (Parus rufescens)
MOURNING DOVE (Zenaida macroura)

Identified as a species considered a "Priority Species" by the State of Washington. These are "game species" regulated by the state through recreational hunting bag limits, harvest seasons, and harvest area restrictions.

ROCK DOVE (Columbia livia)
EAGLE (JUVENILE) **

BALD EAGLE (Haliaeetus leucocephalu)
TRADITIONAL FOOD

Identified species considered "State Sensitive" by the State of Washington. These are species that are native to the state and vulnerable to becoming endangered or threatened. While they were not seen on the site, they have been associated with Lake Washington nearby.

EVENING GROSBEAK (Hesperiphona vespertina)
PURPLE FINCH (Carpodacus purpureus)
COOPER’S HAWK * - nest seen at Kubota Gardens, and testimony from public comment suggested the site was a flyaway area for the hawk, which nests in Mapes Creek
GREAT BLUE HERON (Ardea herodias)
TRADITIONAL FOOD

Identified as a species considered "State Monitored" by the State of Washington. These are species that are Native to the start but require habitat that has limited availability, are indicators of environmental quality, require further assessment, have unresolved taxonomy, may be competing with other species of concern, or have significant popular appeal.
Suggested it may utilize the habitats within the onsite and offsite drainage corridor.

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK (Accipiter striatus)
TRADITIONAL FOOD
RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD (Selasphorus rufus)
MERLIN (Falco columbarius)

Identified as a species considered a "State Candidate" by the State of Washington. These are species that are under review by the State of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, for possible listing as endangered, threatened, or sensitive.

STELLAR’S JAY (Cyanocitta stelleri)
COMMON MALLARD (Anas platyrhynchos)
TRADITIONAL FOOD

Identified as a species considered a "Priority Species" by the State of Washington. These are "game species" regulated by the state through recreational hunting bag limits, harvest seasons, and harvest area restrictions.

RED BREASTED NUTHATCH (Sitta canadensis)
GOLDEN CROWNED SPARROW (Zonotrichia atricapilla)
SONG SPARROW (Melospiza melodia) **
WHITE CROWNED SPARROW (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
WHITE-THROATED SPARROW * - seen at Kubota Gardens
TREE SWALLOW (Tachycineta bicolor)
VIOLET GREEN SWALLOW (Tachycineta thallassina)
BEWICKS WREN *
HOUSE WREN *
MARSH WREN (Cistothorus palustirs)

EVENING GROSBEAK *(Hesperiphona vespertina)*

SHARP-SHINNED HAWK *(Accipiter striatus)*

MAMMALS

It is reported that the skah-TELB-shahbsh peoples around Rainier Valley hunted small mammals which frequented wetland environments, including beaver, muskrat, raccoon, weasel, and otters. Larger animals they hunted included deer, elk, and bear that occasionally visited the lowland valleys.

Mammal species observed (directly or indirectly) within the project site during the October 2009 Critical Areas Study – and have since been confirmed by yəhaw̓ staff – included:

RACCOON (Procyon lotor)
TRADITIONAL FOOD
COYOTE (Canis latrans)
TRADITIONAL FOOD

Mammal species that would be expected within the site potentially might include:

STRIPED SKUNK (Mephitis mephitis)
TRADITIONAL FOOD
SASTERN COTTONTAIL (Sylvilagus floridanus)
TRADITIONAL FOOD
OPOSSUM (Didelphis virginianus)
DEER MOUSE (Peromyscus maniculatus)
TRADITIONAL FOOD
VOLES (Microtus spp.)
TRADITIONAL FOOD
SHREW (Sorex spp.)
BATS (Myotis spp.)

**STRIPED SKUNK *(Mephitis mephitis)* - TRADITIONAL FOOD**

**DEER MOUSE *(Peromyscus maniculatus)* - TRADITIONAL FOOD**

AMPHIBIANS & REPTILES

Recent informal observations have stacked salamanders and frogs on-site. The October 2009 Critical Areas Study noted that habitats would potentially also be possible for:

PACIFIC TREEFROG (Hyla regilla)
RED LEGGED FROG (Rana aurora)
NORTHWESTERN SALAMANDER (Ambystoma gracile)
COMMON GARTER SNAKE (Thamnophis sirtalis)

NORTHWESTERN SALAMANDER *(Ambystoma gracile)*

INSECTS

The following were noted on the Kubota Gardens walk:

Dragonflies
Bumblebees
Water striders
Western tiger swallow-tail butterfly