Lincoln Park has beautiful sights during the day.
But once darkness settles, under UV light, another layer shows itself.
Bark.
Moss.
Sap.
Fungi.
The Glow Walk is coming.
Details are on the West Seattle Wild calendar.
Seven of us headed into Fauntleroy Park this morning looking for dragons.
We never found one. The forest had other plans.
Instead, the forest handed us something better:
An abandoned hummingbird’s nest woven from moss, lichen, feathers, and spider silk.
A pair of brilliant blue millipedes that came alive under UV light.
Tiny insects.
Birdsong overhead.
Questions.
Good conversations.
And dozens of little details most people walked right past today.
That’s exactly why West Seattle Wild exists.
To help people discover what they’ve been walking past all along.
Every walk is different. Nature doesn’t follow an itinerary, and honestly, I wouldn’t want it to.
Thank you to everyone who joined today’s expedition.
I hope to see many of you again on July 11th for our Glow Walk at Lincoln Park.
Curious what’s next?
Westseattlewild.com/adventures-events/
Discover More. Look Closer.
I’ll be at the Barton St. entrance to Fauntleroy Park around 9:40 AM wearing an orange shirt and green hat.
Weather looks perfect: cool, dry, and calm.
Bring:
Camera or phone
Water
Comfortable shoes
Curiosity
We’ll move slow, stay together, and look for the tiny wildlife most people walk right past.
No lectures.
No rushing.
Just a different way of seeing the forest.
Sunday, June 28
10:00 AM
Fauntleroy Park
Meet at the Barton St entrance
See you in the woods.
Discover More. Look Closer.
Now comes the fun part.
Most people will walk through Fauntleroy Park this weekend and never realize they’re surrounded by tiny predators, aerial hunters, ambush artists, living jewels, and creatures that look like they belong in another world.
We’ll be looking closer.
No lectures.
No rushing.
Just curiosity, cameras, and a different way of seeing the forest.
If you’ve been thinking about joining us, this is the one.
🗓 Sunday 28th June
🕙 10:00 AM
🚙 Park and meet at Barton St.
📍 Fauntleroy Park
The dragons are waiting for you.
See you in the woods.
Discover More. Look Closer.
Meeting spot is Barton St!
One more thing to make Sunday easier:
🟢 Green = Parking
🔴 Red = Meet here (10:00 AM)
🟡 Yellow = Our planned route
We’ll move slowly, stop often, and look for the tiny wildlife almost everyone walks past.
No experience required. Bring curiosity, comfortable shoes, and a camera or phone if you’d like.
Sunday, June 28 • 10:00 AM
Fauntleroy Park
See you in the woods.
Discover More. Look Closer.
ONE WEEK OUT.
Here There Be Dragons.
Sunday, June 28 • 10:00 AM
Fauntleroy Park
Bring a camera. Bring curiosity.
We’ll be looking for the strange little monsters most people walk past.
Photographs count.
Observations count.
Curiosity counts.
West Seattle Wild
Discover More. Look Closer.
I tested a possible after-dark West Seattle Wild idea tonight: white sheet, UV light, blackberry hedge, and a little fruit bait.
I was only out for 45 minutes and it worked!
Ten-lined June beetles, moths, crane flies, lacewings, ground beetles, harvestmen, and tiny mystery insects all showed up.
Also: ten-lined June beetles hiss when gently picked up, which is absurd and wonderful.
Thinking about turning this into a small guided summer night event: blacklight sheet, bait station, photos, scavenger hunt, no collecting, no killing.
Would yall be interesting??
Solo scout today at Constellation.
No official outing this time, just checking what the beach reveals on a big low tide. Once I slowed down, the place started showing off: nudibranchs, feather tube worms, hidden fish, and crabs tucked into the edges.
This one has been a faithful location for West Seattle Wild low-tide walks, The very first in fact!
Which find is your favorite?
If enough people are into it, I’ll build the next tide-pool outing around the next strong minus tide.
This was a short trip, not a planned West Seattle Wild outing, but I couldn’t walk past lizards, iguanas, peacocks, bees, and tiny things hiding in the heat!
Spent the day around Vizcaya and the Blue Lagoon area chasing small wildlife in brutal heat:
iguanas in the stonework, anoles on leaves, peacocks showing off, bees in the flowers, and one tiny lizard wearing its shed skin like a bad crown.
Not the beach version of Miami. The stranger one. The greener one. The one hiding under leaves and staring back from the ruins.
I’ll be back in West Seattle soon, Wilders. More local walks, tide pools, creek shadows, insects, birds, and strange little finds coming soon!
It starts on Saturday but it's really low on Monday and Tuesday. The lower the number the better, but it starts dropping and stays low for long periods around the low point.
Constellation park is one of the best places in the entire city to check it out. During the winter we even saw Octopus free swimming. it will be crowded this week, so they might be hiding but it's an amazing chance to check out the normally hidden sea creatures.
Beach naturalists aren't scheduled to be out there, but they still have this handy guide so you know what you are seeing. For a freaky time... go under the condos and listen to the barnacles "sing".
https://www.seattleaquarium.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/FieldGuide2019-English.pdf
Just please remember - dogs aren't allowed on the beach and don't handle the wild life... even if it is hard shelled...
Also outside of west seattle the beach naturalists have some good guides
https://www.seattleaquarium.org/explore-the-aquarium/programs/beach-naturalist/
But i would also suggest - Rockaway on Bainbridge, Purdy Spit down by Tacoma, or Lions Park in Bremerton. All great choices as well - and honestly, at -4.23 almost everywhere is interesting...
Took my wife to hunt some dinosaurs. 🦖
We’ll be searching for dragonflies, damselflies, jumping spiders, hidden predators, and the tiny worlds most people never notice.
Free. Beginner friendly. Camera optional.
Old maps warned of monsters beyond the edge of the known world.
Turns out, they were right!
Strange little monsters are still hiding.
Let’s go find them.
📍 FAUNTLEROY PARK
🗓️ Sunday, June 28th.
🕰️ 10:00 A.M.
Bring a camera. Bring curiosity.
West Seattle Wild.
Discover More. Look Closer.
Four of us spent about three hours exploring Schmitz Preserve this beautiful morning.
What I enjoy most about these walks is that we aren’t trying to race through the trail or reach a destination. We slow down and see what we can find.
Look closer.
Today’s discoveries included a hidden bird nest tucked inside a tree cavity, spiders, slugs, insects, fungi, massive old-growth trees, and plenty of details most people walk past without noticing.
The best part for me was seeing familiar faces again. Every attendee today had joined a previous West Seattle Wild outing, which was an amazing thing to see!
Thanks to everyone who came out and shared photos, observations, and good conversation.
Our next West Seattle Wild meetup will be announced soon.
Sunday, June 7 at 10:00 AM
Meet at the Manning St SW entrance to Schmitz Preserve.(You will see wooden bears)
I will be wearing an orange fleece and green hat.
It’s an easy walk through old growth forest to the creek bridge/ravine and back.(1.5 miles approx.)
Birds, insects, wildlife and nature.
All experience levels welcome.
Today I found a sleepy bumblebee hiding in the leaves, a skeletonized leaf wrapped around horsetail, a ladybug on lavender, an orb weaver waiting patiently, and an old fishing float covered in barnacles that must have spent years drifting around Puget Sound.
Photography is starting to teach me that finding small, interesting things is about slowing way down.
Which is your favorite?
We all hate AI. But this should start our group talking about locations and adding new ones!
I thought I had photographed a dragonfly resting along the creek.
When I got home and zoomed in, I realized it was feeding on a damselfly.
…Look Closer…
One of those tiny moments that’s easy to walk past and never notice.
Longfellow Creek, West Seattle.
From Genesee to Alaska.
Damsels, Dragons, Anna (silently being judged)Stellar and flies!
Looking closer.
Weather permitting. More nature walk than photography if it’s raining.
