Search trip reports
untitled-12.jpg

Trip Report    

Moss Workshop Field Trip - Seattle - Redmond Watershed Preserve

In the 9 a.m. cohort for today's Moss Workshop I came away with a much better understanding of how to identify lowland winter mosses, lichens, and liverworts with beautiful dry conditions and (bonus!) 15 bird species as well.

Courtenay Schurman Courtenay Schurman
February 28, 2026
  • Road suitable for all vehicles

  • I arrived at 8:45 hoping to do a very quick birding walk and was not disappointed - 15 species in ten minutes. The parking lot looked full when I left at 11:30 but if you continue in the loop there is far more parking than it looks, initially. There were a few other non-Mountaineers visitors but with workshops happening at 9, 11, and 1 probably most of the cars were for the workshop.

    No need for the restroom, although there was one. No parking permit required either.

This was a new-to-me area of the PNW and a delightful little preserve with a small lake (15 bird species!) and well-kept nature trails bursting with mosses, lichens, and liverworts. My goal was to come away with 3 new-to-me I could hopefully identify in the future. Here's my effort: Curly heron's-bill (maybe with my birding knowledge that one will "take"), wolf lichen, and palm tree moss. Badge moss might be a close fourth. Oh, and broken-leaf moss. Guess I learned more than I realized!

untitled-2.jpg

I don't think I'll ever see a trail the same way again, especially with badge moss, fan moss, palm tree moss, broom moss, and more clambering for attention. The greens are subtle, and within one limb we could find 3-4 types of mosses. Incredible viewing them through a hand-loupe.

untitled-3.jpg

This was a very well-coordinated field trip with wonderfully knowledgeable volunteers. Like my first birding trip ever, I could tell after an hour that my brain was bursting and I wouldn't be able to absorb much more - similarly on Thursday night with the online portion.

untitled-5.jpg

But everyone was so encouraging, knowledgeable, and willing to share 40x loupes (they make a huge difference) for learning. Wonderful time and great weather. Bonus was the birdsong. Birdcast.org goes live for spring migration March 1.