It wasn't until last week that I became aware of Dougan Falls. Dougan Falls is a pretty cataract on the nascent Washougal River, just upstream from where tiny Dougan Creek enters what, at this point, is just a modest stream.
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Our first look at Dougan Falls. Washougal, Wa.
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From the standpoint of arrival by car, it is 18 miles up country from the growing town of Washougal, Washington and marks the point where the road turns from well maintained macadam into gravel. Taking to the gravel, you can drive past Dougan Falls and continue up the road for anther four or five miles at which point you have effectively reached the headwaters of the Washougal River.
This means, that as the crow flies, Dougan Falls is less than 20 miles from where I sit, at the junction of I 205 and Washington 14, right across the river from PDX, an airport so iconic that Portlanders frequently refer to their pueblo by those letters.
At any rate, late last week my son and his lovely wife informed us that they were going for an after work picnic and swim at Dougan Falls, making it sound so idyllic that Sandra and I had to check it out at our earliest convenience. We chose to go on Sunday, which if you have been following the weather reports, was the first of two consecutive days when Portland set its all time high temperature record. It was 109 on Sunday and 114 on Monday. That's degrees Fahrenheit and holy cow was it hot. And that heat drove the locals to any source of cooling water they could find. Although Dougan Falls is at the end of 18 miles of the winding Washougal River Road, by 9:30 on Sunday morning the parking lot was virtually full.
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Was it the small Speyeria hydaspe circling my legs?
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Despite the number of people, Sandra and I had a wonderful time. The falls are quite lovely, as you can see from our pictures, and the sound of cascading water is everywhere in the park. As pleasing as all this was, what surprised us were the number of butterflies to be found in the area. On arrival, as I was changing into my hiking shoes, a small orange butterfly with black spots was doing circle eights around my legs. Soon we were seeing numerous white butterflies with gray markings and small dark butterflies that I thought might be a variety of skipper.
After looking at the falls, we decided to walk up the road away from the parking area, as many of the bathers were heading that direction. As it turns out, there is a trail leading down from the gravel road only 100 feet from the parking area that takes you to the rock shelf over which Dougan Creek plunges, hence you are just above the falls. We did not take that trail, but we did see a Mourning Cloak butterfly in the trees. This is a large chocolate brown butterfly with white margins. As it is introduced to Hawaii, I have been aware of this dramatic creature from the beginning of my career as a lepidopterist. It isn't one of the few that I have recorded in Hawaii and I harbored only a small hope that I would ever see this brown beauty.
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Clodius parnassian was flying all over the place
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Painfully aware that we did not possess the Discover Pass, which is required to
park at Dougan Falls and many other natural areas in Washington, we
moved on. Before leaving the area we stopped in the Dougan Creek campground. The
campground, presumably maintained by the DNR is small, clean and has a
host at the entrance, so possibly safe and quiet. There are other
restrooms and picnic tables nearer the falls, so unless you are camping,
this area has minimal appeal.
On our way down the mountain we
stopped at the Washougal River Mercantile, which is about 6 miles
downhill from the falls. At 11:30 there were two older ladies fixing a
pile of sandwiches. I commented that this was a good day to expect lots
of hungry tourists to which they replied with a smile, "There better
be!" We engaged a younger lady who had seen the business end of a few of those ham
and cheeses. Fixing us with a sunny smile, she was happy to
sell us a Discover Pass. 35 clams and we can have all the nature we can
choke down through next June.
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Your correspondent prepares to purchase his Discover Pass
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Back at the ranch, we repaired to the internet and made significant inroads identifying what we had seen. One butterfly, the Clodius Parnassus, was an easy identification. We had seen many of that species flying around the parking area. It is mostly gray and white, and it is listed as common in the remaining natural areas throughout most of North America. It has a distinctive wing pattern and, as you see in the pictures, a body covered in handsome yellow hairs. Sadly, we had better luck identifying the Clodius than with the other butterflies we had seen. For example, I had thought the little orange butterfly with black spots would be easy to identify. The internet produced several similar species, not even in the same genus.
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A dorsal view of the Silver Streak Skipper
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The butterfly watching had been so exciting that we were eager to go back and do some more work,; hopefully we could put some names on the unidentified butterflies. As there are lots of butterflies in western North America, some of them devilishly similar, good picture taking was going to be crucial. Obviously we needed a field guide, but that would be a future purchase.
On Tuesday the weather had started to cool. We arrived at Dougan Falls around 8:40, the first ones in the parking area. We had the place to ourselves for the next hour. While looking for butterflies and birds, we caught some pictures of the falls area sans tourists.
One might think that this riparian habitat would have been home to lots of singing birds in the late spring. This was hardly the case We saw Steller's Jays and crows and a couple song sparrows. We may have heard a solitary warbler high in the trees. If we had been birding,as opposed to looking at butterflies, we would have been extremely disappointed.
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A silver Streak Skipper perched among blackberry blossoms.
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On the road exiting the parking area to the north we had our first success of the day. With patience and practice, both Sandra and I produced pretty good pictures of a small butterfly with a hint of bronze in the wings. This turned out to be a Silver Streak Skipper. Like Clodius parnassian, this skipper is fairly common throughout much of North America. It is named for the white patch, which must look silver to someone, on the ventral surface of the front wing. We caught him nectaring on blackberry blossoms.
It was now about ten o'clock. We found ourselves chasing those little orange butterflies through the parking area, never getting close to one perching. At one point, as I chased a little orange butterfly, I spied a small blue butterfly in the same area. Foolishly, I thought that there might only be one blue butterfly in Southwest Washington. As it turns out, there are several, not all in the same genus. And one would do well to have a picture of the ventral surface of the wings if he hopes to put a name on one of these blues. After reviewing David Droppers A Dichotomous Key to the Blues of Washington State, I can report that if a butterfly is blue, its probably a male. Females of most blue species in the PNW have brown dorsal wing surfaces. The ventral surfaces are apparently the same in both sexes in most blue species. It is those intricately patterned undersides of the wings that will lead to the identification.
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Columbia Lillies, Lillium columbianum, Naked Falls Recreation Area
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One can put up with only so much repetition, so it was inevitable that we would climb into the faithful Mazda and go butterfly watching the American way. This sent us up the gravel road beside the gurgling Washougal, towards the Naked Falls Recreation Area. (At the Washougal River Mercantile you can purchase a I Swam at Naked Falls T-shirt.) Soon we were seeing both tiger swallowtail and Anise Swallowtail butterflies.
Just as we got to the first Naked Falls parking area, which is on private land and is posted to require a separate parking pass (who knows where you get the pass) we spotted some spectacular orange lilies. Here you see a picture.
Later, at the mercantile, I asked the local expert if he could identify the flowers. He said that he had picked them for his mother on occasion, but did not know the name, referring me to Mr. Google. Sure enough, Mr. G identified them as Columbia Lillies. In the name of conservation I suggest that you do not pick them for your mother. Rather, go to Safeway and buy her some flowers imported from Ecuador. They have cleared rain forest in Ecuador specifically for the purpose of providing your mother with flowers. Its the American Way.
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Clodius parnassium, Naked Falls Recreation Area
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On this road, every half mile was marked with a blaze. We crossed a bridge and parked in a car sized parking spot carved out of the forest. We were right beside the tree bearing the 2 1/2 mile blaze. In addition to the half mile marker, the tree bore a sign saying No Parking and Video Surveillance. Now I gotta ask you, if there is no parking, why the perfect spot, carved out of the forest, nestled in the tempting shade? Not only that, where the fuck was the video camera? Were they watching Sandra with a spy satellite?
Sometimes things are just too ridiculous. We parked, broke out our ham sandwiches and sugar cookies and enjoyed our lunch in the lovely shade with the tiny Washougal babbling its way towards Naked Falls. We might have flipped the spy camera the Indian Good Luck Sign, but it was nowhere to be seen.
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Is Clodius with his extended proboscis imitating a plague doctor!
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After Sandra finished her sandwich she walked across the road, where she found a bunch of daisies attracting our old friend Clodius. We found one perching most cooperatively. Please look carefully at the second picture and find the long proboscis extending into the heart of the daisy. Somehow, the butterfly with the long proboscis and the protruding eyes reminds me of the doctor of the Middle Ages and his beaked mask that was supposed to protect him from the plague.
Alternatively, could the butterfly with his extended proboscis be the inspiration for Gonzo the Muppet? Sadly, Jim Henson is no longer with us, so we will never know.
Finally it was time to head back. On our way upstream, I had noticed some plants similar to Queen Anne's Lace which I thought might be a host plant to the Anise Swallowtail. A mile or so down the road we spotted a clump and stopped for a picture. Sandra exclaimed as one of those small orange butterflies flashed by our windshield. Then, as she was taking pictures of the lacy plant, she spotted a small fritillary butterfly perching.
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Edith's Checkerspot, Euphydryas editha June 2021
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We disembarked and got closer and closer. The little fellow was fearless and we were treated to the shots you see here. This is an Edith's Checkerspot, a beloved butterfly for the fans of the western lepidoptera. It is found from BC to Baja. As with many butterflies, a large number of subspecies have been identified and the spot pattern is different for each.
It was a happy coincidence that we got this wonderful opportunity at the same time that we had achieved synergy with our Panasonic Lumix. I hope you enjoy these two pictures as much as we do.
jeff
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Edith's Checkerspot lateral. Naked Falls Recreation Area
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Dougan Falls Sunrise
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