October, 2020
January, 2021
March, 2021
April, 2021
Part of what makes nature amazing to me is how much it can change in such a short amount of time. Only a few months ago, this forest was quieted by the chill of winter, but now it is coming back to life. Flowers are blooming, birds are singing, toads are chirping, and the fungi are fruiting. Life is returning to the forest at last.
This post is meant to document a walk through one of my favorite forests and mushroom hunting grounds. The diversity of new and old-growth forest, marshy bogs, and sandy slopes provide a wide variety of habitat for a variety of species both native and migratory and has solidified this particular forest as one of my personal favorites.
The undulating slopes of this region were carved out by the tremendous weight exerted by the advance and eventual retreat of glaciers up to 1 mile thick around 10,000 years ago. Only the strongest of stones were capable of surviving, evidenced by the many out-of-place granite boulders that dot the forest floor to this day; the remainder were ground into the fine sands that came to form the surrounding sloped terrain.
This week, I decided to stick the forest wetlands to see what new life was taking root in these first few weeks of Spring. I was not disappointed :)
Attached are my observations from my hike along with my assumed species identifications. As always, feel free to correct me on my identifications if you believe I am mistaken!
Plants
Eastern skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus):
Spring beauties (Claytonia sp.):
Marsh marigold (Caltha palustris):
Yellow trout lily (Erythronium americanum):
Mayapple (odophyllum peltatum):
Amphibians
Green frog (Lithobates clamitans):
Eastern grey tree frog (Hyla versicolor):
Fungi
Artist's bracket (Ganoderma applanatum):
Lumpy bracket (Trametes gibbosa):
Hairy bracket (Trametes hirsuta):
False turkeytail fungus (Stereum ostrea):
Fomitiporia sp. (Fomitiporia tsugina?):
Birds
Tufted titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor):
Downy woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens):
Mute swan (Cygnus olor):
Canadian goose (Branta canadensis):
Ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris):
Red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus):
Common grackle (Quiscalus quiscula):
Mourning dove (Zenaida macroura):
Animals
WANTED: Seed thief (Sciurus niger)
Thank you for walking with me.
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