Hamilton Wetlands and Forest

 During our recent visit to Hamilton Wetlands and Forest   the threatening weather held off.  There's been enough rain to nurture a variety of fungi, but the woods still look dry, the deciduous bracken ferns have dried, and the water level in the Marsh continues to sink. We've had two reports of bear sightings in recent weeks.  Although we've yet to see one, there is certainly evidence of their activity in the Forest.  They're pulling bark off trees and tearing stumps apart in search of grubs.   A variety of fungi have emerged. Some mushrooms in groups, some singly or in pairs. Brittlegills, as is true of many of the genus russula , are strikingly coloured.   A panther agaric was just emerging. Miniscule mushrooms emerge from fir cones. Two new species of polypore (to me, at least) have appeared.   I stand to be corrected, but I think this is Dyer's polypore--apparently emerging from the ground, from the root of a nearby conifer. Red-belted conks appear in a variety

  A fine day of with intermittent cloud.  The mosses became radiant in the sunlight. Huckleberry vines glow in the forest's light. It is becoming the season for slugs to feast on fungi. The emerging variety of fungi is striking.   Panther amanita are among the most toxic of all mushrooms.  Pear-shaped puffballs are reportedly delicious.  Perhaps one day I'll cook some, but only after a true expert has identified them.  Until then, I'll just enjoy observing them. Witches butter and staghorn jelly fungus are appearing on deciduous wood accompanied by turkey tails. Snails don't seem common in this forest, but they are present. The water level continues to drop in the Marsh. The harrier was present again, hunting back and forth over the extent of the marsh.  After her time hunting, the she stooped, and was no longer visible.  It's possible that she had captured some small creature in the sedges and was feeding.   The alders along the Marsh are starting to show golden. W

  A glorious autumn day in the Forest and Estuary. Again, the loop path was dry and reasonably clear.  It offered much to be seen.   A new term appeared in the press recently:  "komorebi" is Japanese for sunlight filtering through leaves.  It's something we've observed and photographed often in the Forest. Perhaps hemlock is particularly adept at showing komorebi because of the structure of its needles: Cedar and its moss are also a fine source: For the first time, we were able to see the tiny cones characteristic of hemlock.  The reader may need to enlarge this photo to see the cones. First Nations folk tell how hemlock's cones became so tiny:  The Creator was distributing cones among the assemblage of trees.  Hemlock was very pushy and crowded to the front of the gathering, "Me!  Me!  Give me the best cones!" .  The Creator disapproves of pushy behaviour and ignored Hemlock, leaving him until last to receive cones.  Only little cones were left.   An ae