12 October

 

There really is no such thing as an indifferent visit to the Hamilton Wetlands and Forest, but Saturday was exceptional.  The brilliantly clear sunlight illumined the forest,  initially from a low angle as the sun moves to the south seasonally.  

As I set out, I realised with a bit of a cringe that it was the autumn Big Day for birders, which likely meant that the paths would be filled with talkative folks.  I've nothing against birders (duh--I am one, after all), but the amount of blether that accompanies a Big Day unfortunately reduces the number of birds that will emerge to be recorded.  

As luck would have it, there were only two groups of any size in the Forest, both young and enthusiastic and --oh well--vocal.

At the point where the path branches off to the loop, I hesitated, and saw that the first group was headed straight to the dock.  Fine, I thought, and made my way to the branched path.

The sun set the hemlock aglow.

New fungus appeared along the branch route.

These look like oyster mushrooms, but the thick coating on the tree trunk seems unusual.

Our Arrowsmith Naturalist fungus expert tells me that this is likely Pycnoporellus alboluteus (aka orange sponge polypore), being overgrown by a Penicillium.  (Thanks, Terry!)

They, the polypore, penicillium, and orange jelly fungus, only appeared in this association on one log that I saw in the Forest.  It's pretty distinctive.  (BTW: if viewers click on the image, they should see a bigger, more detailed version.)  

Shortly after the orange polypore, I met up with the group of young birders headed in the opposite direction around the loop.  They said they hadn't really seen much apart from a "few songbirds."  Oh well.  We went our ways and almost immediately I heard a red-breasted sapsucker working his way up a tree trunk.

The light was really bad, but I managed this:

Further along the path, a patch of liverwort,

and a mysterious jelly fungus, with a slug dining on it.

The big-leafed maple gleamed in the sunlight.

The Marsh is up very slightly,

although muddy patches remain.

There was a fine, clear view of Mt. Arrowsmith, still awaiting its first snowfall.

The shrubs fringing the Marsh were lively with birds, none of whom cooperated with photos.  There were golden crowned kinglets, chestnut backed chickadees, a spotted towhee,  cedar waxwings, and a Bewick's wren.  

Nurse logs continue to present arrangements of moss, fungi, and huckleberry seedlings.

The first grouping of crested coral fungus that I've found in the Forest was a pleasing find.