Bewitched, Begulled and Bewildered

Life's a beach.  North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I arrived on Sunday afternoon.  Good beach avifauna discovery days Monday and today (notwithstanding foggggg).

Monday, sunny, calm and 16C (good for spotting surf diving birds).  Today, foggy with afternoon sun and 20C,  Windy , making the surf too rough for most surf-diving birds. 

Large numbers of gulls winter here, and some of those that winter further south have started to arrive in numbers.  This results in some crowding on the beaches (gulls instead of "snowbirds"..how gulling!).

The following view from my 11th floor balcony gives some idea of the concentration of gulls.

Note that they are mostly facing south. The wind today was blowing from the south.  There are at least 4 species of gulls in this photo.  Although they are clustered, there are distinct groups which do not mix much.  Closest to the surf on the right are Great Black-backed Gulls, and Herring Gulls. The smaller black gulls standing close together on the left centre are Laughing Gulls.  At the bottom right are the Ring-billed Gulls, our most common gull back in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence area, often found in fast food parking lots.  I believe it is telling that they are the gulls farthest from the sea! Another view of some of the same birds below.

 

As many gulls were bobbing in the waves.

 

 



When I set out in the dense fog this morning(Wednesday), there were clusters of gulls feeding around a freshwater stream meandering through the beach into the surf.  The fast water stirs up a lot of small crustaceans for the birds. On my first walk, on Monday, I observed several of the gulls, in fact all the larger species (Great Black-backed, Ring-billed and Herring), feeding by stirring up the sand at the margin of the surf.  They would do this by "running on the spot", fast motion alternative foot stepping, which is equivalent to the probing of long bills by shore birds.  The result is freeing up some tasty small crustaceans and other small animals.  It is good seeing our "garbage dump" gulls reverting to more natural feeding practices.

By Wednesday, another gull species, absent on Monday, was on the beach in numbers: Laughing Gulls in full breeding plumage.

 

The view from the condo includes this long fishing pier.  There aren't a lot of fish near shore, as the seasonal shifting of the Gulf Stream draws the fish out between 15-20 miles offshore.  Small fish still abound, giving the seasonal diving migrants lots to chew on.

 

The view from under the pier gives a most interesting perspective.

 One of the diving, fish-eating migrants, is the red-breasted Merganser.  Here, a pair talk about their future northern trip, and plans for decorating the nest.

 The male, having enough of that conversation, shows off his stuff,  hoping for admiring glances.

 

Meanwhile, a first year Ring-billed Gull preens, in preparation to a trip back to northern McDonald's parking lots, while one of his adult brethren (below) does the fast stepping dance to stir up some tasty crustaceans.

Identification of 1st and 2nd winter gulls is challenging. Some adult gulls also look very similar.  Therefore, this is an area of nature ID that does create some confusion and consternation. Speaking of Terns....more about them later.  Above, a young, first winter Great Black-backed Gull and below,  a 2nd winter Herring Gull.  It was a little easier on this day, because there were adults with the juveniles. Note the all black bill on the bird above.

The boat-tailed grackles males, such as the one above, are a loud, large coastal resident.  There aren't many here. This one hangs around at the fishing pier. Also, the local harbinger of spring, the Northern Mockingbird, was singing constantly on the pier.

The birds below leave our area during winter, but they are present here all year long[Turkey Vultures on the wing.

 

I have been seeing many of these birds in the surf (6 this morning again, March 9).  One can easily ID it as a Grebe, but which one. There are 3 that look similar: Horned, Eared and Red-necked.  All three may occur here. The Horned Grebe is the most common.  This view is a bit fuzzy.

The view below ( a view in one can find of all 3 Grebes in Sibley), had me guessing WRONG.

Then I got a good close profile (below) of a Horned Grebe. I also spotted several Common Loons, but they were too far off shore for a good photo.  I could see 3 from my Balcony this morning, and tried to photograph them again.  I will keep on trying.  Our Common Loons spend the winter all along the southeast coast.  And they look so different form the loons we know on our summer lakes.

 More juvenile gulls. Which species?  Note the one on the left is "fast stepping" to stir up crustaceans.  No garbage or French fries for these gulls.

 

 Another small species of Gull, and I have seen many dozens of them here.  They feed out on the salt water, and do not beg food on the beach.  These are prairie Gulls called Bonaparte Gulls.

 

An adult Herring Gull above.  And, several Sanderlings, such as the one below, were also chasing crustaceans in the surf.

Looking out in the Ocean, you can see a lot of black dots, mostly diving birds of various species.  We lots of the ones above around the Ottawa River Double-crested Cormorant.  And there are several Brown Pelicans, such as the one below, nesting on a pond up the coast and feeding well to the south.  The one below was returning to the nesting site.

There aren't enough wilderness preserves along the coast here.  I visited one last year, Huntington Beach State Park.  I visited again on March 8 this year, with decent results.  I also plan to visit bird Island, at the North Carolina side of the North-South Carolina State Line.  There is also another small State Park on the coast called Myrtle Beach State Park.  It is mostly beach, but it does have a few trails I plan to visit.

 



Sandhills of Eastern Ontario

 

The Sandhills (Sand Hills) of Eastern Ontario, located in Constance Bay , along the Ottawa River just to the West of the urban Ottawa area, are remnants of sand dunes left by the glacier-Champlain Sea-river dune building processes.  There were many of these sandy areas in this region. Since they are a developers' dream, most (90% or more are gone) have been lost to subdivisions and parking lots. They are very reminiscent of the dunes in eastern Nova Scotia (still mainly intact!) and south east Florida, most of which are also now lost to development. The Constance Bay hills are a large area that was mistakenly forested by the provincial forestry department back in the post World War 2 period. Researchers have since identified this ecosystem as threatened and containing a large list of rare endemic species, both flora and fauna.

 

On Sunday September 14th, 2014, I led a group of enthusiasts through some of the trails in the Torbolton Forests (ironic official name of the protected part of the Sandhills). Although quite cool and cloudy, the group learned about the ecological history, some of the less common and rarer plants, and visited the 1 hectare clearing where the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources established a Savannah Restoration in the late 1980's. You can read Paul Catling's (with B. Kostiuk) excellent review of this restoration project here:

 

http://canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/1056

 

 

Before setting out on the Sunday, Owen, Hank and I explored the trails in preparation.  We could imagine the Champlain Sea, filled with familiar marine creatures, now no closer than Riviere Du Loup Quebec, over the sandy bottom. We could also imagine the glacier meltwater crashing by us, several thousand years earlier, depositing the fine grained white sand, which had been blasted and ground from constituent rock by the massive glaciers. And also the Sea receded, the much larger "proto" Ottawa River and winds shaping the sand, forming the present day hills.

White Baneberry fruit, or Dolls' Eyes, the latter name due to the look of the fruit, 

Actaea pachypoda

This photo was taken at Gillies Grove. The plant is found in rich woods throughout our area, including the Sand Hills.  The Sand Hills were not historically rich woods, but rather a sandy, poor nutrient Savannah habitat, which means scattered trees dominated by ground vegetation, primarily grasses and sedges. Some of the rarest endemic plants here are Sedges.

 

This Goldenrod, a familiar group of plants to all of us, is a common one. The Sand Hills support one rarer species. We believed that the above plant could be one of these, Stout Goldenrod, Solidago squarrosa.

 

It isn't. It is Gray Goldenrod, S.nemoralis

 

It is a much more common, late blooming Goldenrod:

 Local people may review the entire list and the ecological history of these sand hills. David White produced one comprehensive publication on behalf of thwoe City of Ottawa (managers of the Torbolton Forest, the irony of this name may be apparent after reading about the history of the hills!):

 

http://treenuts.ca/Rare%20plant%20Inventory1.pdf

 

My partner surveyor,  Owen, took the two photos below of another Goldenrod. That is Owen's hand and my feet.  This plant looked much more like the uncommon Stout Goldenrod.  It isn't!

Two strikes.  We decided to survey again next summer. Something to look forward to.

 

The Goldenrod in the photos below is another common one, Hairy (it sure is!) Goldenrod, Solidago hispida

 

 

Greg reminded me that the genus Solidago is often very difficult to identify to the species level.  There are two reasons for this. One:  individuals may vary greatly due to damage or to poor growing conditions. Two: species often hybridize, resulting in mixed characteristics.  Botanists have listed several hybrids in Ontario and conclude that many more are likely.

 

 

In late December, in support of the local Biothon, Owen returned to the Sandhills. Close to the Community Centre, he found a shrub I usually overlook. I am adding it here as a reminder to find it in the Spring when leaves are out.  its bud are similar to Sugar Maple, making this identification that much more difficult in Winter:

 

Owen's hand and Gray Dogwood, Cornus racemosa

 

 

 

 

The photos above and below are a reminder to readers to mind their fungi. As previously discussed, this biologist doesn't eat wild mushrooms.  I have been with several very highly skilled mycologists this year, who also do not ever eat wild mushrooms.  Even some common edibles, like giant puffballs, may cause gastric distress in some people (like ME!).  Identification is often difficult. Experts will not identify a mushroom from photos.  There are far too many mushrooms which look similar to each other and mushrooms change greatly in appearance with geography, climate and age.  Be cautious.  

 

I could not identify the mushroom above, however Greg Lutick, who took a similar photo of this same mushroom, with the same slug at the base, identified this as Boletus edulis.  

 

The mushroom below is Galerina autumnalis, otherwise known as Deadly Galerina.  This common, small,  unassuming mushroom grows in clusters on decaying wood, though in this case, and often, the wood is on the ground , and so decayed that it is hidden by mosses and compost.  The toxin in Galerina autumnalis is the same as the toxins contained in the deadly Amanita species (Destroying Angels). Even a small amount may prove deadly.

We made a special trip to view and photograph this lovely shrub above.  it is one of the many Viburnums that populate our woodlands: Wild Raisin, Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides (Viburnum cassinoides). Found through out the eastern part of our continent, this shrub becomes more common as one goes from south to north. We use one of this plants close relatives, Highbush Cranberry, Viburnum trilobum, for local landscaping.  I am hoping to find this one too, for planting in my new garden in the spring (attracts birds, butterflies).

 

This lovely woodland flower above is in fruit (mid-September). It is one of our yellow woodland lilies, Indian Cucumber Root, Medeola virginiana. The whorled leaves are very distinctive as is the blue-black triple fruit. Note the "pine-like" stems at the top of the photo.  This is one of the Lycopodium, or Ground Pine. It is more closely related to the ferns, as it reproduces via spores. it is in one of the broad grouping of plants called the "fern allies".

 

The Three Botanists: Owen Clarkin, Greg Lutick, and Ken Spicer. What do you think about a movie about these three in the style of The Three Amigos?

 

 

Photo above of the whole intrepid group, the author, in the front, a thorn between roses.

We enjoyed lunch at the clearing created by the Ministry of Natural Resources to re-establish native Savanna species in the Sandhills. This is the clearing referenced in the article above (Catling, Kostiuk).

 

Hank Jones accompanied us with his two delightful granddaughters, Amber and Alyssa. They are showing us the trail origin and the array of wildflowers still available for creating lovely bouquets in September.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kids will end this, with their enthusiasm our hope for the future.  We will see you next time.

The High Lonesome

This expression has several meanings, all derived from the North American west, at least the areas within view of the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains.

In one context, it refers to a drunken bender by a lonely cowboy.  In another, it refers to the music cowboys might like,  a Country and Bluegrass sound, perhaps with lyrics like "I'm a lonesome cowboy in the field of liffffffffffe".  Mooo. Louis L' Amour used the expression in one of his novels.

It is also a motion picture title from both 1950 (John Barrymore!) and 1995.

As poignant and endearing as these usages may be,  one other attracted me to the term.  Ken Spicer, a local colleague in the Macnamara Field Naturalists' Club, told me that he, and his brother Barry, heard the term while they worked out west in Alberta (the winds sure blow cold way out there). For them, it is broader than the "bender" or "drunken spree".  It refers to going off into the mountains to be alone in nature for a time, to straighten ones thoughts or to take a breather from everyday life.

It was with this in mind that the Spicers called their 200 acre property in the Pakenham Hills "High Lonesome".  With Barry's passing a few years ago, the family donated the property to the Mississippi Madawaska Land Trust:

http://mmlt.ca/

which conserves the property and makes it available for natural history education, appreciation and research.

It is with this background in mind that I made my long anticipated first visit to High Lonesome with my colleague Joel.  It was the morning of Friday, September 5th, and the weather was splendid. recent rains had freshened the wetlands and varied forests of this granitic spine of rock which emanates from the Canadian Shield, piercing the surrounding alluvial plains.

Meeting in Pakenham, Joel and I made the short drive to High Lonesome.  Greeted warmly by Ken, we set out to walk the kilometres of trails through the property.  An above average summer rainfall has created excellent conditions for fungi.

One of the most beautiful fungi in the Americas is "Yellow Patches", Amanita flavoconia. Mushroom aficionados know to leave any Amanita alone, as most of them are toxic, and some deadly. Personally, I leave all wild mushrooms in place, since I enjoy the super market supply of the best flavourful mushrooms: cremini and shitake.

The distinctive slightly enlarged base is not seen in this photo.  This does show the yellow patches at their very best. Powdery yellow remnants at the base are the remainder of a veil, common to the Amanitas.  This species is found in rich woods and the Boreal Forest east of the Rockies , and extends into the Colombian Andes in South America.

The following species (get ready for this, people, extra points for spelling and pronunciation) is either Buchwaldoboletus sphaerocephalus (and is therefore also found in Australia and Europe) or a distinct North American species, Buchwaldoboletus hemichrysus or these two names are synonyms!  Anyone who can clarify this is welcome to do so.

Some of the Buchwaldoboletus species may be super ugly! This one isn't too bad, in my super judgmental opinion. I have only recently become more interested in fungi, thanks to friend Suzanne and her mentor Richard Aaron:

http://www.queensu.ca/qubs/sites/webpublish.queensu.ca.qubswww/files/files/pdf%20files/Fabulous_Fall_Fungi_2014_details.pdf

Above is the underside of the same mushroom.  Note, like all Boletes mushrooms, there are pores instead of gills.

Unlike the last mushroom, this one both looks good AND smells good.  This makes it popular for photographers.  Unlike B. Sphaerocephalus, this 'shroom, Clitocybe odora, abounds in web-based photos.  Its stunning blue-green flesh combines with the Anise-like aromas to make identification fairly easy. One common name I found was Aniseed Cap Mushroom.  It is most commonly found under Birch and Beech trees in Asia, Europe and North America.

The above attractive orange-coloured umbrella shaped mushroom, Entoloma  salmoneum is usually found where I photographed this one: in mossy humid places under trees.  It is small,  usually 5 cms. or less, gilled and poisonous.  The one common name I found is Salmon Pinkgill.  And, yes, the gills/spores have a pinkish hue. Take a photo rather than a bite!

Don't bite the above caterpillar either. If you have been looking at Milkweed leaves in search of Monarch Butterfly caterpillars, you might be finding more of these Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillars, Euchaetes egle. The moth is a plain slate gray moth with a golden abdomen with dark spots along the spine.  The caterpillar, on the other hand, is very colourful and spiny!  Although the tussocks themselves aren't a problem, the colour pattern tells birds to back off, as, like Monarchs, the Tussock Moth caterpillars are poisonous...the milkweed sap providing the basic ingredients.

Above is a Russula mushroom species. There are so many red-capped mushrooms in the Russula genus, only experts are able to identify them.

Strawberry Blight, an uncommon and deeply coloured flower, not very often seen. Ken, and others, have gone to great lengths to ensure this flower thrives.

The clover does provide some contrast to the flower on the right.  One of our later-blooming orchids, and common in High Lonesome-the Nodding Ladies Tresses, Spiranthes cernua.

Sometimes a collection of plants, like those in this wetland, provides a visual feast. The large leaved plants are cattails,

Jack O'Lantern mushroom, Omphalotus illudens (on the right side of the above photograph). This common mushroom grow in clusters on roots of deciduous trees.  It is always orangish.  The mushroom on the left is more difficult to identify. It is conical and possibly knobbed. My best guess is it is an Entoloma, a genus with many species.  If the spore print is pink (mature mushroom brought home, placed on top of a white piece of paper, spores fall onto paper for ID), then we can narrow it down to several species.

Note that mushroom identification requires much more than just a top photo. I have just begun studying these plants, and have consulted with experts who always advise caution and study when identifying. Therefore, my identifications here, even those corroborated by experts, are best guesses, based on insufficient information!

Mushrooms are just the "tip of the iceberg" of a fungus, most of which is composed of Mycelia. What we call "mushrooms" are only the fruiting bodies, containing the spores, of a much more complex plant.  Fungi may make up as much as 90% of all the world's biomass.  Many of these are micro fungi, which, as the name suggests, require a microscope to see.

Note the teeth on the above mushroom revealed, possibly, by rodents, which eat many of the ground mushrooms in our forests. I have not been able to ID the above mushroom, but possibly an expert will help me out. if I do find any more information, I will post it. My intention is to develop my ability to identify fungi through further work next year.

The Fly Agaric, Amanita muscaria var. Formosa, above is another of the widely distributed genus, of which many species are highly toxic.  Fly Agaric comes in many shades and forms.  This one above looks similar to the "Yellow Patches" pictured earlier in this blog.  Another common form of Fly Agaric is red with white warts.

Mushroom above is possibly Painted Bolete,  Suillus pictus.

This is White Snakeroot, Eupatorium rugosum,  a common late summer flower of pond or lake sides, and borders of rich woods. Nearby, pictured below, was another Eupatorium...

Eupatorium maculatum, Spotted Joe Pye weed, another plant common beside ponds and lakes.  This one was hosting one of my favourite dragonflies, the Common Green Darner, Anax junius. This is a female. The male has a blue abdomen at maturity. Green Darners are one of the few migratory dragonflies.  If you are lucky enough to visit South Florida and see a few flying, possibly they are also Canadians.

Common Polypody Fern

The above plant stymied me, in terms of ID for quite a while.  It is one of the Viburnums, a genus of shrubs which abound in our forests and include the High Bush Cranberry, Wild Raisin, and Nannyberry. I had never seen one with these small terminal clusters of yellowish fruits.  Only one species has these characteristics, Viburnum edule, or Mooseberry. it is a common plant in the boreal forest. It is not common in our area. High Lonesome is part of the Pakenham Hills, a granitic spine emanating form the Canadian Shield.  As such, it does include boreal characteristics and some boreal species. 

I haven't featured any animals in this edition.  They were most uncooperative during our walk through High Lonesome.  This one was not any more compliant, though I did manage a quick photo.  Many will guess Garter Snake,  A good guess, but incorrect.  This is a less common cousin of the Garter Snake - the Eastern Ribbon Snake, Thamnophis sauritus. You may tell a Ribbon Snake from a Garter Snake by: 1. a whitish spot in front of the eye (I managed to see the head on  this one) 2. long tail 3. narrow head 4. side stripes on third and fourth row of scales.