March Odds and Ends

I seem to have neglected the blog lately (no fooling!), but as one can imagine I have been bogged down by a lot of school lately (plus with the nicer weather lately...er, before yesterday, I have tried to get out more!)

I have gotten out here and there. Not really to do much birding, but more so focusing on the smaller things on tree trunks, rocks, in the water, and on the ground. I certainly have seen quite a few awesome things!

Starting with near the end of March Break. A friend and I headed out for a few hours of dipnetting in the Sydenham River. Although we were a bit caught off guard by the conditions and high water, we made the most of it. Highlights that day included catching three Brindled Madtoms.

The next weekend I did some exploring in a nearby creek. Cold and wet, but productive!

White Heelsplitter

Northern Clearwater Crayfish

Fantail Darter

Greenside Darter

Fathead Minnow

I of course had to go to Aylmer Wildlife Management Area for the annual stopover of migratory Tundra Swans. Haven't missed a year since 2010! I took notice to a few other things as well ;-)

Tundra Swans

Knieff's Hook-moss (Drepanocladus aduncus)

Calicium tigillare

Apple Fountain-moss (Philonotis fontana)

Elegant Sunburst Lichen (Rusavskia elegans)

Biting Stonecrop (Sedum acre)

Star Moss (Syntrichia ruralis)

And finally, yesterday I went fishing in another creek, and came up with this Creek Chub.

Lots of other cool nature observations in between as well!

Anyways, hopefully the snow clears up soon and Spring can finally get started!

Thursday Tidbits

School was cancelled today, so I went out on a hike to enjoy the nice weather. My destination of choice for today was Fanshawe Lake in London. 

My main focus today was plants, but found a couple other things as well. Lots of migrant Horned Larks today, as well as a Pileated Woodpecker. Found this friendly little Striped Skunk, apparently unconcerned with me being less than 10 feet away. 

I am a newbie to winter tree ID, but here are a couple that I have been able to identify. I must say, it seems tricky (and is), but I could see how this could become addicting... 

Boxelder Maple (Acer negundo)

Butternut (Juglans cinerea)

Autumn Olive (Elaeagnus umbellata)

Basswood (Tilia americana)

Bitternut Hickory (Carya cordiformis)

Eastern Hop-Hornbeam (Ostrya virginiana)

American Hornbeam (Carpinus caroliniana)

I enjoy the challenge of mosses as well. Found a few species today.

Atrichum sp.

Sword Moss (Callicladium haldanianum)

Delicate Fern Moss (Thuidium delicatulum)

I am a person who is easily distracted, and today was no exception. I, of course, had to stop and look at some fungi and lichens!

Exidia recisa

Phomopsis sp.

Stump Puffball (Lycoperdon pyriforme)

Candelariella sp. (likely C. aurella)

Ceramic Parchment (Xylobolus frustulatus)

Splitgill Mushroom (Schizophyllum commune)

A few miscellaneous finds...

American Bittersweet (Celastrus scandens)

Red Bartsia (Odontites vernus)

Prickly Ash (Zanthoxylum americanum)

Unidentified tree disease (?)

A fun afternoon out, and got a good hike. Seems like a good place to visit in the future!

Oh, and just for fun, I'll make my prediction that the first Red-winged Blackbird of the season for the pond down my street will show up either tomorrow or Saturday. If I average out my spring arrival dates for that location, I get February 22, which, low and behold, is tomorrow. It is supposed to be warm the next few days, so maybe that'll give them a little extra push.

Early January Odds and Ends

While many naturalists are out getting a start to their 2019 bird year list, I have been focusing on other things. Admittedly, I think last weekend when I went to Rondeau was my only time "properly" birding so far this year, and even then I quickly got distracted by other things! (cue moss)

Hedwigia ciliata

I guess I am in a way doing a year list of sorts, but not just birds...click here

Anyways, I''ll detail some highlights from the last couple weeks. I have seen some cool stuff, if I do say so myself! (note: I'll be using common names for a lot of stuff, however some common names change depending on who you ask!)

On January 1st I found a couple things just after midnight, starting the year off right!

Common Earthworm

Common Sac Spider

That morning I went on a bird hike, however I quickly got off track.

Biting Stonecrop

Maritime Sunburst Lichen

Silvery Bryum

Later that day I went to find some fish (and other things).

Smallmouth Bass

Johnny Darter

Spotfin Shiner

Striped Shiner

Black Sooty Mold

A couple days later I went out again in search of fish. I dipnetted a little stream near me and caught a bunch of Brook Sticklebacks. I caught this species up on James Bay so it seemed strange to be seeing them down here!

Brook Stickleback

Creek Chub

Central Stoneroller

Despite it being January, I have actually come across two amphibians, and adult and a tadpole Green Frog, both caught accidentally with my dipnet.

Fish and frogs are not the only thing caught with my net, sometimes I pull up some aquatic plants.

Crisp-leaved Pondweed

I have also crossed paths with two species of moths, although they weren't adults.

Virginia Ctenucha 

Gypsy Moth (eggs)

Finally, as of late I have been attempting to look at lichens. Lichens may just be one of the hardest groups to identify in Ontario! I'll try to keep from being discouraged.

Candleflame Lichen

Illosporiopsis christiasenii

I have found it very rewarding to stop and take time to seek out and appreciate all the little things around us.

I came across this short article on being a "100% Naturalist" a few months ago, and found it very interesting. You may have seen it, but if you haven't, I strongly urge that you read it. I think we should all try and be as much as a 100% Naturalist as we can be! You can read it here.