Lark Bunting, and more!

 Certainly the most intriguing bird of recent days was the occurrence of a Lark Bunting, seen at the grassy/shrubby pasture along Stefina Line. It is a young male due to the brownish feathers above the obvious white ones in the wing. It is possible it showed up here due to the very dry conditions in its normal western range, and also perhaps of the air quality caused by the proliferation of wildfires.

This first photo shows what it typically looks like as it perches on a fence post. I was fortunate to take this photo in Grasslands National Park, in southern Saskatchewan a few years ago. 

Even though I spent several hours over a couple of days watching this particular bird at the pasture, the photos I got were not as high quality as I was hoping for. It spent most of its time 100 metres or more well out in the pasture, and although it was observed doing its aerial flight and singing, it seldom came very close. There were many dozens of birders from various parts of Ontario that lined up along the road, to see this unusual species, and in looking at the photos posted on eBird, occasionally someone would get a fairly close photo when the bird stopped by at a good spot for at least a few seconds. Here are a couple of my photos that I managed to get. This first one is when it landed on a steel gate by the corral.

This next one is when it was perched on one of several of its favourite shrubs a long way out. Both photos are heavily cropped.

The Lark Bunting is officially considered Threatened in Canada, and is limited to the western prairie regions, most commonly in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. It is more abundant in the mid-western USA. 

As I was waiting for better photo ops, I managed to get this dragonfly perched on some grass by the road.

Widow Skimmer

Tis the season for dragonflies, of course. When I was out at St. Clair NWA one late afternoon, as it was slightly cooler, I photographed these two. 

Halloween Pennant

Blue Dasher

I got a few birds along the way, either at this NWA or on another day at the similar type of habitat a bit farther north, at the Mitchell's Bay North Shore Trail. This first one is an adult Bald Eagle that for some reason was hanging out along the roadside. It probably was after something in the canal immediately adjacent to the road, but after allowing me to get a couple of photos, it decided to move on, so I did also.

This Eastern Kingbird cooperated nicely before heading off to chase an insect.

The adjacent wetlands are often used by Great Blue Herons....

...and Great Egrets, that are always fun photo opportunities.

A critter that isn't often up and visible is this Groundhog, that paused momentarily on the trail before scampering out of sight.

Of course Killdeer are quite common...

....and Red-winged Blackbirds are super abundant, but don't always like sitting up for a good photo at a close distance.

 They are often busy squawking about something.....

...or just hanging out, perhaps keeping an eye on a nearby nest.

If the birds don't cooperate, there are usually other things that are more tolerant of my approach, such as this Yellow Iris, attractive but not native.

This female Northern Map Turtle was busy laying eggs along the side of the trail. Usually if a turtle is well underway in the egg-laying state, it will remain tolerant, unless it feels particularly threatened. I just walked quietly by, got a photo, and let her carry on. Hopefully more of this near threatened species will be emerging from the nest in a few months!

This Northern Blue Flag, in the same family as the Yellow Iris shown earlier, is a common native species found in wetland areas.

Next is a large bracket-type fungus called Dryad's Saddle.

Flowering Rush is another common, but not native wildflower common in or adjacent to wetlands.

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An early orchid and other plants

 With the abnormally advanced spring, many wildflowers are ahead of their normal blooming time. A prime example is this Showy Orchid. Usually it would not be in flower until about the end of the third week in May, but here it is in prime condition about two weeks earlier.

Lots of things have been steadily appearing, although with the very warm weather similar to mid-July temperatures, many species do not last long. What follows is an array of things that have caught my eye and camera. 

Violets can sometimes be quite dominant on the forest floor, such as this Eastern Canada Violet.

The flowers are mostly white....

...with the back of the petals showing a purplish tinge.

Common Blue Violet

Long-spurred Violet

Mayapple

This next one is rather rare, and restricted to southwestern Ontario. It is Pawpaw, a small tree, and the flowers are often open before or just as the leaves are unfurling.

Blue Phlox

Shagbark Hickory is not common, but widely scattered. Its bark is distinctive...

...and as the leaves first emerge, they almost look like flowers.

White Baneberry

Red Columbine

Wood Anemone

Many of the sloughs of Rondeau are full of yellow flowers. Leaves are not all that visible, as they are at or under the water surface. It is the Yellow Water Crowfoot.

When one is wandering the trails looking for flowers, other things pop into view. This first one is also a plant, a fungus known as Dryad's Saddle

There have been lots of Eastern Tiger Swallowtails flitting about!

This Northern Brown Snake was right on the path, and seemed reluctant to move off, as it was enjoying the sun.

These Six-spotted Tiger Beetles had other things on their mind!

There are always a multitude of things to see and enjoy in the natural world!

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Fruit on the forest floor, Part 1

 No, I am not talking about walnuts, or acorns or something like that scattered on the forest floor. I am referring to fungi.

There are many, many types of fungi, and the part that we see growing on the forest floor, or a rotting log, is the fruit of the fungus plant. The main part of the fungus is underground, or in the rotting log, in the form of extensive mycelial threads that act to decompose the rotting log. But more than that, the threads cover extensive areas and travel for huge distances underground. These mycelial threads are actually known to 'communicate' with each other, and share energy, and they are critical components of what makes a forest healthy.

So the actual fungus is just the fruit which bears the seeds or more correctly, the spores, which are dispersed by the breezes. The names and shapes of such fungus are highly varied.

Aborted Entoloma

I have spent a fair bit of my time roaming about forests in the late summer and fall, on the lookout for fungi. They are busy doing their thing under ground, or in a log, for a good part of the year, and seem to be the most visible during the more humid periods of the season when they get to the fruiting stage, although some fruit even in spring. Sometimes I consider my outing to be part of a fun, fall, foray for fungi!

They aren't all colourful, like many warblers or wildflowers, but are fun to find and photograph regardless.

These 'fruits' release their spores, through their gills. Gills are often shown like this following fungus, known as member of the Agaricomycetes group of fungi. The type of gills aren't always visible from the top. In looking at the first photo above, the gills are not noticable unless you break off or look underneath the fungus. Given that most fungi grow quite low and on the ground, looking underneath is challenging, so some mycologists, the name for persons who study fungi, break off the fungus to see the type of gill.

Other fungi have hidden types of gills, such as this next one, known as the Bear's Head Tooth fungus.

This next one, illustrated by the next three photos, is fairly common, at least in forests where American Beech are common. It is known as the Beech Rooter fungus.

Note to the reader: while I have attempted to put a name to the fungi that are in this post, and I believe many of them are correct, I am anything but a specialist when it comes to fungi. I rely fairly heavily on the Computer Visualization capabilities of the database on iNaturalist, where there are thousands of examples of various species which it will compare to, in order to come up with a strong possibility. Over time, specialists in the mycological field will take a look and either confirm or correct its name. So while I believe most identifications here are fairly accurate, there is no guarantee that 100% of them are at this point.

Back to some fungi.

Some are small, looking like a small parasol. This next one is a member of the Bonnet's group.

They can be quite colourful, such as this Chantarelle Waxcap, next.....

...or are typically less colourful as these next ones demonstrate,

Deer Mushroom

Deer-colored Mushroom

Closeup of Deer-colored Mushroom

Most of the fungi shown above, were growing out of the ground, or a moss covered log. One fungus that I came across was growing out of the end of a Tulip Tree log which had been cut to clear a path. It was a bit larger than normal and quite distinctive. I got a couple of photos with the camera I had in hand. It is known as the Destructive Pholiota.

I went back to the fungus a couple of days later with a different camera/lens combination. The fungus had changed a bit...

....a closer look at the underside showed the gills as well as the brownish ring at the upper side of the stem. It didn't last long, however. The fruits of fungi seldom last in good condition for any more than a few short days. As soon as the spores are released, the fruit head deteriorates quickly.

I don't know who comes up with the names of fungi. This next one is called the Dog Vomit Slime Mold. While some fungi are edible, just the name of this one is enough to turn one off! I have no idea of whether it is edible or not......

Not all fungi grow out of the ground. This next one is known as Dryad's Saddle, and typically grows out of the side of a dead tree trunk.

A fungus that is fairly widespread and visible is this next one, the Chicken-of-the-woods.

A lot less colourful is Hen-of-the-woods, shown next.

As mentioned, looking underneath the 'cap' shows the gills, as this Honey Waxcap shows.

This next one is a member of the Hygrophoraceae group. Yellow ones like this do not seem to be all that common.

This next one is the Lion's Mane Mushroom.....

....and this next, colourful one is one of my favourites, the Mycena leaiana, or Orange Mycena.

As mentioned at the beginning, these fungi are exceedingly important in the transfer of energy not only to other fungi. Trees and non-woody plants obtain significant amounts of energy from the mycelial threads that are extensive underground. It is what helps to keep a forest healthy. When one part of a forest is disturbed, that disturbance can be communicated to other parts of the forest via these mycelial threads and end up causing problems. And that is why forests that are logged or otherwise have the soil disturbed decline in health. Their connection to the multitude of other plants is severely disrupted. It is also why attempts to establish a plantation on a previously worked up agricultural field is seldom very healthy, at least not for many, many years. The constant work-up of the soil through cropping, as well as the application of so many chemicals to benefit the agricultural crop, has destroyed the mycelial threads and severely limits the trees growth and development. It may take many decades for the soil to become more natural with mycelial threads for the transfer of energy to the multitude of the forest inhabitants.

That's it for this post, but I expect to feature more fungi in a future post!

 

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