Night of the Kingfisher

Frontenac Park: Doe Lake Trail

2007-10-28T20:14:00.000-04:00

Black Swallowtail

2007-05-25T16:48:00.001-04:00

Amherst Island today.

Amherst Island

2007-05-25T16:14:00.000-04:00

In the short space of one morning we saw 66 bird species, including 3 for the life list!

Summer Tanager

This is definitely the sighting of the year!

Blackburnian Warbler

Dunlin

These were new for me.

Grey Cheeked Thrush

Another lifer!

Philadelphia Vireo

Upland Sandpiper

And yet another for the life list!

White Rumped Sandpiper

Wilson's Phalarope

Brant and Dunlin

Canada Geese

Yellow Warbler

LBM

2007-01-11T18:27:00.000-05:00

Little brown mushroom
Lemoine Point, Kingston
7 January 2007

The mild rainy weather was just what was needed to encourage the appearance of this fungal fruit. Little brown mushrooms are notoriously difficult to identify but it was nice to be able to do a little mushroom hunting in January.

Beetle

2007-01-07T20:12:00.000-05:00

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario
7 January 2007

This beetle was overwintering in the roots of a clump of moss, just a little poking around unearthed him and he was quick to start looking for more peaceful quarters.

Spider

2007-01-07T19:33:00.000-05:00

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario
7 January 2007

I don't have a good field guide for spiders so this one is unidentified. I found him under a rock and as it was a cold day he was not interested in running away.

Striate Bird's Nest Fungus

2007-01-07T17:30:00.000-05:00

Cyathus striatus
Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario
7 January 2007

Lithobiomorph Centipede

2007-01-07T17:20:00.000-05:00

Lithobiomorph Centipede
Lemoine Point
Kingston, Ontario
7 January 2007

It may be January but the lack of snow, mild temperatures, and a little turning over of rocks and logs can unearth a few interesting species such as this common Centipede.

Entoloma

2007-01-06T19:30:00.000-05:00

Entoloma
Algonquin Provincial Park, Bat Lake
25 June 2006

Entoloma are very difficult to identify to species. The stain on the gills is indicative of the pink spore colour indicative of Entoloma. It looks something like Entoloma clypeatum in George Barron's "Mushrooms of Ontario and Eastern Canada," but it would only be guessing to label it as this species. For a description of the Rove Beetle in this picture, see under insects.

Fungus Rove Beetle

2007-01-06T19:12:00.000-05:00

Oxyporus quinquemaculatus
Algonquin Provincial Park (Bat Lake)
25 June, 2006

These beetles are from the family Staphylinidae (Rove Beetles), subfamily Oxyporinae, genus Oxyporus. Stephen Marshall indicates that the family Staphylinidae "constitutes one of the last great frontiers in North American beetle taxonomy." Staphylinidae is the largest family of beetles in North America and it is possible that less than half of the species have been identified yet. Marshall says that "Rove beetles are usually predacious, but some feed on fungal spores or tissue..." If you look at the first picture, above, you can see that these beetles have been doing a pretty good job of eating this Entoloma fungus.

Forked Fungus Beetle

2007-01-05T21:54:00.000-05:00

Bolitotherus cornutus
Bat Lake, Algonquin Provincial Park
June 25, 2006
(Found on Shelf Fungus, Fomitopsis pinicola)

The Forked Fungus Beetle is a member of the Superfamily Tenebrionoidea, family Zopheridae (Ironclad Beetles). The Tenebrionidae are referred to as "darkling beetles" because most of the are black or brown. Stephen Marshall (Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity, Firefly, 2006) says of this species that they "stay close to hard shelf fungi or bracket fungi, rarely moving between fungi on different trees in the same forest." They are mostly nocturnal and produce a brown stain of defensive chemicals that burn or discolor skin. The pictures above are of a female.

John Muir

2006-12-23T12:08:00.000-05:00

I love this quote from John Muir posted by Journals of An Amateur Naturalist:

"When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world." John Muir

Blacksmith Lapwing

2006-12-18T14:18:00.000-05:00

October 21, 2006
Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya

I still have a few more birds from my Kenya trip to identify but haven't quite figured them out yet.

Cliff Chat

2006-12-16T21:49:00.000-05:00

Lake Nakuru National Park
Kenya
21 October 2006

I found these, where else but on a cliff. The male is the one with the white wing bar. There were lots of these birds at the top of the cliff overlooking the park.

Ruppell's Long-tailed Starling

2006-12-14T16:56:00.000-05:00

21 October, 2006
Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya

White-browed Sparrow Weaver

2006-12-14T16:52:00.000-05:00

19 October, 2006
Kijabe, Kenya

Streaky Seedeater

2006-12-13T17:40:00.000-05:00

October 16, 2006
Kijabe, Kenya

Cinnamon-chested Bee-eater

2006-12-13T17:32:00.000-05:00

October 16, 2006
Kijabe, Kenya

Honey I Shrunk the Giant Squid

2006-12-10T16:27:00.000-05:00

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario
27 September, 2005

I've often found the strangest looking little invertebrates associated with mushrooms. I have no idea what this one is. I need a decent camera with a macro lens to do justice to these little things.

Unidentified Mushroom

2006-12-10T16:23:00.000-05:00

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario
27 September, 2005

The cap is slimy and about 2.5cm across. The stalk is about 3.5 cm tall.

Unidentified Mushroom

2006-12-09T13:20:00.000-05:00

November 03, 2005
Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario

(Somewhat late in the season but under the right conditions it doesn't take much for mushrooms to appear)

Unidentified Mushroom

2006-12-08T08:27:00.000-05:00

May 27, 2006
Frontenac Provincial Park

Unidentified Mushroom

2006-12-07T07:22:00.000-05:00

May 27, 2006
Frontenac Provincial Park

Unidentified Mushroom

2006-12-06T21:01:00.000-05:00

May 27, 2006
Frontenac Provincial Park

Unidentified Mushroom

2006-12-05T16:48:00.000-05:00

May 27, 2006
Frontenac Park

Unidentified Mushroom

2006-12-04T19:25:00.000-05:00

Opinicon Road, Kingston
May 28, 2006

I've decided to start posting some of the Fungi that I have not been able to identify. This probably represents about seventy percent of all the mushrooms I've found. I thought this one would be easy to label but even with four massive field guides I couldn't come up with an identification. It would have helped a lot if I could have obtained a spore print but it is rarely convenient to do that when the main purpose of the trip is birding.

Halloween Pennant

2006-11-24T13:27:00.000-05:00

Halloween Pennant
Frontenac Provincial Park
August 05, 2006
This picture was an experiment in digiscoping dragonflies.
This dragonfly was at the top of a fairly tall dead tree in the middle of a swamp.
Turned out not too bad considering the distance involved.

Common Whitetail

2006-11-21T12:30:00.000-05:00

Common Whitetail, Male

Frontenac Provincial Park
August 05, 2006
Arkon Lake Trail

Slaty Skimmer

2006-11-20T10:11:00.000-05:00

Frontenac Provincial Park
Arkon Lake Trail
(August 05, 2006)

The Slaty Skimmer has a long season, ranging from June to September in Ontario.

Red-tailed Hawk at the Point

2006-11-15T18:35:00.000-05:00

Found this Red-tailed Hawk at Lemoine Point near the boardwalk in the swamp. At first he was perched at the top of one of the dead trees but when he spotted me he moved to this higher perch in the big tree nearby. When he left the lower perch he swooped on a duck that was sitting in the swamp. The duck put up a racket but the hawk just flew off. The chickadees of course are always glad to pose for a picture.

Blue Dasher

2006-11-12T08:44:00.000-05:00

This photo was taken on August 5, 2006 on the Arkon Lake Trail at Frontenac Provincial Park. The male and female are quite different. I always recognize the male (above) but the female (below) just doesn't seem to fit the name. The Blue Dasher can be seen right into September in Ontario.

Halloween Pennant

2006-11-11T11:31:00.000-05:00

This picture of a Halloween Pennant was taken on August 5, 2006 on the Arkon Lake trail at Frontenac Provicincial Park. This is a mature male as you can see from the red dorsal markings on the abdomen. Juveniles and females would have yellow colored markings. The Halloweens begin to disappear about the middle of August and are usually all gone by the end of the month.

Lemoine Point

2006-11-10T11:22:00.000-05:00

Beautiful, warm, sunshine at the Point today. The rest of the weekend and next week calls for rain. Sun and moon shared the sky this morning and provided a backdrop for the gathering of flocks of birds preparing to head south for the winter.

The trees were full of flocks of birds. This one contained a gathering of House Finch, a few trees down was a large flock of Red-winged Blackbirds who were finished with their work in the swamp but not quite ready to leave town.

Odonates in Kenya

2006-11-08T14:22:00.000-05:00

These were the only Odonates I saw in Kenya. Our elevation was 6000 feet and there was very little water around so I didn't expect to see many Odes on this trip. I didn't have a net so was unable to photograph them in hand. I saw these on a number of occassions in a couple of different locations, always flying in the sunlight. They are vertical perchers and you can see from the pics they have a read stigmata on each wingtip. I don't have any field guide for Odes in Africa so I'll have to see what I can find on the internet.

The Island of Lamu, Kenya

2006-11-06T15:32:00.000-05:00

Our Room at the Jannat House Hotel
(A two star hotel featuring electricity (when it was on), water (no hot water), mirrors in the bathroom that would be very useful if you were three feet tall, three tiny bars of soap for five men, strings across the ceiling to keep the bats from coming down into the room, and, of course, lots of mosquito netting. Air conditioning? What's that? Not even a fan!) The Hotel itself was very attractive and offered a beautiful view from the roof. If you want to order lunch be prepared to wait at least an hour and a half - it takes time to buy all those ingredients!

The view from the roof of our Hotel

Another view from the roof.

The Donkey Sanctuary in Lamu.

The waterfront was beautiful.

Some Lizards at Lake Nakuru National Park

2006-11-06T15:24:00.000-05:00

Lake Nakuru National Park

2006-11-06T15:06:00.000-05:00

Warthogs

The Land Rover we travelled in.
Yes, it goes off road! In fact many of the roads we travelled on were technically off road by North American standards. With the right driver Wonderland has nothing on a trip in a Land Rover in Kenya.

Dik-Dik

Hadada Ibis

Flamingo

Giraffe

Rhino

More Rhino

Leopard

Rock Hyrax

Thompson's Gazelle

Lion

Waterbuck

Zebra

Buffalo

Around Kijabe, Kenya

2006-11-06T14:49:00.000-05:00

Common Bulbul

View from the back porch in Kijabe.
The Rift Valley in the distance.

African Paradise Flycatcher

Sykes Monkey

Red-faced Crombec

Colobus Monkeys

Oxford Birds

2006-11-06T14:31:00.000-05:00

Tufted Duck

Fulvous Whistling-Duck

Black Swan

Graylag Goose

Robin

Unidentified Flying Object

Coot

Black-headed Gull
in non-breeding plummage.

Oxford Scenery

2006-11-06T14:22:00.000-05:00

The Rainbow Bridge on the Cherwell.

A beautiful pond at the University Parks in Oxford.
The grounds were cared for meticulously.

The River Cherwell as it flows through the University Parks,
slow, brown, and full of bird life.

Oxford and Kenya

2006-11-06T14:13:00.000-05:00

I just returned from a wonderful trip to England and Africa. Most of my time in England was spent at Oxford where I explored the University Parks and the Colleges. I also had a day to tour around London. Because I didn't have the spotting scope with me on this trip the bird pictures leave something to be desired but I'll post what I have, just for the record. I spent two weeks in Kenya at Kijabe and had a day trip to Lake Nakuru National Park and travelled to the island of Lamu for three days. Oxford has always had a large place in my imagination and it was wonderful to see so many of the places that I had read about in history and in story.

Amherstview Sewage Lagoons

2006-09-30T17:22:00.000-04:00

Hudsonian Godwit
(30 September, 2006)

This was a new bird for my life list. There was only one at the Lagoons that I could find. He was cooperative for pictures as long as I kept my distance, although he was moving most of the time, making it a challenge for the digiscope process.

Lesser Yellowlegs

American Pipit

There were lots of American Pipit, Canada Geese, Bonaparte's Gulls, and Yellowlegs.

Circus of the Spineless

2006-07-02T18:55:00.000-04:00

The Tenth Edition of the Circus of the Spineless
is now up and running.
Click on the Logo above to get your tickets!

Fomitopsis pinicola

2006-07-01T13:40:00.000-04:00

Algonquin Provincial Park, Bat Lake
25 June, 2006

I believe that these are three different examples of the same species. All growing on dead stumps and commonly called the Red-belted Polypore. Roger Phillips (Mushrooms and Other Fungi of North America) says that this is the most commonly collected Polypore in North America.

Frosted Whiteface

2006-06-26T20:59:00.000-04:00

Algonquin Provincial Park, Bat Lake
25 June, 2006

White Admiral

2006-06-26T20:51:00.000-04:00

Algonquin Provincial Park, Bat Lake
25 June, 2006

Whatever was in this scat, the butterflies really seemed to be enjoying. Being in shit doesn't always mean you're in trouble.

Check out this posting at Bootstrap Analysis for more on Lepidoptera and scat. Thanks to Norene for the link!

Suillus granulatus

2006-06-26T20:47:00.000-04:00

Algonquin Park, Bat Lake
25 June, 2006

This was growing beside the path in some moss. The roots were anchored to the rootlet of a coniferous tree. The cap was 7.5 cm. The stem was 8 cm. The flesh inside the cap is white. The brown skin peels off easily to reveal the white flesh.
Identifying almost any mushroom can be very difficult. In this case one look at the pore surface tells you that it is a Bolete. The two subgroups, Boletus and Tylopilus usually have stalks that are covered with a network of veins (i.e. are reticulate). In the subgroup Leccinum the stalk is always Scabrous. In the subgroup Suillus the stalk frequently has these speckled, glabrous, dots. All of this I determined from looking at "Mushrooms Demystified" by David Arora. I then went to the key in "Mushrooms of Northeastern North America" by Bessette, Bessette, and Fischer and looked at the key for Suillus. This guide is my first choice because it deals only with mushrooms of the Northeastern area. The description and picture of S. granulatus best met the mushroom that I was looking at.

Ant-like Insect on mushroom

2006-06-26T20:40:00.000-04:00

Algonquin Provincial Park, Bat Lake
25 June, 2006

These strange insects were about the size of an ant. They were living in tunnels in a dead log. I believe they were eating this mushroom. They were crawling all over it and the gills appeared to have been eaten in places.

Small prehistoric looking beetle

2006-06-26T20:39:00.000-04:00

Algonquin Provincial Park, Bat Lake
25 June, 2006
On Shelf fungus

Crimson-Ringed Whiteface

2006-06-26T20:32:00.000-04:00

Leucorrhinia glacialis
Algonquin Park, Bat Lake
25 June, 2006

Dunkle says that it is impossible to tell the male Crimson-Ringed Whiteface from the male red form Red-Waisted Whiteface. I have opted for my identification on the basis of some circumstantial evidence. Dunkle says that males from Ontario eastward are mostly White Form. Crimson-Ringed and Red-Waisted both frequent boggy, marshy, habitat and from May to August or September.

Algonquin Provincial Park: Bat Lake

2006-06-26T20:26:00.000-04:00

A view from the Bat Lake hiking trail
25 June, 2006

I took my son back to Algonquin for his second summer working as a Park Naturalist. After I dropped him off I hiked the 5.6 km Bat Lake trail. It was overcast most of the time so not the best for odes. I photographed a few interesting mushrooms and some insects. Because the brush was so dense most of the time there was little to see. I understand Bat Lake is a good spot for odeing because there are no fish in the Lake. I did see a few different species: the ubiquitous Chalk-fronted Corporal, a couple of Widow Skimmers, and many White-face.

Lycogala epidendrum

2006-06-19T19:29:00.000-04:00

Wolf's-milk Slime
Frontenac Provincial Park
27 May 2006

Just to give you an idea of how difficult identification of mushrooms can be - I checked five guides and found this mushroom in only one guide, even though that guide listed it as widely distributed in North America.

Peziza phyllogena

2006-06-19T11:03:00.000-04:00

Common Brown Cup
(a.k.a. Peziza badio-confusa)
Frontenac Provincial Park
27 May, 2006

Polyporus squamosus

2006-06-19T10:42:00.000-04:00

Dryad's Saddle
Frontenac Provincial Park
May 27, 2006

Amherst Island

2006-06-05T19:50:00.000-04:00

Baby Long-eared Owl in nest

Wilson's Phalarope

Ruddy Turnstone

Osprey

Baby Long-eared Owl

Northern Watersnake

Beetles on plant

Black-crowned Nightheron

Opinicon Road: 28 May, 2006

2006-06-05T19:42:00.000-04:00

Snapping Turtle

Birding and Odonating at the same time
(Indingo Bunting and Dragonfly)

Ruby Throated Hummingbird

Great-Crested Flycatcher

Frontenac Park Odonates: May 27, 2006

2006-06-05T18:47:00.000-04:00

Stream Cruiser

Racket-tailed Emerald

Horned Clubtail
(I originally identified this as a Lilypad Clubtail but changed my id based on size of the specimen and shape of the abdomen)

Harlequin Darner

This was an important find as the Harlequin Darner is not listed in the Odonate Database as having been seen in Frontenac County.

Harlequin Darner

Four-spotted Skimmer

Dot-tailed Whiteface

Common Whitetail (female)

Common Whitetail (male)

Chalk-fronted Corporal

Ashy or Dusky Clubtail

Eastern Forktail

Amberwing Spreadwing

Amberwinged Spreadwing

Frontenac Park: May 27, 2006

2006-06-05T18:34:00.000-04:00

Wood Thrush

This was a new bird for my list. He was quite high up but I was able to scope him. Notice the bold white eyering and bold black spots on white underside.

Parasitoid Wasp

This wasp had paralyzed its prey and was taking it to who knows where. We watched it for quite a while as it dragged this spider along the ground. At times he would abandon it and fly a short distance away but soon came back and began to drag it again. I don't know if he ever got it to his destination.

Blandings Turtle

The Blandings is common in certain locations in the Park. We found these turtles on two different ponds on this trip. It is under study in the Park because of its troubled status in the Province.

This was mainly a dragonfly outing and we were not disappointed. We found many different species including the Harlequin Darner, which does not have an official record in Frontenac County according to the Odonate Database.

Frontenac Park: 2nd Expedition 2006

2006-04-28T18:47:00.000-04:00

Ribbon Snake

Note the brown band below the yellow and
the white on the face that differentiates it
from the Garter Snake

Hover Bee

Fungi growing in the moss

Fiddleheads in the bog

Unidentified Flower

Flowering Tree

Unidentified Flower

Trout Lily
(There were leaves everywhere but very few flowers)

Frontenac Park: Butterflies

2006-04-28T17:50:00.000-04:00

Eastern Pine Elfin
(Callophrys niphon)

Juvenal's Duskywing
(Erynnis juvenalis)

There were numerous other butterflies including West Virginia White, Mourning Cloak and Spring Azure.

Frontenac Park: Blanding's Turtle

2006-04-28T17:29:00.000-04:00

Blanding's Turtle
(With the smaller Painted Turtle on left)

Blanding's Turtle
(This is a second turtle at the same location)

Blanding's Turtle

The Blanding's Turtle is rare in Ontario so we were pleased to find two of them at this location.

Frontentac Park: Odonates

2006-04-28T16:55:00.000-04:00

Common Baskettail
(Epitheca cynosura)

Frosted Whiteface
(Leucorrhinia frigida)

American Emerald
(Cordulia shurtleffii)

American Emerald
(Cordulia shurtleffii)

Ebony Boghaunter

Ebony Boghaunter
(Williamsonia fletcheri)

I debated whether to take the dragonfly net with me and decided against it since it seemed too early in the season for dragonflies and there were none last week when I was out in the same area. In the end I left the net behind. I was surprised when I reached the ring bog on the Arkon Lake hiking trail and came across a Frosted Whiteface perched on a low shrub. The temperature was only about plus 5 C and it had been a cool night. Shortly after this my son (home for the summer from his Wildlife Biology course and awaiting his summer job as a park naturalist in Algonquin) found an Ebony Boghaunter. Dunkle says that these are rare and local inhabitants of northeastern bogs, so we were both happy to be able to add this one to our life list. Dunkle says that the Boghaunter appears mid-May so this is a little early. The American Emerald on the other hand is one of the earliest Spring dragonflies and one we have seen before. The Common Baskettail is another early Spring dragonfly. Even without the net the dragonflies could be caught by hand or photographed in place without too much trouble. As the weather warms and they become more active the net will become essential.

Frontenac Park: The Scenery

2006-04-19T20:15:00.000-04:00

I'm not much on scenery but I do like a good swamp (top) and I wanted to get a shot of the Ring Bog that I located today. This is an acid bog with Black Spruce (typical of more northern climes). I'll definitely visit here again to look for Dragonflies and interesting plants.

Frontenac Park: The Wildflowers

2006-04-19T20:07:00.000-04:00

Unidentified

Dutchman's Breeches
(Dicentra Cucullaria)

Spring Beauty
(Claytonia Virginica)

My identifications of plants and wildflowers are tentative. I couldn't find anything in my guides that looked like the top two but I think the bottom two are correct. They're both listed as very early Spring wildflowers. It is still too early for Mushrooms and it is quite dry, which is not good for fungi.

Frontenac Park: The Invertebrates

2006-04-19T20:00:00.000-04:00

June Beetle

This seems early for June Beetles but maybe thats why he is lying so still! The Invertebrates that I'm most interested in are the Odonates (Dragonflies and Damselflies) but it is still too early. I carried my net with me just in case but it was a nuisance as I lost it three times. There were lots of Bumble Bees and Hornets, many smaller flying insects but they were not bothersome. Some small moths and one large Butterfly (I think an Admiral of some kind but he flew in and out of my vision very quickly).

Frontenac Park: The Mammals

2006-04-19T19:56:00.000-04:00

Someone forgot to tell this baby Raccoon that he is nocturnal

Of course there was a large array of Chipmunks, Gray Squirrels, and Red Squirrels. No other mammals, not a single deer.

Frontenac Park: The Reptiles and Amphibians

2006-04-19T19:49:00.000-04:00

Northern Ribbon Snake

Midland Painted Turtles

Bullfrog

Of the six frog species I only saw the Bullfrog and of the five turtle species I only saw the Painted Turtle. There are nine species of snakes but I only saw the Ribbon Snake (and there were quite a few of them).

Frontenac Park: The Birds

2006-04-19T19:43:00.000-04:00

Hermit Thrush

Mallards

This was my first day at Frontenac this year so I'll give a complete listing of the birds I saw on my 13 km hike of the Arkon Lake trail: White Breasted Nuthatch, Red Breasted Nuthatch, Mallard, Bufflehead, Crow, Turkey Vulture, Hermit Thrush, Common Grackle, Robin, Black-capped Chickadee, Blue Jay, Eastern Phoebe, Ruffed Grouse, Rock Dove, Mourning Dove, Pine Warbler, Hairy Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker. There were a couple of others that I was unable to identify.

Once more at the Sewage Lagoon

2006-04-16T18:13:00.000-04:00

The Gathering

Birds of a feather may flock together but they don't mind mixing it up a bit either. Here you can see Caspian Terns, Ring-billed Gulls, Canada Geese, Kildeer, Northern Shoveler and Gadwall.

Red-winged Blackbird

Kildeer

Bufflehead and Lesser Scaup

Blue-winged Teal

Blue-winged Teal

Always something interesting to see at the Amherstview Sewage Lagoons.

Back to the Lagoons with a camera

2006-04-15T12:03:00.000-04:00

Redhead

American Wigeon

Caspian Terns

This time of year there are always lots of waterfowl at the Amherstview, Ontario, sewage lagoons. The openness of the lagoons and the nervousness of the birds make it difficult to get close up shots. These were taken through a spotting scope and cropped and even so they are none too close. There were lots of Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Mallards, Gadwall, and Northern Pintail as well.

Spring Migration Continues

2006-04-14T10:29:00.000-04:00

Winter Wren
Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario

Jumping Spider of some kind
Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario

I took the two pictures above at Lemoine Point yesterday. The Winter Wren is secretive and very small. I spent about an hour getting close enough to take this distant shot. I first saw it on the edge of a swampy area near a limestone ledge. It always kept low and was very furtive in its movements. It wasn't until another Wren came along that the two became more comfortable with me being there. By the time I was finished I was covered in burrs and had lost my cell phone. An hour's work removed the burrs from my fleece and a kind stranger found my cell phone and turned it in to the police. Does birding kill brain cells???

The small spider above was found in the dragonfly field. There were quite a few of this species and they were always on the move. Many spiders are predatory and don't build webs. This one could move quickly as well as jump when it wanted an extra burst of getaway power.

I went to the Amherstview sewage lagoons this morning to check on the waterfowl. As you can see there are no pictures. I had the scope but forgot the camera (although I had extra batteries for it in my pocket) - what was I saying about brain cells? I was able to add a new species to my list, the Redhead. I also saw numerous pairs of Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Gadwall, and an American Wigeon.

Amherstview Sewage Lagoon

2006-04-02T17:06:00.000-04:00

It was a bright sunny day today but cool with a bit of a breeze. There were lots of waterfowl at the lagoons. Many of the Canada Geese were tagged. The top picture is of a Northern Shoveller amongst a group of Bonaparte's Gulls. The middle picture is an American Coot, a first for me. I also saw numerous Bufflehead, Ring-necked ducks, Scaup, Mallards, and Ring-billed Gulls. Not a bad start to the Spring migration.

Spring Begins

2006-03-22T13:18:00.000-05:00

The dragonfly field stands ready for another season: just add water and heat!

I spent about a half an hour with this Cardinal before he would come in close enough for a shot.

The White-breasted Nuthatch and his usual companion.

Although it was just around the freezing mark, the sun made it feel much warmer and hinted at the coming of the spring migration and the return of dragonflies, mushrooms, flowers, and a whole array of interesting invertebrates. Yesterday I saw a Hooded Merganser in the creek beside the Ambassador Hotel. Things should soon begin to get interesting. For now I content myself with Classical Guitar and Chess but this weekend I'll crack out the field guides and start honing the identification skills.

Amherst Island

2006-02-22T18:28:00.000-05:00

22 February, 2006

It wasn't one of our better days on Amherst Island. We saw one Snowy Owl in the field off Marshall Fortyfoot Road. We saw this Red-tailed Hawk catch and eat a mouse or vole. We also saw a Rough-legged Hawk and an American Kestrel. On the ferry ride home we saw a Glaucous Gull in amongst all of the Herring Gulls and Ring-billed Gulls. There were quite a few Great Black-backed Gulls as well. The Kestrel and Glaucous were lifers for me. We were disappointed not to find any Northern Saw-whets or Boreal Owls and not a single Long-Eared.

Spring-like day at The Point

2006-02-04T15:29:00.000-05:00

Yesterday it poured rain. This morning it was plus 5C and partly sunny. All of the snow is gone from the woods and the rocks and trees are covered in fresh green moss. Many fungi that fruit on dead wood are abundant. I found three new species, posted below, and lots of Trametes versicolor (Turkey Tail). One Hairy Woodpecker tried to get my attention but today I am a mycologist and must ignore such distractions.

Polyporus elegans

2006-02-04T15:25:00.000-05:00

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario

4 February, 2006

This is a Stalked Polypore. The cap is 3 cm and was quite slimy (it was a very wet day).

Oligoporus fragilis

2006-02-04T15:21:00.000-05:00

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario

4 February, 2006

Commonly known as Staining Cheese Polypore this is a member of the Fleshy to Fibrous-tough, Shelf-like Polypore group.

Hymomyces aurantiacus

2006-02-04T15:17:00.000-05:00

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario

4 February, 2006

This belongs to the Carbon and Cushion Fungi group.

Mushrooms Demystified

2006-01-31T16:19:00.000-05:00

This guide covers over 2000 species, was published in 1979 and revised in 1986. It adds another 5 cm to my Mycology collection. Now, if Spring would just come to Kingston...

Leccinum griseum

2006-01-30T16:17:00.000-05:00

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario

18 September, 2005

I've tried many times to identify this Bolete, without success. The cap is 80 mm in diameter. The stalk is thick and seemed to be hollow. I didn't get a spore print. You can see from the picture of the pore surface that it seems to stain a yellow/green. I've come across a very interesting book for identifying Boletes: "North American Boletes". Unfortunately it costs $111.95! The purchase of this book would allow me to upgrade my status from hobbyist to amateur Naturalist. While this is appealing there are certain countervailing forces...

(Update 3 February, 2006)
In looking at David Arora's book, Mushrooms Demystified, I believe that this Bolete falls into the Leccinum family. These are rough-stemmed Boletes. You can see in the bottom picture that the stalk is scabrous. Now looking at Bessette, Bessette, and Fischer, Mushrooms of Northeastern North America, and using the key for Leccinum this mushroom seems to key out reasonably to L. griseum: "pores surface white, typically staining greenish then slowly dingy yellow when bruised; cap yellow brown to brown when young, becoming olive-brown to grayish brown at maturity."

The camera is fixed!

2006-01-26T15:01:00.000-05:00

Downy Woodpecker
Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario

It was a pretty sad day for birding over at the Point today. Long stretches of nothing punctuated by aggressive Chickadee attacks. We're going to need a stategy to get through this winter. Going to have to spend some quality time over at the Firefly Forest Blog. It's eternal summer over there.

Gulls in January

2006-01-25T10:14:00.000-05:00

In doing a Technorati search of references to Gulls in blogs during this past month I came across the following entries:

1. In Border's Birds I found a picture of a Black-headed Gull. Border's Birds is a new blog from the UK, "A Diary of the Birds Visiting a Rural Garden in the Scottish Borders." The Bird Woman already has many beautiful pictures of birds posted on the blog.

2. earth home garden is also a new blog that I've discovered through this search. Here is a picture of a California Gull. This is a fascinating blog by a couple that is seeking to live out an ecologically faithful life in a mountain cabin. Beautiful pictures and commentary.

3. Here's a Glaucous Gull over at the Flycatcher, another interesting blog I came across today.

4. A Black-headed Gull in flight over at The Hornet's Nest (Warwickshire, England).

5. Ring-billed Gulls featured at A DC Birding Blog. I discovered this great blog a long time ago (in Blog time, that is).

6. The BBC News reports a rescued Herring Gull that got caught up in a shoplifting drama.

Birding on the Internet! You've got to love it! Still waiting for my camera to be diagnosed and fixed.

Russula unidentified

2006-01-21T13:32:00.000-05:00

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario
September 18, 2005

The genus was as far as I could get with this mushroom. One website suggested that there are as many as 84 different species of Russula with red caps and white stems!

Apocalypse Now

2006-01-21T10:55:00.000-05:00

This morning it was pouring rain. Now, at 1100 hours, it is snowing heavily. The snow is coming down in huge (and I mean HUGE) white fluffy flakes. This afternoon is supposed to be sunny and plus six degrees Centigrade. This is January! This is Canada! What is going on? Its hard to believe that we have another three months to go before the birds begin to return and the mushrooms come up. At least this gives me time to get my camera back up and running. I accidentaly crushed the lens back into the camera when I bent over to look at a bee in the snow. It was so unusual that I wanted to take a picture of it for the blog. After the camera broke I then came across two spiders in the snow. I don't ever remember seeing that before. Well, in the meantime I will continue to try to identify the mushrooms and plants that I took pictures of last season.

Pholiota squarrosa

2006-01-17T19:34:00.000-05:00

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario

21 September, 2005

I have many good pictures of mushrooms that I have not yet been able to identify. This identification took about two hours to make. There are so many different kinds of mushrooms and each species can appear very different from instance to instance and each guide only covers a certain cross section of the species. At least I can be thankful that I'm not studying beetles... yet.

Pyncoporellus alboluteus

2006-01-12T10:13:00.000-05:00

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario
15 December, 2005

Coprinus comatus

2006-01-12T10:07:00.000-05:00

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario
9 October, 2005

Fomes fomentarius

2006-01-12T10:04:00.000-05:00

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario
27 September, 2005

Hypomyces chrysospermus

2006-01-12T09:54:00.000-05:00

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario
27 September, 2005

This is a mold that grows on Boletes. It appears white at first and then becomes yellow, to orange-yellow, to red-brown.

Russula silvicola

2006-01-12T09:49:00.000-05:00

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario
27 September, 2005

Calocera cornea

2006-01-12T09:20:00.000-05:00

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario
27 September, 2005

Coprinus atramentarius

2006-01-12T09:13:00.000-05:00

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario

22 September, 2005

Mycena haematopus

2006-01-12T08:49:00.000-05:00

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario
18 September, 2005

Xerula furfuracea

2006-01-12T08:43:00.000-05:00

Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario
10 August, 2005

Dacrymyces palmatus

2006-01-11T14:53:00.000-05:00

Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario
10 August, 2005

Christiansenia mycetophila, Gymnopus dryophilus

2006-01-11T14:49:00.000-05:00

Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario

10 August, 2005

Christiansenia mycetophila (Collybia Jelly) attacks the gilled mushroom, Gymnopus dryophilus.

Pyncoporus cinnabarinus

2006-01-11T14:42:00.000-05:00

Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario
10 August, 2005

Pleurotus ostreatus

2006-01-11T14:20:00.000-05:00

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario
2 August, 2005

Stereum ostrea

2006-01-11T14:12:00.000-05:00

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario

2 August, 2005

Pleurocybella porrigens

2006-01-11T14:08:00.000-05:00

Lemoine Point, Kingston, Ontario
2 August, 2005