I have such mixed feelings about the unseasonably beautiful weather we had for our walk this weekend. On the one hand, it was absolutely delightful to be out in near-60 degree weather. On the other, it’s awfully worrying that we have such days at all in January.
About the Author: Laura Costello ➔
Laura is a citizen scientist, co-leader and author for EwA. Together with Laura we explore the botany and wildlife of New England and that she shares about in our Forest Explorations blog series. Make sure to also check Laura's blog 'A Land Like This One' about a piece of a forest that she enjoys at every opportunity that she has. It's also a marvelous way to see how different things may be just a state away and compare the timing of seasonal events!
“The world around us is so intricate and interconnected. The more I look, the more there is to see. The more I learn, the more I want to find out...”
Once a month, Laura and Claire lead a biodiversity walk in the Fells. It’s a free form activity of ours which only purpose is to explore what Nature wonders are in season: what is flowering, fruiting, passing by, living here? Here are highlights of what we enjoyed this time!
Fungi in Winter
We stopped to admire a number of fungi species, including this unusually attractive Birch polypore (Fomitopsis betulina). As its name suggests, it is to be found almost exclusively on birch trees. It serves as food and breeding place for a great number of insects.
A little up on the same trail, we then found a Thin-walled maze polypore (Daedaleopsis confragosa). This beautiful bracket fungus is also known as the Blushing Bracket because there are often shades of pink or mauve on the top surface. At it catches the sunlight in the understory, it often stands out in the winter from the dark colors of the bark and branches that it is attached to.
We also helped release spores by poking the Pear-Shaped Puffballs (Apioperdon pyriforme).
Fruits & Seeds in Winter
Milkweed (Asclepias sp.) seeds always make me smile. We called them “wishies” as children. If I made a wish on one today, I might try wishing for more wishies because they grow into important nectar sources for native bees and critical food for monarch butterfly caterpillars.
Canada mayflower’s (Maianthemum canadense) tiny fruits still dotted the forest floor, reminding us that their sweet-smelling flowers will come again. Their little green leaves will be one of the earlier spring wildflowers to peek up in April.
The dried seed pods of the Mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) we encountered were splitting open.
Wildlife in Winter
Unfortunately, none of us caught a photo of our most striking sighting – three beautiful antlered stags that went leaping past perhaps 20 meters away. The Middlesex Fells are really such an amazing place!
But Joe caught a photo of a beautiful Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis).
And at the other end of the size spectrum, there was a Smaller yellow ant (Lasius claviger)…
Quite a wonderful variety for this deep in winter! Thank you to everyone who joined us. Check all our other sightings that day at the Fells here. 📅 Join us next month to explore the natural joys to be found in February!
The photos in this article are visual observations that Laura, Joe and Bill have recorded during the Jan 11th, 2020 Forest Explorations event. Photos are licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC).
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