Another Xmas day lifer: I found this alga (Ralfsia) during low tide at Fitzgerald Marine Preserve - it’s pretty intriguing. It is not often observed in my area:
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I got my first owl observation earlier this week on Christmas day:
(Great Horned Owl) https://inaturalist.ca/observations/194848615
Plus my first downy and hairy woodpeckers on the 23rd:
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Nice! It’s a bit silly, but I call this feat a “triple century day” when iNat records making >100 observations of >100 taxa with >100 life list firsts in a single calendar day.
Edit to add my own lifer:
This little guy showed up Christmas morning, 15 floors up in Brooklyn, spotted by my youngest son during the flurry of gift unwrapping. Just IDed as potentially new-to-me Chlorochroa persimilis
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New lifers!
I found this soldier beetle larva under a log, which is a new family for me.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/194920860
This moss which has yet to get identified to species and which I believe is a lifer.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/194920749
This Cladonia which looks awfully different than any other Cladonia I’ve seen.
(I have no idea how to ID Cladonia)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/194919836
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Went to Ottawa to spend Christmas with the in-laws. Before I left,I had a chance to visit some Nepean trails and got a surprising number of observations in, including a pretty rare-to-see Winter firefly (which I have seen once before).
While walking the trail I came across a long fence with shoulder-ish high fence posts that I thought might make perfect lichen garden pads.
I was right! And I have now added Cladonia macilenta (Lipstick Powderhorn) to my list.
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A new house creature! with low quality photos… This fungivorous mite (that I barely noticed) was crawling around a pot of succulent seedlings. Family Eupodidae · iNaturalist
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Well, it is now the first week of January, 2024. Monday the 1st was a traditional event – the New York Mycological Society’s New Year’s Day, Central Park, Fungus foray. We met up on Central Park West at 96th Street.
We entered the park near 'The Pool" and then climbed the Great Hill to search the woodland around there. The weather was in the 40s, and mostly sunny. I was there for 4 hours and was very tired when I got home, plus my foot was hurting. But I did really great. I count 9 new things so far!
I was lucky to observe several non-mushroom lifers:
American Green-Winged Teal
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/195510938
Ground Wolf Spider
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/195510337
Blackberry Leafminer Moth
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/195510390
Pine Witches Broom Phytoplasma – or are these normal epicormic growths?
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/195510735
…And several of the fungi I photographed were new to me too: …
Raspberry leaf spot, Sphaerulina rubi – a fungal plant pathogen
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/195510622
Merismodes anomala – looks like coral cups when you use some magnification
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/195509027
Peroneutypa scoria – little twig-like branches
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/195509235
Propolis farinosa – white oval marks
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/195509697
Hypoxylon perforatum – look like little beige cakes
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/195509666
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I hadn’t considered that I would run across an un-described organism let alone one near to home but it looks like this fungus may be new. On the other hand, mycologists guess that fewer than 5% (or is it 1%) are known at this point so it is almost likely that it might happen if we look often enough. So this was from over 2 years ago but I just found out that it should be submitted. Kind of cool.
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European Gazelle Beetle - first observation of this invasive species from the state of New York which represents quite a range extension (nearest observation is in Philadelphia). Only 5 east coast records total.
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And this is Wednesday January 3rd, 2024.
Today at 1:30 pm I went over onto the Esplanade near here with my friend Misha, and found some good new things:
A winter midge, genus Diamesa. But supposedly I found one on Jan 1st too if that iD was correctly ID’ed.
Powdery Mildew on a grass species
Powdery mildew on Northern Seaside Goldenrod
Powdery Mildew on Cherry Laurel
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Three moth lifers for me this week:
Colobochyla salicalis (Lesser Belle)
Abrostola triplasia (Dark Spectacle)
Mamestra brassicae (Cabbage Moth)
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Northern Harrier
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“Dark Spectacle” is an excellent moth name.
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Just got a moth lifer :-) I was watching the parade of the three Wise Men and afterwards decided to do my “moth round” - and the Reyes (the kings/ wise men bring the presents here) brought me a new moth. :-)
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This has been a good week for lifers for me:
On the very first day of the year, I heard on the Telegram Rare Birds group I’m in that there was an unusual occurrence of pelagic seabirds coming closer to shore, to the point where some were actually right inside the harbour! Later in the day, there was another group of these birds on the north coast of the city, so I drove up there to see those as well.
Behold the Wilson’s and European Storm-Petrels :
Yesterday, from the same Telegram group, I heard that a Long-crested Eagle had turned up on a wine farm on the outskirts of the city. This is highly unusual since this eagle is normally seen in the eastern parts of the country and is usually not found this side.
When I got there the eagle was luckily still hanging around:
I had already seen this eagle species once on a road somewhere in Kwa-Zulu Natal when I was part of a tour group going around that part of the country, but wasn’t able to capture it as we were moving quite fast on the road and I didn’t have my camera out. So seeing this yesterday was the first time I could get a photo of it, so I’m quite pleased!
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I was walking mindlessly in one of the parks nearby and stumbled upon a very quiet area. The atmosphere there felt so serene. I walked around, enjoying how it feels so quiet and undisturbed, and saw a beautiful cup lichen on a cultivated tree. The Cladonia stands out so much with its form! I will definitely go back there in spring to see how life blossoms there then!
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My first undescribed: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/195731576. Knowing the genus is famous for it very painful sting, I will not hunt for more pictures.
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Not a lifer, but a pleasing find: After so many years of being ruled by Cinnamon Hummingbirds, the neighborhood suddenly received a new visitor: an adult male Green-breasted Mango. Not a lifer, and not rare either, but I’ve seen them only a few times, and definitely not favored by urban development. And they are gorgeous! He has been here for a while, but got caught by the Cinnamons, who now can’t stop harassing him.
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Probably these fungal growths I saw today!
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/196213320
I’ve seen a few similar growths in the past, but never on Artemisia sp.
(here are the link to the ones I’d seen in the past)
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/171503117
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/189610302
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I think it is Guilandina bonduc.
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