Since it is Earth Day, Seney National Wildlife Refuge once again scheduled a bioblitz. And in honor of the day Mother Nture decided it was a good time to snow. So instead of heading out at 8 am, we decided to start at 9:30 am.
The tasj assigned to me by Susan was to photograph and tally lichens and mosses. Since all of the observations were going into iNaturalist photos were a necessity. Anyway, I started with some easy stuff – bristly beard lichen on th left and boreal oakmoss lichen on the right.
But wait, between lichens and mosses there’s trailing arbutus, which isn’t in bloom yet.
Mosses are everywhere. In diversity they are the second most diverse life form at Whitefish Point after lichens at this time of year.
A nice little patch of Cladonia lichens on the sand.
Trumpet lichen on the right (Cladonia fimbriata) and lesser sulphur-cup on the right (Cladonia deformis).
And more members of Cladonia – Red-fruited pixix cup on the left (Cladonia plurota) and another patch of them on the right.
Susan getting photos of a mushroom.
By 9 pm the sky had cleared and we could sit back, relax and watch the Long-eared Owls migrating. I managed to see 15, Susan saw 19. The perfect end to the day.
More later…
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