What
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)Observer
gwenlhDescription
To document this species in the isolated tidal marsh I have been visiting. There was one adult male and four others (three showing here), which I guessed included females and a mixture of first year males. I don't know how long bufflehead young stay with their parents, or whether buffleheads mate for more than one season.
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What
Tree Mat Homalothecium Moss (Homalothecium fulgescens)Observer
gwenlhDescription
On a rock used to construct the dike. Shofield comments that on rock this species is distinguished from H. aeneum by the sporophyte shape: not bent at a sharp angle. Leaves are strongly pleated, although it's hard to see "the midrib resembling a central pleat".
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What
Genus TrametesObserver
gwenlhDescription
I'm not sure of species. This was the site for https://inaturalist.ca/observations/206802389.
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What
Fungi Including Lichens (Kingdom Fungi)Observer
gwenlhDescription
I noticed this very bluish fungus on Trametes, on a standing dead alder.. The earliest stage seemed to be pale powder covering the Trametes and I unfortunately did not capture that. The end stage was clearly the black layer showing in photo 4. iNat's suggestions included Nectriopsis violacea - didn't seem likely though.
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What
Alpine Haircap Moss (Polytrichastrum alpinum)Observer
gwenlhDescription
A few signs of green at the tips of the branches but otherwise looking pretty tired. This was a surprize - under a dark, damp overhang in the rocks near Carpenter's son's bridge (perhaps counts as a cliff crevice). I can see some toothed leaf edges (zoom on tiny blue arrow) and a mid rib (ditto on tiny red arrow). The leafy section of this branch was 6 cm long. I understand that P alpinum has "reduced leaves near the base of the stem" and I'm not sure whether these plants qualify. Best guess. I will look again later in the year.
Photos / Sounds
Observer
gwenlhDescription
On sawn and splintered surfaces of a newly-fallen conifer, in an area with many Douglas fir. This id suggested by iNat - there are some observations for BC but not on the mainland. A start, perhaps.
What
Subgenus PyrobombusObserver
gwenlhDescription
I saw a queen (likely B Vosnesenskii) in this area, foraging on heather the day before but she was too quick for me to photograph. This could be the same bee - when I saw her on this day she was crawling on the ground, exploring under plants as if looking for a nest site.
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What
Yellow-Fronted Bumble Bee (Bombus flavifrons)Observer
gwenlhDescription
Earliest flavifrons queen I have seen.
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What
Genus ElaphomycesObserver
gwenlhDescription
Mystery! iNat suggested the genus. From the reading I've done this could be a truffle or a false truffle, but if that's correct it should have been growing underground, rather than in the crotch of a dead (standing) alder. Photo 2 shows the fungus as found. No stem, no visible point of attachment. Rather, the underside was coated with a cottony layer, which can also be seen on the tree in photos 2 and 3. It looked like there had been a second fungus removed from there. This looked like a puffball nested in moss - had I not been looking for the moss I would never have seen it.
Photos / Sounds
What
Tree Fringewort (Ptilidium pulcherrimum)Observer
gwenlhDescription
Best guess, based on colours and feathery-looking leaves. On untreated wood of a bridge railing along a spawning channel. I removed a small part with a putty knife to try to photograph the under side - that photo is quite large so scrolling around may be helpful.
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What
Splitgill Mushroom (Schizophyllum commune)Observer
gwenlhDescription
On cultivated hardwood - likely maple. I thought this was Trametes and almost walked past, but the underside view told me this was something different.
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What
American Earwort (Scapania americana)Observer
gwenlhDescription
On shaded moist rock. Leaf shape and margins suggest Scapania to me, but I've not seen the mixture of green and purple leaves elsewhere. Rather bedraggled strands hanging down the rock. Only two plants apparent so I did not collect anything to try to photograph the underside. Photo 2 shows my attempt to prop one branch to expose the underside without damaging the plant. Some of Rambryum's S. umbrosa photos are the closest I could find to this.
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What
Flat-leaved Scalewort (Radula complanata)Observer
gwenlhDescription
This seems similar to Radula complanata, based on leaf shape and overall form. However, the eggplant-like colour of the sporangium (just below centre in photo 1) is unlike the rusty brown of the plant I have previously id'ed as R. complanata. I just don't know if colour varies within species and there are few photos in iNat to help me with this. The eggplant-like colour shows up in Porella cordeana, but otherwise the plants are quite different.
Photos / Sounds
What
Flat-leaved Scalewort (Radula complanata)Observer
gwenlhDescription
Best guess. Plant was tightly adhered to the trunk - photo 4 is my attempt to show something of the bottom side. Leaves are not shiny - otherwise this plant could fit Schofield's description of the most common R. species for our area.
Photos / Sounds
What
Scaleworts (Genus Frullania)Observer
gwenlhDescription
My best guess. The colour, opposite leaves and sprawling character seem like Frullania, but this is much smaller than the F nisquallensis that I have observed. Also, this has what I have seen described as "Flagellate branches" which I have seen only in photos of F. bolanderi: see @
Rambryum's https://inaturalist.ca/observations/185909458. This plant was so small it was hard to photograph. Individual leaves seem to be about .2 mm at most.
Photos / Sounds
What
Tree Mat Homalothecium Moss (Homalothecium fulgescens)Observer
gwenlhDescription
Plants quite dry and forming strongly-curled mats (gold through bright green) firmly attached to the rough bark (black cottonwood).
What
American Black Bear (Ursus americanus)Observer
gwenlhDescription
Clearly a young bear. Fortunately this is not a busy bridge.
Photos / Sounds
What
American Amber Jelly Fungus (Exidia crenata)Observer
gwenlhDescription
I'm not sure of the bark on this dead standing tree but the surrounding trees are a mix of black poplar and cedar. Spotted by my walking partner Teagan a bit above eye level. Appeared black on site but the sample we collected and I photographed at home is clearly brown, with a short stem at attachment point. The photo of the tree stem includes at least 8 specimens.
Photos / Sounds
What
Sap Yeast (Cystofilobasidium macerans)Observer
gwenlhDescription
iNat suggests Guepiniopsis but this doesn't seem to match the tiny amount I know of that genus. This fungus is like a tiny bladder with an opening at the end. It doesn't have a translucent body.
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What
Blue Orchard Bee (Osmia lignaria)Observer
gwenlhDescription
This could be O lignaria - I just don't know the species well enough to say.
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What
Red Clover (Trifolium pratense)Observer
gwenlhDescription
Originally I thought this was white clover. Red and alsike are two others I looked at. Hair on leaves and stems, no white markings on leaves, leaf edges not serrated, upright stems, terminal flowers, all florets pink. Depending on reference this could be any one of the three. Leaves right below flowers?
What
Trailing Blackberry (Rubus ursinus)Observer
gwenlhDescription
Fruit just forming. Trailing character of the plant is familiar here.
What
Salmonberry (Rubus spectabilis)Observer
gwenlhDescription
A bit of an oddity: I'm pretty sure I was convinced of R spectabilis by leaf shape and noticed the unusually dark-coloured berries.
What
Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus)Observer
gwenlhDescription
"leaves with palmate lobes like maple leaves" (Pojar and MacKinnon)
What
Common St. John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum)Observer
gwenlhDescription
Whoop - no shot of leaves, but this is a frequently observed species here.
What
Salal (Gaultheria shallon)Observer
gwenlhDescription
The most-observed species in our Biodiversity Squamish project!
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What
Red Huckleberry (Vaccinium parvifolium)Observer
gwenlhDescription
Characteristic "zig zag" stems.