Ridgewood Duck Pond Nature Walk

I went with my dog on a nature walk around a pond about 10 minutes from where I live in Bergen County, New Jersey. We walked around for about 45 minutes. It was nice and sunny at the time sitting at about 85ºF. The pond isn't too big maybe 1/5th of the size of the res at BC but there are tons of trees and rocks around it. There were lots of ducks and I saw some feathers from what looked like different types of birds but I wanted to focus more on the fungi, lichens, and microbe colonies. I was successful in finding lots of different moss and lichen species. I came across two mushrooms which I also linked in my observations. One of the species that I now know is a lichen I had originally thought was a colony of bacteria that were growing on a boulder, they are actually called Sunken Disk Lichens. It was their shape and the way they grew that made me think they were bacteria colonies. I also realized that a lot of what many people think of as mosses are actually lichens which are not the same thing as they are not plants. I put some pictures of what I believe are mosses in my observations linked here to show the differences between them. I had looked in the water to see if I could find some algae or microbial mats but was unable to find any on the edge where I was. I had a great time walking around and really looking at nature. I found that when you're looking for it you can really see all the amazing biodiversity we have around us all the time.

Posted on June 10, 2021 04:42 PM by aidandaly aidandaly

Observations

Photos / Sounds

What

Fluffy Dust Lichen (Lepraria finkii)

Observer

aidandaly

Date

June 9, 2021 11:47 AM EDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Mosses (Phylum Bryophyta)

Observer

aidandaly

Date

June 9, 2021 11:52 AM EDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Mosses (Phylum Bryophyta)

Observer

aidandaly

Date

June 9, 2021 11:52 AM EDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Higher Ascomycetes (Subphylum Pezizomycotina)

Observer

aidandaly

Date

June 9, 2021 11:54 AM EDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Sunken Disk Lichens (Genus Aspicilia)

Observer

aidandaly

Date

June 9, 2021 11:56 AM EDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Yellow American Blusher (Amanita flavorubens)

Observer

aidandaly

Date

June 9, 2021 12:06 PM EDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Yellow American Blusher (Amanita flavorubens)

Observer

aidandaly

Date

June 9, 2021 12:06 PM EDT

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