Peekaboo!

February 20^th, 2013. We were driving along a rural road bordering the Oconee National Forest in the late afternoon when we encountered a raccoon crossing the road. Rather than scamper across the road ahead of us, it doubled back to the edge of the woods. Next thing we knew, it…

peeked around a tree to see if it was safe to come out again.

A closer view

We sat for a while to see what it would do. After a few minutes, it set off along the tree line and came out to the road a little further down the road. Instead of crossing the road, it set of at a trot down the middle of the road. We followed it, hoping for another photo op, but it didn’t oblige and finally crossed to the other side of the road and set off through the woods until it was out of sight.

Raccoons are nocturnal so it was unusual to see a one in daylight hours. It seemed healthy but sighting one in daylight may be indicative of an animal infected with rabies and its best to stay at a safe distance from them.

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Identification Resources:

University of Georgia Museum of Natural History: Raccoon (Procyon lotor)

Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

February 20th, 2013. We were cruising slowly down a rural road not far from the Scull Shoals Experimental Forest when we passed a big bird perched on the branch of a fallen tree. My impression was of a very large bird with a shocked look on its face. It took a few seconds to register that we’d been within about 20 feet of this bird.

We stopped. Rather than back up and risk spooking the bird, I twisted around in my seat and leaned as far as I could out the window and captured these images from a short distance down the road.  The bird, identified as a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) was seemingly unaffected by our being there and didn’t pay much attention to us. It was looking for supper.

The view using a full zoom.

Following are a set of images cropped from this and other images captured as the hawk searched its surroundings for prey.

 

I've seen a number of juvenile Red-tailed hawks at this time of year but this is the only one that has been in a location where we could stop or stayed put to be photographed.

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Identification resources:

- The Cornell Lab of Ornithology: Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

- Red-tailed Hawk Nest 2012: Red-tailed Hawk Juvenile Visits Nest Today Dec 17th,2010

- The Internet IBC Bird: Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) - Juvenile

Just Poking Our Heads Up To See If It’s Safe To Come Out

February 20th, 2013. After finding the Trillium cuneatum at the Broad River Wildlife Management Area, we stopped by the Scull Shoals Experimental Forest in Greene County, Georgia, to see if the these were coming up there. This location is a little higher (460 ft above sea level) compared with the Broad River WMA site (425 ft above sea level) although it is affected more by the weather fronts coming from the Artic than the Broad River WMA site.

At this location, a cluster of trilliums grows on the west side of a tree in a sheltered location. Others grow in the open beside the road.  We didn’t see any obvious sign of plants in the open and wandered over to the tree.

The tree… Looking closely, we found a number of plants just poking their heads up through the leaves. It would be so easy to trample the plants at this stage. Since we knew where they grew in this area, we were able to approach them without risking damaging them.

This one has emerged but the leaves haven’t really started to unfurl but…

It did give us a great opportunity to see the veining on the underside of the leaves. (Another trillium is opening just behind and to the right of this one).

The characteristic color pattern of Trillium cuneatum is visible on the top of the leaves of this plant.

The stalk is visible on this plant. Plants in this location are relatively large and have long stalks.

These two plants were the most developed and let us see even younger flower buds than we had seen on the plants at the Broad River WMA.

A closer view.

This is what they’ll look like a a few weeks. These were photographed last year.

Trillium cuneatum is known by the common names Little Sweet Betsy, Purple Toadshade, Whippoorwill Flower, and Large Toadshade. It is stalked, had mottled leaves and erect flowers that are purple to brown. The anthers and stamen are a characteristic maroon and gold. This species is found in the eastern United States from Pennsylvania and Illinois south and southeast to Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. In Georgia, they are found more frequently in counties in north Georgia and in other areas in the state.

It wasn’t surprising that only a few trilliums had emerged in this location. The plants

at the base of this tree were not only protected from the cold but were bathed with warm sunshine in the afternoon, making this a slightly warmer location than the open areas where the other trilliums grow. It won’t be long, however, before the other plants also emerge to bloom again.

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Identification resources:

- Southeastern Flora: Trillium cuneatum (Little Sweet Betsy)

- Native and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Trillium cuneatum (Little Sweet Betsy, Purple Toadshade, Whippoorwill Flower)

Distribution:

USDA Plants Database: Trillium cuneatum (Little Sweet Betsy)

Related posts:

- First Trillium Of Spring

- Trillium cuneatum (Little Sweet Betsy)

A Good Season For Mock Oyster Mushroom (Phyllotopsis nidulans)

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We first found Phyllotopsis nidulans at Fort Yargo State Park in Barrow County in 2009. We’ve kept our eyes out for it each year but haven’t seen any. Then, last Fall, we found specimens on a pine stump in the Oconee National Forest in Greene County, Georgia. In December, we found some growing on a fallen pine trunk on our property in Walton County. Last week, we found several developing on a tree stump in Elbert County and on a tree trunk in Wilkes County.

Most of the mushrooms we’ve found have been on fallen trunks or stumps of pine trees.

Phyllotopsis nidulans mushrooms on a living, deciduous tree in Wilkes County (February 2013). They are on the right-hand side of the trunk in the center.

The ‘youngest’ specimens. They are uniformly orange and finely hairy.

A fine cluster

Closer views of specimens that are developing densely hairy caps.

A close-up view of an individual cap

The gills

Older specimens on a pine stump in Greene County, Georgia (December 2012). The mushrooms are now white with orange ‘highlights’ and distinctly hairy compared with the younger specimens.

All-in-all, a good season for Phyllotopsis nidulans.

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Identification resource:

Mushroom Expert: Phyllotopsis nidulans

Related posts:
- Mushroom: Phyllotopsis nidulans

Exidia recisa (Amber Jelly Roll, Brown Witch's Butter)

February 14th, 2013. As we drove out of the Broad River Wildlife Management Area spotting trilliums after our find near the river, we spotted a large cluster of jelly fungus on a fallen branch that had hung up on a nearby tree trunk.

The main cluster on the horizontal section of the branch.

A slightly closer view of the cluster. The fungi at the far right are beginning to dry up and shrivel.

A close-up view of a section of the main cluster.

There were small clusters of the fungus on the vertical section of the branch.

A close-up view of one of the smaller clusters. They are starting to dry out.

They are translucent.

These were a nice find. Had they been dried up we might not have noticed them.

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Identification resources: 

- Rogers Mushrooms: Exidia recisa

- Indiana Mushrooms: Exidia recisa 

- Messiah College: Exidia recisa 

- Mushroom Hunter: Exidia recisa

Related post:

- First Trillium Of Spring

First Trillium Of Spring

February 14th, 2013. Well, technically, it’s still Winter but… We’ve had a mild Winter but we were a little surprising to see trilliums. W was scheduled to make a frog survey run in Wilkes County so we spent the afternoon running the roads north of the Broad Rivers. One of our standard stops is the Broad River Wildlife Management Area in Elbert County.

We drove out to the Broad River at two places – one from River Road that looks downstream to Anthony Shoals, and the second from GA-79 that reaches the river at the shoals. On our prevous trip during the Fall, this second road had been torn up during the wet weather. It’s since been repaired and we were able to reach the river this time.

The area is open deciduous woodland that doesn’t look very interesting

We were following a track that followed the shoreline west when we spotted some tell-tale variated, trifoliate plants in the grass. When we started looking around we found a lot of trilliums – Trillium cuneatum (Little Sweet Betsy, Purple Toadshade, Whippoorwill Flower) – in bud. These plants were interesting in that they were only 5 to 6 inches in diameter (saucer size) compared with the plants we saw last year at Scull Shoals Experimental Forest and the Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge that were much bigger.

There were some slow-pokes that were just pushing their way out of the ground.

Most were in bud, both as individual plants, and...

 in clusters.

And then we spotted one in bloom. Can you see it? It’s a little left of center in this image.

A little closer...

Close views from above and…

from the side.

As we drove out, we saw many plants that we’d overlooked on the way in. In a week or two most of the plants will be blooming.

Trillium cuneatum is known by the common names Little Sweet Betsy, Purple Toadshade, Whippoorwill Flower, and Large Toadshade. It is stalked, had mottled leaves and erect flowers that are purple to brown. The anthers and stamen are a characteristic maroon and gold. This species is found in the eastern United States from Pennsylvania and Illinois south and southeast to Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi. In Georgia, they are found more frequently in counties in north Georgia and in other areas in the state.

Click on an image to view a larger image

Identification resources:

- Southeastern Flora: Trillium cuneatum (Little Sweet Betsy)

- Native and Naturalized Plants of the Carolinas and Georgia: Trillium cuneatum (Little Sweet Betsy, Purple Toadshade, Whippoorwill Flower)

Distribution:

- USDA Plants Database: Trillium cuneatum (Little Sweet Betsy)

Related post:

- Trillium cuneatum (Little Sweet Betsy)

The Seasons On Pistol Creek

When we first crossed this creek, we knew it was a place we’d revisit. Someone had nailed a sign with the name ‘Pistol Creek’ on the trunk of a tree on its bank. I thought I had a photograph of the sign, but I don’t – and I didn’t notice the sign last time we were there. We didn’t know if this was the real name for the creek but, according to the Georgia Gazeteer, it does seem to be so.

Looking south across the bridge over Pistol Creek to the approach from the south.

In late March 2012, looking…

upstream. There are rock bars across the creek with a gentle cascade of water over the south side.

Downstream. The water flows over a gravel bed until it cascades over small boulders and out of sight.

In late Spring - these images were taken in April 2012 - and through the Summer, the creek is bathed in rich green shade…

Upstream, and…

downstream.

As Fall approaches the flow in the stream slows and leaves accumulate on the surface.

Upstream. In late October 2011, the water was barely flowing, and

downstream, the gravel bed was exposed under the bridge.

Upstream in late October 2012, the creek bed was completely dry

A closer view.

Downstream, there was no water either.

Water flows again in December when the rains begin…

Upstream. In December 2011, the water, muddy from a recent rainfall, was flowing again, and

Cascading over the south end of the rock bar, and

Downstream if flowing freely again.

Upstream. In February 2013, the water, also muddy from recent rain, is flowing again.

Downstream.

The $64M question is whether the creek will dry up completely again this year.

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