Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: the

As usual, any fungi IDs given are always tentative, not 100% confirmed. Rule is, if you are not an expert in mycology, do not pick wild mushrooms to eat! You could end up very sick, or worse. Another gloomy day today, 13 September 2019, with a temperature of 14C just after noon. Yesterday, however, it was actually sunny, so I had to get out and make the most of it. It definitely feels and looks like fall. Snow is already being forecast for parts of Alberta. It will soon be time to get all-season tires off and winter tires put on. Five days ago, on 8 September 2019, we had such a wonderful four and a half hours, searching for different kinds of fungi in the amazing forest on Rod Handfield's land, SW of Calgary. I believe this was our tenth visit - the first one I went on, being on 25 June 2009 - each one resulting in various different species. This last visit was so overwhelming! You didn't know which direction to face and which mushroom to photograph first. They were everywhere! Such a contrast to our visit on 6 August 2017, when basically there were no mushrooms (other than maybe three), because everywhere had been so very dry. A day like this can be so exhausting, not just from the walking and fresh air, but also because of all the excitement. The quality of many of my photos is not the best, as the day was very overcast - the last thing one wants when trying to take photos deep in the forest. After leaving Rod's, it did rain. I had driven myself there instead of carpooling, so that I could drive some of the backroads in the area after we had finished. The forecast was for sun and cloud - and I had foolishly believed it. The rain put an end to my plans and I headed for home. I'm so glad I had checked a special little spot near Rod's first thing in the morning, when I got there a bit too early. A few years ago, there was a beautiful display of Fly Agaric / Amanita muscaria mushrooms growing there, but not since then whenever I have checked. To my absolute delight, there were maybe half a dozen, in different stages of development. Surprisingly, we didn't come across a single one in Rod's forest this year. As always, thank you so much, Rod, for so generously allowing us to explore your property. This has been my favourite place to visit for quite a number of years now. We greatly appreciate your kindness - you are always so welcoming, and we learn so much and discover so many beautiful things. Thank you, Karel, for leading the group and helping with identifications. I'm sure at least some of us are anxiously waiting for you to have time, in between leading botany walks, to post some of your photos along with their IDs. Meanwhile, "fungus" has to be sufficient.

The next batch of photos that I will edit and post are of Wild Turkeys, and a pair of beautiful, tiny Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls that were very, very distant. Such a treat to have these found for us! After these, I can start on Day 6, which will have lots of colourful, closer bird shots, thank goodness : ) This was a really special full day, from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm, on 23 March 2019, Day 5 of our 13-day birding holiday in South Texas. Before we left Calgary, we had booked a tour at the 825,000 acre King Ranch and we were greatly looking forward to it. The area we explored was way south on the ranch land, called the Norias Division. The driver of the van/mini-bus was Barb, who did a great job of finding 47 bird species for us, and also trying to find a tiny Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl. We also bumped into Barb's boss a couple of times and he went off in search of an owl. Almost at the end of our great day, he managed to find a pair of them! A man, originally from Holland, but now living in Houston, had travelled all the way to the King Ranch, hoping most of all to see one of these beautiful owls. The rest of us had actually seen one of these owls on our Trinidad & Tobago trip in 2017. He joined us for the day and, needless to say, he was delighted that his sought-after species was successful. The owls were far away, so photos (to be posted later) are very distant, but what a gorgeous pair of little owls they were. Everyone was thrilled to bits. Many thanks to Tom (?) for searching and searching! "In 1853, Captain Richard King purchased a creek-fed oasis in the Wild Horse Desert of South Texas, sparking generations of integrity, preservation, and innovation. King Ranch now covers 825,000 acres—more land than the state of Rhode Island. Over the course of over 160 years, King Ranch led some of the first cattle drives, developed the Santa Gertrudis and Santa Cruz breeds of cattle, bred the finest Quarter Horses, and produced champion Thoroughbreds—all under its iconic Running W® brand. Today’s King Ranch is a major agribusiness with interests in cattle ranching, farming (citrus, cotton, grain, sugar cane, and turfgrass), luxury retail goods, and recreational hunting." king-ranch.com/ Some of the species we were already familiar with, but new birds included the amazing Scissor-tailed flycatcher, Vermilion Flycatcher, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, and Bronzed Cowbird. I was really hoping that we might see a Green Jay, and I was in luck. A variety of wildflowers, a mushroom (Ink-cap or similar), a beautiful moth, and several deer added to our enjoyment. We were also very lucky to see a Javelina/Collared Peccary travelling fast through the bushes. Another sighting that was as fleeting as could possibly be were half a dozen Nilgai Antelope. "Texas is home to more free-range nilgai antelope than their native country of India. Originally stocked on the King Ranch in the 1930’s, these sporty game animals quickly took hold and are currently free- ranging on a handful of large private properties in lower South Texas." From link below. www.wildlifesystems.com/nilgai-antelope.html For me, I think the highlight of the day was when I happened to spot a tiny Texan Horned Lizard / Phrynosoma cornutum. A few years ago, I had been so disappointed to miss a trip to SE Alberta to see a Horned Lizard. At the King Ranch, we were standing still for some reason, when something caught my eye near my shoes. I thought a small piece of dead, faded plant had blown in. Then it moved again, still not far from my feet. Couldn't believe my eyes!! What an interesting creature - it actually can shoot blood from small protuberances by its eyes when it feels very threatened! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_horned_lizard We had lunch outside and were visited by a beautiful, curious White-tailed Deer. Several others were also seen while we were driving around the ranch land. A good day, for sure, and we appreciated the effort that Barb and her boss put into searching for various species.