Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Sundre Natural Area

Two days ago, a handful of us went north west of Calgary to a natural area, Sundre Natural Area, to record all plants, birds and wildlife seen during the day there. These small mushrooms are hardly spectacularly photogenic - but, hey, they ARE mushrooms! It seems that we might come across one fungus on a day's outing at the moment. Really, really hoping that this will improve in the next few weeks! These were such a beautiful colour and shiny, and definitely better than seeing nothing. Thank goodness I didn't sleep right through an hour of blaring, alarm clock music this morning, which is what I did yesterday morning (plus another hour and a half) and consequently missed a day trip with a few friends to Bow Valley Provincial Park. The University of Calgary held their Open House at their Field Station in Kananaskis today - near Barrier Lake. Four of us went to the mountains for this and enjoyed going on a botanizing walk first on our own. Then two of us went on a Butterfly walk with a young, very knowledgeable guy named Steve, who is at the Station for part of the year. We saw several different butterflies and two or three other insects - and we made it rain, LOL! The wildflowers are just so spectacular at the moment - a joy to see so many bright orange Western Wood Lilies. Absolute food for the soul!

LOL, isn't he a handsome creature? Actually, he is rather fine, with all those coloured warts, ha. We rarely see these Western Toads, so we were really lucky when we were botanizing the Sundre Natural Area a few days ago, north west of Calgary. Status is Near Threatened. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_toad

I think I'm right in saying these are Split Gill, growing on a broken-off branch. Seen on a botanizing day at the Sundre Natural Area, north west of the city. They aren't in exactly perfect condition, though the top one isn't too bad.

Feels good to me to see a colour that is different from many of the photos I post in the summer - a pretty blue. These little, wild Harebells were growing at the Sundre Natural Area about 10 days ago. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campanula_rotundifolia

This is one of my favourite native wildflowers - White Camas. When I downloaded my photos from yesterday's day of botanizing at Sundre Natural Area (north west of Calgary) to my computer last night, and cropped this zoomed-in photo, I discovered there was a tiny spider hiding in there along with the gorgeous beetle. I have a better shot of the latter, showing its patterns, which I will eventually post. Don't you just love these rings of tiny green hearts? : ) "White camas (Zygadenus elegans) is a member of the lily family, and is commonly found in open areas and lightly wooded montane regions. Narrow, pale silver-green leaves at the base compliment the long, showy floral spike, which bears several individual creamy green six-petaled flowers. The bulb of this plant is poisonous, but not so much so as that of its relative, the death camas. Camas blooms from July through August." From en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DwWhitecamus.jpg

This beautifully coloured fungus (a very coarse polypore) was growing on a branch at the Bearberry Prairie Natural Area or the adjoining Sundre Natural Area, on 13th August. Added on 13th December 2010: many thanks to Harvey Medland who suggested Polyporus Alveolaris for the ID. Actually, I've just noticed botany friend, Doug, who took photos of the same specimen, had given a similar ID - Polyporus Alveolaris s. lato. Thanks to both of you : )

Sometimes, the underside of a mushroom or a polypore is even more beautiful than the topside. This one has a coarse structure. Seen on August 13th either at the Bearberry Prairie Natural Area or adjoining Sundre Natural Area. Added on 13th December 2010: many thanks to Harvey Medland who suggested Polyporus Alveolaris for the ID. Actually, I've just noticed botany friend, Doug, who took photos of the same specimen, had given a similar ID - Polyporus Alveolaris s. lato. Thanks to both of you : )

During a full-day botanizing outing yesterday at Bearberry Prairie Natural Area and Sundre Natural Area, I spotted this rather fine Western/Boreal Toad. "The Western Toad or Boreal Toad (Bufo boreas) is a large toad species, between 5.6 and 13 cm long, of western North America. It has a white or cream dorsal stripe, and is dusky gray or greenish dorsally with skin glands concentrated within the dark blotches. Compared to females, males have smoother skin, reduced dorsal blotching, and nuptial pads (thickened skin) on their forefeet during breeding season. In juveniles of this species, the dorsal stripe is weak or absent. Large young have prominent dorsal and ventral spotting and yellow feet. Breeding occurs between March and July in mountainous areas, and as early as January in lower-elevation regions. The female lays up to 17,000 eggs stuck together in strings that adhere to vegetation and other objects along water edges ..... It is listed as near threatened largely due to the impact of disease and chemical contamination of the environment." From Wikipedia.

Towards the end of our botanizing walk at the Bearberry Prairie Natural Area/Sundre Natural Area four days ago, friend Doug handed me this broken mushroom to photograph. Definitely past its prime, but I don't remember seeing a fungi like this one before : ) It had been growing in moss and grass. ID provided by Doug Waylett - thanks! Wooly Inky Cap, Coprinus lagopus.