Bird's Nest Fungi

It's that time of the year again. That time when the leaves fall off the trees, the temperature drops, and it rains, rains, rains. All these things make the perfect conditions for fungi to grow. You know, those creatures that are not quite plant, and not quite animal, that do an amazing job at decay. They are around us everywhere: in the soil, in the air, and in the water. Only when they fruit, do we get to see the diversity of their forms. Gerry found one in the bog the other day.

 

These fungi are called bird's nest fungi. As you can see, they look like nests made by little tiny birds with several little eggs inside.  The scientific name of this one is Nidula candida. They grow on twigs on the ground. The scientific name for an 'egg' is a peridiole. Inside each peridiole is thousands of spores. The spores get dispersed by having the eggs fly out when water splashes into the cup. Thanks for the pictures Gerry!

Name That Fungus

Hi Crazy Boggers:

    It looks like the weather is going to cooperate for Saturday. We may even get a little sunshine! 

    The water level is even higher than it was two weeks ago. That is good for the bog but more difficult for us to get into many areas. We will continue to remove patches of polytrichum and lower areas in preparation for planting and there is always weeding to be done.

    The attached pictures of the Lipstick Cladonia Lichen were taken at the foot of the Saskatoon Berry Tree last week.  Who can name the growth in front of the lichen?

    See you all on Saturday.

    Gerry

Misty bog

 We had another successful work party this past Saturday with 22 enthusiastic volunteers in attendance. They did a great job of removing what seemed like "tons" of polytrichum. The sphagnum mosses will now have a better chance of survival!

    Thanks to the representatives from ECHO and the family from Emily Carr U. who joined our work party. I believe it is the first time we had 6 year old twins girls volunteering. They did a great job of separating the sphagnum mosses from the polytrichum.

    Unfortunately the weatherman does not want to cooperate this coming Saturday but hopefully the weather will be better the following Saturday.

    Laurence sent me the attached great photos taken early Thursday morning with the following caption:

    " Many of the trees and bushes were covered by spider webs. These were covered by dew drops and glistened as the sun beams shone through the mist. What a beautiful place!"

See you all next week.

    Gerry

spider web on blueberry

Lipstick Lichen and Fairy Puke in a flooded bog

lipstick lichen

Fairy Puke (Emma posted on this topic last year)

Bald Eagle perching on Shore Pine

Gerry observed and photographed yet another raptor in the bog:

 We had another successful work party this past Saturday with 15 volunteers in attendance. We collected mosses from the forest and planted a large section to the east of the platform.

    We collected more moss during the week in hopes that the weather will cooperate for another week and we will have time to plant remaining areas.

    While I was in the bog this past Sunday I look up as there was a number of crows making a lot of noise.This is a usual sign an intruder is in their area and sure enough the Bald Eagle  had landed some 50-60 ft. from where I was standing. He then proceeded to move to the dead shore pine. 

    The eastern Blue Jay that all the birders we looking for didn't show up in the bog but our Bald Eagle paid us a visit. Enjoy!

    See you all on Saturday.

    Gerry

Bald Eagle in Pinus contorta

Looks Like Frog Pelt Lichen

Last Saturdays work party of 8 used up all the sphagnum mosses we had collected from the forest. It was used to plant two fairly big areas of the bog that we had been prepping for some time. We planted it just in time as the subsequent rains flooded the area. This Saturday we will have to look for areas dry enough to work. I thought I would share with the group some of the pictures I have taken of plants, other than sphagnum mosses, that also grow in the bog. Attached are pictures of a Lichen called Frog Pelt that is presently growing in the bog. Pojar states that it comes in 3 different colors: olive green, milky blue and dark slate blue. It has brownish, tooth like fruiting bodies (#9578) on raised lobes. The lower surface is whitish with long slender holdfasts called rhizines (# 7325). This lichen is located on a covered stump close to the "sphagnum mosses" sign just in front of the bench on the south side of the bog.  -- Gerry

Barred owl watches over our work party

"...As you can see from the attached photos, we had a wise old owl watching our every move. It was perched in a hemlock tree just at the 21st Ave. entrance. In the first photo he seems to be giving us " the sign of approval for a job well done." 

    We will continue with  the weeding, removal of the polytrichum and lowering of the bog surface in preparation for planting" 

--Gerry

Where the Wild Things Are Teacher Pro-D, Oct 19, 2012

that very night in Max's room a forest grew, and grew, until the ceiling hung with vines, and the walls became the world around...", 

- Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are.

Bog Buddy program, 2011. photo credit: Marian De Geer,

Biology 11 students teach elementary students in Camosun bog: photo credit: Marian De Geer

When: October 19, 2012  9:30 - 12:30 pm

Where to meet: Entrance of Camosun Bog (map)

Who can register:    youth leaders, urbanists, teachers, informal educators,  student teachers.  Register by contacting  Susan at codesignyouthmanual@gmail.com
(If you are a teacher, please let us know if you are secondary or elementary).

Cost: free

Presenters:  VSB teachers, The Camosun Bog Restoration Group, Metro Vancouver Regional Parks interpreters, and Co-Design Group

Dress code, what to bring:  

This is an outdoor program happening rain or shine. Be prepared for rain. Bring your favourite tea mug. 

Join the Crazy Boggers, Metro Vancouver Regional Park interpreters and VSB teachers for an active and informative Pro-D walking through an enchanting urban bog! Learn the fascinating story of this ancient ecosystem and methods for interpreting the bog for students of all ages. Taste Labrador Tea, touch a carnivorous sundew and Jump on a bog trampoline! Walk away with lesson strategies, classroom resources and the ability to identify at least five bog species and five invasive species, guaranteed!

Purpose of this workshop:

• To give educators the tools to bring their classrooms and small groups to the bog with confidence
• To familiarize educators with the bog narrative, bog ecology and share connections to the elementary and secondary curriculum.
• To encourage educators to visit our bog. Camosun bog is the most transit - accessible bog in Vancouver and we encourage everyone to experience this treasure in the city

Our presenters have experience interpreting the bog for elementary students and secondary students up to senior secondary. Furthermore, the metro vancouver regional parks interpreters are well versed in presenting the bog in an informal context. The bog is a great outdoor classroom for the following topics:

plant anatomy

ecological succession

bog ecology

bryophytes

plant competition

urban geography

local history of our city

and it is a wonderful location for inspiring students to create art, poetry, short stories.