This Week in the Woods, the American redstart chicks we featured last week have all successfully fledged. Here’s the last fledgling to go, a few minutes before the young bird hopped out of the nest and onto a higher branch.
There’s still plenty of other bird action to observe, however. For example, if you’re out in a meadow and get scolded by irate field sparrows, be careful where you step. The birds may be guarding a nest in the tall grass.
With all the warmth and rain we’ve been experiencing, it’s no surprise that a bumper crop of mushrooms have appeared. Three relatively common ones you may see are tiny Xeromphalina mushrooms, which mass by the hundreds-to-thousands on stumps and logs; white cheese polypore, which really does look like someone spread goat cheese on a log; and Amanita mold, which is actually two fungi in one: it develops when a parasitic fungus colonizes (and completely envelops) a mushroom in the Amanita genus.
Finally, if you happen to be in a patch of club moss, notice the pale green tips, representing new growth. You can learn more about these ancient plants in this Outside Story essay by Edna Greig from our archive.
What have you noticed in the woods this week? Submit a recent photo for possible inclusion in our monthly online Reader Photo Gallery.