What in the Woods Is That?

Play our biweekly guessing game!

Whatever draws us into the forest—be it birdwatching or logging, hiking or hunting—all of us are unified by the sense of wonder we feel in the outdoors. The forests, fields, and streams of our region are full of mystery, and if you stop and look closely, you’ll see all sorts of oddities.

Below find a picture of one such woodlands curio. Guess what it is and you’ll be eligible to win a Northern Woodlands woodpecker magnet designed by artist Liz Wahid. A prize winner will be drawn at random from all the correct entries. The correct answer, and the winner’s name, will appear when the next column is posted and in our newsletter (sign up here!).

Bubbling Birch?

A reader in Stony Creek, New York, submitted this photo of a bubbly substance at the base of a yellow birch. What’s brewing here?

Answer

Foam can form at the base of trees during or after a rainfall. The water dissolves accumulated chemicals on the surface of the tree bark, air gets added to the mix as the water flows down the tree, and the result is this sudsy-looking foam at the bottom of the tree.

This week’s contest winner was David Govatski