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!).

Mystery Mass

Ten inches wide and bumpy all over, this melon-shaped mass was discovered in Church Pond in the Adirondacks. What is it? Photo by Judy Brook.

Answer

A colonial bryozoan.

Reader Judy Brook found and photographed this 10-inch bryozoan in Church Pond in the Adirondacks. Pectinatella magnifica is a member of the animal phylum Ectoprocta (common names: bryozoans, moss animals), a group with a fossil record extending back 500,000,000 years.

This week’s contest winner was Edith Sisson of Concord, MA