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!).

What in the Water?

Dana Hillesland sent us these photos she took in northwestern New Hampshire in October. We want to know: What in the Water is That?

Answer

While they may look like fish eggs of some sort, conservation biologist Steve Faccio tells us it’s a bryozoan colony of the genus Cristatella. “Bryozoans produce a remarkable variety of chemical compounds, some of which may find uses in medicine,” Faccio explains. “One compound produced by a common marine bryozoan, the drug bryostatin 1, is currently under serious testing as an anti-cancer drug.”

This week’s contest winner was Tim Sterrett