November Mushrooms

November Mushrooms

Melissa Donahue

Naturalist

melissa.donahue@nashville.gov

Photos credit Deb Beazley, Nature Center Archives

False Turkey Tails

The middle of November brings a bit of excitement to the Nature Center.  Field trips are winding down, summer chores are over, the Hill Forest is open and frost weed appears.  The premier event of the season was a mushroom hike with Deb, before she retired.  The staff loved to accompany Deb on these mushroom hikes.  She taught us so much and cultivated an appreciation for these fall beauties. Even when you couldn’t go on the hike, there was always the collection basket.  

Mushrooms collected on the hike.

      

Deb would always place the mushrooms she would find in a collection basket.  Then we would gather at the lunch table to see what she discovered.  It was a bit like Christmas with each mushroom a gift to examine.  

Walnut Mycena

There would be very tiny mushrooms like this Walnut Mycena – Mycena luteopllens.

Oyster mushrooms

The seasonal oyster mushroom – Pleurotus ostreatus.

Deadly Galerina

The innocent looking, but lethal, Deadly Galerina –Galerina autumnalis.

Turkey Tails

Turkey Tail mushroom underneath

An appropriately named Turkey tails (Trametes versicolor), a polypore with visible pores on the underside.

False Turkey Tails up close

A "flock" of False Turkey Tails 

False Turkey Tails underside

Also appropriately named False Turkey Tails (Stereum Ostrea), a crust fungus with a smooth underside. (It’s how you tell the "False" from the "True" apart.)

Puff Balls

We all hoped a stand of pear-shaped puffballs (Lycoperdon pyriforme) would be found. These mushrooms are a favorite of many of the naturalist on staff.  If they were located, and were “ripe”, we all went to the woods to poke the mushrooms and release the spores. An eruption of naturalist laughter ensued. So, this November, after a long soaking, rain hope to see you out on the trails looking for these fall beauties.  And if you hear a giggling down the trail it’s just me poking puffballs.  

Out in the woods, we think about what Deb taught us. I always look forward to November when I can re-create all of those wonderful experiences with her. 

Editor's Note:
Mushroom collecting in Warner Park is prohibited. 

For more information about the Mushrooms of Warner Park, check out our list. 

FOS: First of Season

 FOS: First of Season

Shared by Heather Gallagher

Naturalist

heather.gallagher@nashville.gov

Although birders might use this term often, FOS can refer to any natural occurrence. Maybe it's that first Yellow Lady's Slipper you saw at Beaman Park in late April, or the first Yellow Buckeyes you saw on your favorite tree in September. Naturalists record these things annually, looking for patterns in timing, temperature and rain.

But back to the birds. 

This morning, I observed a female purple finch in my yard--my FOS, or first of season. She didn't display the bright raspberry head of the male, but she was a welcome, beautiful sight nonetheless. 

Female purple finch by Deb Beazley. Note white eye stripe and lack of raspberry color. 

Male purple finch by Deb Beazley. His head appears to have been dipped in raspberry jam!

I've had a few other FOSs recently. A red-breasted nuthatch graced our yard two weeks ago; it was the first I'd ever observed in my yard! I have been following the Tennessee Birding Facebook page, so I really wasn't surprised at the sight, as others have been reported across the state since the beginning of October. These little guys are about the same size as a chickadee, and they have a black eyestripe in contrast to the white-breasted nuthatch's white face.

Red-breasted nuthatch by Charlie Curry

If you didn't notice, the white-breasted nuthatch is the "Nature Center bird", our mascot. And they are experiencing an interesting year as well! Are you seeing more nuthatches at your feeders? Check out this article in Audubon. 

White-breasted nuthatch by Charlie Curry. Note that he/she is banded!

My Peterson's guide page. The last time I observed a red-breasted nuthatch, I was on Sugar Mountain in North Carolina!

Some birds I count on returning every year from the northern US and Canada. White-throated sparrows and juncos are two of these, and usually I hear those sparrows before I see them scratching on the ground. 

White-throated sparrow with safflower seed.

Probably the most interesting bird that we keep tabs on both at the Nature Center and at home are ruby-throated hummingbirds. Check out my guide page:

According to my guide, my first observation of a ruby-throat was in Beartree, Virginia, in June 1999!

Journaling doesn't have to look all neat and tidy. Use an extra calendar or a field guide. Write down your FOS, make drawings of what you see or merely check off your birds. When do you see your first ruby-throat? What other interesting birds have you observed in your yard? Have you added any special features such as different seed, suet or a bird bath?

Participate in citizen science programs like Project FeederWatch, or just keep your calendar for yourself. You'll be amazed at what is happening in your yard!