The Great Backyard Bird Count is February 17-20th, 2012

One of our members recently messaged with a question on those jelly-like fungi that you find on the shallow caliche soils at Spring Creek.  Most likely it is in the genus Tremella.  During dry months it is hardly noticeable and crusty but when it rains it swells up and resembles large raisins or a mass of jelly. The soil community where you find this is called cryptogamic soil, or biological crust since the soil community harbors fungi, bacteria, lichens, and this "jelly fungus".

Jelly Fungi are edible; one recipe calls for Tree-Ear (a related species) to be soaked, sliced, and added to casseroles to provide "snappy" texture. A related species in China is used regularly in soup, salads, and stir-fried dishes. The Chinese also believe Jelly Fungi improve breathing and circulation--an interesting assertion since chemicals found in some members of this group have been shown to inhibit blood clotting. The taste is not unpleasant but I can't say it tasted

good.

Commonly called the "Jack O'Lantern Mushroom," this species is fairly easy to identify. It grows in clusters on wood, its colors are bright orange, its gills run down the stem, it has a white to pale yellow spore print, and its flesh, when sliced open, is orange (or at least orangish). It is a common fall mushroom east of the Rocky Mountains, and is frequently found in urban settings, sprouting from dead trees and stumps.  Info source:

http://www.mushroomexpert.com/omphalotus_illudens.html    Photos taken 9.27.11 by webmaster.

Photos of the new Pavilion at the trailhead of Spring Creek Forest Preserve on Holford Road.  Thanks Marvin!

September  entertaining video of a barn owl/black cat duo...Thanks Fay!

July - Thanks for the information on summer nesters, Peter!

Summer nesting season 2011
Plano Outdoor Learning Center (POLC) / Bob Woodruff Park (BWP) / Oak Point Nature Preserve (OPNP)

Unrelenting heat and drought over the past few weeks.

A Cassin's Sparrow was skylarking on June 4 at Oak Point Nature Preserve, presumably one of the birds that first showed up here
in late April. I was in Canada in mid-June, and when I returned to the park on June 25 there was no sign of them (but they can be
hard to find when they stop singing).

A pair of Black Vultures constructed a "nest" on the floor of an abandoned hut along Old Morton Vale road in Oak Point Nature Preserve. Two eggs were found on May 1. At least one hatched and I found a downy young bird on June 25.

http://www.utdallas.edu/~assmann/POLC/polc_062511.html

Also along Old Morton Vale Road, I found a Black-chinned Hummingbird nest with 2 dead chicks on July 23
(Nest constructed on a branch at eye level, in full sunlight, right on the path which is used by horseback riders and hikers)

Painted Buntings seem to have had an exceptional year with 10 or more singing and/or seen on July 23
(seems unusual to see or hear so many this late in the season)

Swainson's Hawks likely nested at their traditional spot near Custer Road and Plano Parkway (one or both birds seen on
many occasions between July 2-30 perched or soaring nearby). Single Swainson's Hawks seen at Oak Point on July 9 and 30
also suggests local residency.

A group of 3 American Kestrels perched together on July 2 and 16 suggests local nesting
http://www.utdallas.edu/~assmann/POLC/polc_070211.html<http://www.utdallas.edu/%7Eassmann/POLC/polc_070211.html>

A Mississippi Kite on July 16 at Bob Woodruff Park (not known to nest in the vicinity)

Louisiana Waterthrush 1 on July 23, 3 Black-and-white Warblers, Orchard Oriole, 1 Eastern Wood Pewee and an
Empidonax flycatcher on July 30 => likely early migrants


Peter

Found a photo of a rock climber at Spring Creek Preserve. The rock he is holding on to collapsed during a large February

         storm a few years ago...so be careful around the cliffs!

 . 

June 3   False Solomon's Seal (Smilacina racemosa) a relative of Polygonatum biflorum (Solomon's Seal), which was once seen

at Spring Creek. These plants were blooming yesterday is se Michigan.