November, 2017: Describe your walk by adding a comment below
Each time you go out and make observations for this project, describe your walk by adding a comment to this post. Include the date, distance walked, and categories that you used for this walk.
Suggested format:
Date. Place. Distance walked today. Total distance for this project.
Categories.
Brief description of the area, what you saw, what you learned, who was with you, or any other details you care to share.
Comments
11/1/17. Canejan, France. 0.2 miles today, 640.4 miles total.
Categories: blooms, woody plants, ferns, birds
The birds were oddly quiet this morning, as quiet as I've seen since we got here. Still, we had a few tits, both great and blue. It took 3 1/2 weeks for them to find the feeder. Now they're finally starting to make some serious inroads on the sunflower seed. We're getting mostly great tits with a few blue tits at the feeder. Our little "chateau" has grape vines growing over it and grapes which the landlord never picked. The hanging grapes seem to be popular with the birds as well. I've seen magpies and blackcaps on the grapes, and I even saw a Eurasian nuthatch drinking from the roof gutter (but didn't get a picture).
Today was a national holiday in France, so we had the day off along with everyone else. My husband and I got out our bikes and rode to the edge of town, then kept going on the bike paths along the river towards Canejan. Our round trip circuit was about 9 miles. But I only got photos when we stopped, so I decided to only count the wandering about miles, not the bike miles. The trails were phenomenal, all through the woods or down powerlines, and extremely scenic. I think I'm going to leave Gradignan street weeds for a while and start focusing my efforts on the Canejan trails. Highlights of the day were a new-to-me mullein, another patch of maidenhair spleenwort, and some wall rue. And there was a large section of Canejan town forest where the dominant underbrush was bracken fern instead of Hedera helix.
So sorry to hear about your car accident! Not fun, no, not fun at all!
11-1-17. Behind Joe's Pizza, Martinsville, NJ. 0.5 miles today, 147.5 miles total
Categories: unintentional plants.
So I walked where I'd intended to walk yesterday (before the accident) and once again had someone ask me what I was up to. No surprises except for a planted one: an entire hedge of hedge maple.
I looked it up, and you have an amazing number of mullein species to choose from over in Europe. I'm so used to only two (though I see there are a few others I might possibly run into here in NJ). Neat.
11-2-17. Kawameeh Park, Union, NJ. 1.0 mile today, 148.5 miles total
Categories: unintentional plants, animals
I had to be in Elizabeth for an appointment so I looked for a "K" nearby and discovered this, the back end of a swamp I have seen from the highway before. It abuts a middle school playing field. No paths through the swamp, but there were lots of nice field-edge weeds, both wet and drier. Not many surprises. More buckthorn than I usually see. Some nice wild cucumber, which is also fairly unusual. There was a Monarda sp. but I think they planted it.
On a separate note, my 13-year-old daughter dragged me upstairs at 6 am to see the four-lined silverfish she'd caught in the bathtub, so that was cool.
11-2-17. Kaolack bus stop, Martignac, France. 0.1 miles today, 640.5 miles total.
Categories: birds, blooms, street weeds
My husband and I had 20 minutes between bus connections on a remote street corner on the edge of Martignac. So I wandered about with my camera, shooting everything that flew and everything blooming. The bus stop overlooked a fenced in field with lots of birds picking through the grass. Street weeds were the usual lot, a dandelion, some black medick. Across the street was an olive orchard with the trees in pots and irrigation line running between the pots.
Nice catch on the silverfish!
11-3-17. Fuseta salt flats, Portugal. 2.5 miles today, 643 miles total.
Categories: birds, salt-lovers, invasives
Took a hike through the Fuseta salt flats with my husband, two friends, and their young Portuguese water dog. The birding was phenomenal, in the league of La Teiche last month, but this was simply a route between working salt flats rather than a specific bird reserve. So there were no blinds to hide behind. Still, we saw plenty of waterbirds, many of the same I saw last month. But for the life of me, I couldn't remember their names from last month. But I did recognize a trio of white storks flying overhead, along with some little egrets. Also white spoonbills, black winged stilts, redshanks, and plenty of gulls and sandpipers. We walked very slowly so I could shoot the plants as well. Our friends have some plant books and I've been looking up the plants all afternoon. I wish I could remember their names long enough to attach them to the photos. The only plant I recognized on sight was a lone patch of bird's foot trefoil.
11-4-17 Green Brook in Green Brook, NJ and Joe Black Park in Plainfield, NJ. 0.75 miles 149.25 miles total
Categories: fall color, fruiting, flowering, unintentional plants
I went to walk at Myrtle Ave. park in Plainfield, only to find it's behind a locked fence. But on the way I passed a Green Acres sign at the Green Brook (in Green Brook), so I walked there. Only as I was leaving the park did I see it was posted "No Trespassing" woops. I also walked the edge of the ball field where I parked. No surprises, aside from a cold yellowjacket.
11-4-17. Fuzeta, Portugal. 2.2 miles today, 645.2 miles total.
Categories: birds, halophytes, flowers, invasives
Took a walk on the eastern edges of Fuzeta with my friends, our two friends, and their two dogs this morning. The thrill of the day was FLAMINGOS! Lots of them! In the salt flats. Also, black stilts, red knots, common sandpipers, and other water birds. And crested larks. I’ve been struggling to identify some of the smaller birds that we’ve been seeing in the bushes. The only ones I’ve had success with so far are crested larks, which are quite distinct. And I think I saw a ring ouzel as well (a largish black and white bird). Most of the plants were similar to what I saw yesterday, so I tried to control my enthusiasm and my shutter and only shoot new ones. Even so, I think I shot some more giant reed (like common reed, but taller) and caster bean.
11-5-17. Fuzeta, Moncarapacho, Olhao, Portugal, 5.3 miles today, 650.5 miles total.
Categories: birds, halophytes, flowers, weeds
Did a morning bird walk on the far western edge of Fuzeta, along the estuary dunes, with my husband, one of our friends, and one of their dogs. I guess we tired out the other dog yesterday so much that she didn’t want to come on today’s walk. This morning we saw storks and sandpipers. Driving down to the parking lot before the walk, I saw a cattle egret on a horse’s back, but I didn’t get a photo. I also managed to shoot quite a few small birds, including perhaps a reed warbler. Following the bird walk, my husband and I walked with our 2 friends (and no dogs) in Moncaraphacho, then we took another walk in Olhao, mostly sight-seeing. But I shot a few more birds and weeds along the way, including some unintentional figs and a stork in its nest on top of a church in downtown Olhao.
11-5-17. Natirar, Peapack, NJ. 1.0 mile today, 150.25 miles total.
Categories: unintentional plants, fall color, fruiting
It seems everyone keeps telling me how much they love walking at Natirar, but the one time I'd been there before it looked like nothing but huge lawns with some specimen trees. They even mow right to the edge of a little brook (though the opposite bank is wild and pretty it is also inaccessible). But I noticed a path through the woods at the back of the property and went back to check that out for "N" today. It was a pretty walk uphill along a brook. The beeches are in full color right now and very pretty. I didn't see any particularly interesting plants, but right where I turned around was a jimsonweed that made me think of you, Erika. While I was shooting, a woman coming up to me froze and I laughed and explained I was looking at plants, not birds, and there was no chance of her startling them. The mowed brook on the way out was pretty today, too, as the entire opposite bank seemed to be burning bush, all of it brilliant pink.
I like the idea of unintentional figs, not something I've ever run into.
11-6-17. Tavira, Portugal. 1.1 miles today, 651.6 miles total.
Categories: birds, unintentional plants, street weeds
I did a little birding around the house today before going out to pick olives in the orchard. After lunch, our friend took my husband and me for a walk through downtown Tavira. I was mostly shooting buildings and interesting architectural details. But in between, I snuck off a few bird and plant pictures. Downtown there were plenty of house sparrows around the cafes and rock pigeons flying about the eaves. There were quite a few seagulls in the river. The bandstand in the center of town had a tiny moat and fountain, which was great for water plants, plus a pair of turtles, which I am assuming were wild (unlike the goldfish who were also swimming in the moat). There was a new-to-me spleenwort or maybe wall rue growing along the moat walls as well. And figs, figs everywhere. Both here and in Bordeaux, figs are very common pioneers. I don't know if they're native or invasive, but they will grow anywhere. Today I saw one growing in a crack in a wall at least 20 feet off the ground.
Congratulations on 150 miles! Way to go! Meanwhile, I'm glad that your plants have not been running away when you try to shoot them!
11-5 - around 2 miles, 118 miles total. STILL low energy due to various illnesses contracted via toddler, etc. at least now i have figured out what is going on and it should be on the way out. Anyhow, we visited the Grafton Lakes area of New York State to meet up with some friends, it was near the centerpoint of where we both live and is an interesting area. A high plateau, around 1200-1500 feet, above Albany NY and Bennington VT. Most abundant species are hemlock and red oak, species diversity not too high between the tannic/acidic litter from these species and then the fact that it's November. This was a typical November day, 40s and cold with a breeze, but seemed very cold since the previous few months have been very warm. Walked around the state park and didn't find much unusual but did find Pucciniastrum goeppertianum causing a witch's broom in a highbush blueberry, so +1 to the life list. Also roamed around some roads near where we were staying. Neat to see how the vegetation and topography vary from Vermont, this seemed to be acidic substrate, it would be neat to explore some wetlands but didn't really get a chance.
11-6 - around 1 mile, 119 miles total. Walked around a little river walk and the downtown area in Bennington. A short walk as there were storm clouds building and we were hungry and had a long drive ahead of us. An urban setting but some nice sycamores along the stream, a bitternut hickory, and Asiatic Dayflower to add to the life list , an urban or invasive escape but still, it counts, it was growing wild. The drive home was beautiful but I didn't get any sightings. I don't end up doing much iNat in the winter months and the weather has finally switched to a colder pattern. hoping for some snow.
11-7-17. Oak Grove, Watchung Reservation, Mountainside, NJ. 0.25 miles today, 150.25 miles total.
Categories: fungi, unintentional plants.
This is a big, old county park that I've visited (and even worked at) my entire life, but I've never actually walked along the section I walked today. The only surprises were 4 different mushrooms in the lawn. The rest was oak with lots of greenbriar.
It had not occurred to me that there are botanists in the northeast who have not seen Asiatic dayflower; it's everywhere here.
Funny. I only saw it because i was in the far south end of the state even. I think we used to have it in my yard in southern CA when I was a kid.
11-7-17. Sitio do Pereirinhas and Sao Bas, Portugal. 2.8 miles today, 654.4 miles total.
Categories: birds, thorns, woody plants, flowers, urban weeds
My husband and I took a walk with our friend this morning around the neighborhood, with 2 dogs on leashes. I was pleased that about half the walk was on dirt roads--it felt like home. The roads wound between orange groves and persimmon groves, and past some gigantic long greenhouses full of raspberries. Outside the groves were the ubiquitous wild figs, olives, and carob trees. Most of the plants around here have vicious thorns, like in Arabia. It all goes with being in a low moisture climate, I guess. Along the paved part of the route, we passed a flattened animal. Fox or cat? Plenty of Sonchus arvensis along the dirt road in full bloom.
After the walk we took a trip up to Sao Bas in the foothills of the local mountain range. We mostly did sightseeing there, but I managed to shoot a few pigeons and sparrows and some street weeds. We admired a wind/animal powered deep well in a museum that had two kinds of ferns growing on its foundation. And in the grounds of the museum we found the first Bermuda buttercup (Oxalis pes-caprae) blooms of the season. The Bermuda buttercup is probably the most common invasive herb in the region. It seems to cover at least 50% of any surface that appears green. Its flowers are more than 1" in diameter, held 10" off the ground and quite attractive, if you're not put off by the fact that it doesn't belong here.
I found some Asiatic dayflower growing wild in southern New Hampshire this year. I think I've seen it a few times in Martinique, but I see it so infrequently that I couldn't remember the name when I found it in NH. You see so many different plants than us, Sara! All those southern plants that just don't make it to the northern reaches of the oak zone.
11-9-17. Peter's Brook Greenway, Somerville and Finderne, NJ. 1.25 miles today, 151.75 miles total
Categories: fall color, fruiting, unintentional plants
The parking lot I'd intended to use for this walk was blocked with big chunks of concrete; apparently there have been issues. But I parked in a medical center (that threatened to tow people who weren't customers) and walked this path along the river to its end at a very fragrant sewage treatment plant. There were huge, old silver maples, and tons of Japanese knotweed, stinging nettle, poison hemlock, and mugwort. But also wingstem and a young osage orange (no fruit, though).
11-9-17. CENBG grounds, Gradignan, France. 0.6 miles today, 655 miles total.
Categories: birds, fungi
I took a break from number crunching in the lab today for a brief walk around the grounds. It's cool (low 50s) and damp here in Gradignan, and many of the sycamore leaves have dropped. From the plane, flying in to Bordeaux yesterday, we could see patches of red foliage in the woods. I wonder if the red leaves are red oak or sweet gum. Lots of trees are still green here, though, like the laurel cherry, which appears to be evergreen. For my walk, I mainly focused on fungi since I've already shot most of the plants here at the lab. I did find a spearmint plant which I don't think I noticed before. Near a brush pile I came across a mixed flock of birds including some European robins, some tits, and at least a blackbird or two.
11-11-17 Quaker Bridge, Princeton, NJ; Susquehana State Park, Havre de Grace, MD; Loch Raven Reservoir, Cockeysville, MD. 2 miles today, 153.75 miles total.
Categories: fall color, fruiting, unintentional plants
Drove down to visit our aunt in Maryland. Stopped just after dawn on this frosty morning to walk along the Delaware Canal in Princeton, at Quaker Lane Bridge for my "Q". Not many surprises here, aside from three men in a rowboat going up the canal.
Further along the route I stopped at a boat launch in Susquehanna State Park (which at least contains a "Q") mostly because I keep passing this park and not stopping. I'm fairly sure I found several pawpaw saplings along some abandoned railroad tracks, something I've virtually never seen growing wild.
Once I made it down there, I went out in the afternoon to the northern end of Loch Raven (I figured I was up to "R" by now) which was absolutely covered in five-leaved Akebia. It grew like kudzu, covering the ground and every shrub and 30 feet up in most of the trees. I've seen it several times before, just a vine or two in a shrub somewhere, and thought it was pretty. This was horrifying. Hardly anything else was growing here at all, aside from established trees, and invasive shrubs. Now I get why the invasive plant folks are so up in arms about this species.
11-12-17. Gradigan, France. 5.2 miles today, 660.2 miles total.
Categories: birds, invasives, lichens, fruits, flowers
Strolled along Gradignan's Rondo #5 today, which is an out-and-back through the river parks. It was raining much of the time, but in between showers quite sunny. My husband started out with me, but it got too wet for him so he turned back. One of my favorite sights of the day was a grey heron along the river. I found several more patches of Kashmir balsam (a non-native jewelweed) along the river still in bloom. For the most part, though, the blooms are winding down for the season.
Pawpaws? What a cool find! Maybe pawpaws are a Maryland phenomenon. A few years aback I went cycling along the Potomac on the canal path near Gaithersberg, MD. Wild pawpaws were quite thick there, although covered with poison ivy. I've never seen them anywhere else (other than the lonely one in my yard, which has somehow managed to survive Vermont Zone 4 winters).
11-13-17. Canejan, France. 2.4 miles today, 662.6 miles total.
Categories: birds, lichens, liverworts, ferns, fungi
I had hoped to return to Le Teiche bird reserve today, but I just couldn't get there due to an accident between a tram and a car--the tram line was closed. Instead, I cycled out to the Gradignan/Canejan border for a walk along the western reaches of the river park. One of the first plants that caught my eye along the river was a big patch of Hart's-tongue fern, so I decided to seek out more ferns today. I managed to find 2 more species, what passes locally for bracken fern (a lot taller and more lopsided than our North American brackens), and a "ferny" fern with a lot of fuzz--maybe a relative of a Christmas fern. While hunting for ferns, I also found a few liverworts on stonewalls along the river. And then, out in the woods I saw at least 3 couples (all elderly) with plastic bags picking things off the ground. But discretely, so I never got a good luck at what they were putting in their bags. Mushrooming? Hmm...a mystery I need to follow up on. I did find a rather attractive mushroom today, sort of like an inky cap, but the colors of the dark accents on the cap were quite different from any that I've seen before.
11-13-17 Stala Park, South Branch, NJ. 0.5 mile today, 154.25 miles total.
Categories: unintentional plants
I had a doctor's appointment in Hillsborough so went looking on the map for a likely "S" and found "The future Joe Stala Park" in a chunk of the South Branch (of the Raritan River) Reservation. I get the impression they are planning a ball field of some kind. At the moment it's a grassland, getting slightly woody with a few brambles mixed in, and lined with autumn olive and eastern redcedar. It was wet and dripping so I didn't go far. No surprises except a little potter wasp nest on a grass stem.
A previous eastern redcedar observation of mine sparked a discussion yesterday and today about how iNat recently changed the name to eastern juniper. Someone stepped in and offered to change it back. I cited sources for the eastern redcedar name. He changed it. A couple hours later it was back to eastern juniper. Someone not in on the discussion must feel very strongly about it!
it is set to display the name eastern redcedar anywhere in the US so if it is doing otherwise, it may be a bug or something. There also have been certain curators taking excessive liberties about common names, and they aren't supposed to be doing that so hopefully that isn't what is going on.
11-14-17. Gradignan, France. 2.7 miles today, 665.3 miles total.
Categories: birds, road kill, ferns, woody plants
Today I headed out down the street to explore the 10th century "Motte Feodale Saint-Albe" that we had somehow overlooked on our Rando #3. It turned out to be a steep-sided dirt mound, about 30' high and maybe 50' in diameter with a moat at the base (fortunately mostly dry at this time of year), and a spiral path leading to the top of the mound. I hoped to find some a collection of wetlands plants in the moat, but just about all that was there was one species of Equisetum (one I don't recognize). If there were any other plants, they are now under the oak and sycamore leaves. On top of the mound was a young holly bush, some oak trees (Q. robur), and some butcher's broom. From the mound I cut through St. Albe park and checked out the 19th century public laundry pool. Then I walked up the main road towards the center of town, pausing to shoot the brave volunteer trees that are poking up between the sidewalk and the building foundations. Fig and box elder are pretty good at that.
11-14-16. Tower Rd., Martinsville, NJ. 0.25 miles today, 154.5 miles total
Categories: unintentional plants, fungi, lichens
I did not want to exercise today. The weather was nice but it had been busy and I didn't have much time. So I drove to the top of Tower Rd, which is 5 minutes from my house but I haven't been up in 20 years. There is a water tower, a huge cell and radio tower, and a bit of undeveloped county parkland up there. No paths, so I mostly stayed on the road. No surprises, but at least I got out and did Something.
11-16-17. Parc de Pelissey, Gradignan, France. 4.6 miles today, 669.9 miles total.
Categories: birds, trees, invasives
Walked across town to Pelissey Parc for the monthly Gradignan nature walk. Today we had 16 participants in addition to the leader. The leader, who I'm guessing is an ecology professor at Bordeaux University, lead us around Pelissey Park for a walk focused on trees. He pointed out the sycamores and I think he said the big ones were planted along the river. He also showed us alders and hazelnuts and pointed out the male and female flower buds. When we got to an ash grove, he gave a 20 minute lecture on the myths and realities of plant communication. And at an elm tree, he said something about Fibonacci numbers. I wish I understood more than 1 word in 10. No new trees for the day--this walk actually turned out to be the exact walk my husband and I did on Sunday in the rain, but in the other direction. It was much nicer in the sun today!
November does indeed seem to be the hardest month to get outdoors! It's chilly, wet, and everything is dying or covered with dead leaves. And even when you do find a new plant, it's most likely not flowering. Yes, what a challenge!
11-15-17. Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ and Delaware Canal Park, Somerset, NJ. 0.75 miles today, 155.5 miles total.
Categories: lawn weeds, unintentional plants.
Lena Strew, whom I met through iNat when we both commented on the same plants, is the director of the Chrysler Herbarium at Rutgers, and she invited me down for a tour. I'd never actually seen a herbarium in person before, and it was very interesting. Just this past week they mounted their 150,000th specimen. It is the only official herbarium in the state. She had an interesting story about the herbarium up in Vermont by you all, at UVM, and a fire that threatened but didn't damage it.
I walked from the car to her lab and then from the herbarium to my car in a different lot, taking pictures of the weeds I passed. As she runs the Rutgers bioblitz every year I assume she's already documented all these weeds, but I haven't. And it's a spring endeavor, so maybe she missed some of these fall ones.
On the way home I stopped at what is really an undeveloped section of the canal park but with a well developed deer trail and amazingly low plant diversity. White snakeroot and Amur honeysuckle and almost nothing else. Ugh.
Fibonacci and elms? Maybe the flower bud scales overlap in a spiral? My daughter used to watch a video series on YouTube by a woman called ViHart, and she did a very interesting one on Fibonacci and plants. Now it's part of a Khan academy course (but we followed her before she was cool, my daughter would point out).
11-16-17 Veteran's Memorial Park and Waterfront Park, both Elizabeth, NJ. 0.75 miles today, 156.25 miles total
Categories: birds, unintentional plants
Since I kind of did "U" at Rutgers U. yesterday, I looked for a "V" near my appointment in Elizabeth today, and found this new Veteran's park on the waterfront. It is concrete and retaining walls, perfectly mowed grass and specimen trees, but there were still a number of lawn weeds in the corners. There were ring necked gulls and a lone brant with a crooked wing who ran away from me but didn't try to fly, poor thing. The view is of the Global Container Terminal and the Goethels bridge, so a portion of the huge shipping industry in the area (though this terminal is actually across the river in Staten Island, NY). There were frequent airplanes overhead as well, taking off from Newark airport, one town to the north.
I drove just a bit up river, past a small marina to get my "W", at a waterfront park with a bike path and a bit less mowing going on. Still concrete retaining walls instead of any kind of beach front, though with a bit of rock around a ruined pier. Not a lot of surprises here, either. There was some Amporpha fruiticosa, which I don't see often.
11-17-17. Canejan, France. 2.5 miles today, 672.4 miles total.
Categories: birds, trees, liverworts, fungi
Rode the bike out to the picnic area in the Canejan town forest where I ended my last Canejan walk. From there, I walked along the river a ways, then took a side trail that led to the highway and past a very large vineyard. Just beyond the vineyard was a powerline right of way, which I had to walk, of course. That took me back to the river, just a little ways above the mill where I found the Pellia endiviifolia (endive liverwort?) a few weeks ago. Along the way, I paused to admire some more liverworts on stones lining the river. I think I may have found another patch of "endive" and plenty of Conocephalum. The powerline right of way was thick with gorse and Rubus fruticosa. I actually tried some of the R. fruticosa berries a few weeks ago. To my surprise, they were bland, insipid, and didn't taste very edible, so I spit them out. They sure look like nice ripe blackberries, but I guess they aren't.
11-18-17. Behind Exxon at Exit 33, Liberty Corner, NJ. 0.25 miles today, 156.5 miles total.
Categories: unintentional plants
My 14-year-old's birthday party today, so I was rather busy. Looking for an "X" to walk at, and sort of got three. No surprises here at all. But back at home and sorting photos, I realized at Susquehanna park last Saturday I found a totally new species for me (and the second farthest north record of it on iNat): Elephantopus carolinianus or maybe E. tomentosus. Very exciting either way. Wish I'd seen it in bloom.
Blackberries by me are nearly always disappointing. Or maybe I'm just spoiled by wine raspberries, but I never seem to find a good one. Though they are generally sour rather than bland.
11-18-17. Gradignan, France. 2.3 miles today, 674.7 miles total.
Categories: birds
Walked to and from the library in downtown Gradignan today for a theatrical event. Not much new to see for plants--I think I have documented most, if not all, the sidewalk weeds through the central part of town. (But I'm still looking!) But birds, there are always more birds to see. Today I found a lot of birds in an alley behind a house. I think there is probably a feeder in the yard somewhere, although I didn't see it. I saw great tits, blue tits, blackcaps, and chaffinches. About a block from home a grey heron flew over. No water in sight, but still heron seem to be rather common in the neighborhood.
Way to go with finding an X to visit! I guess around here I would have to settle for the Peixotto bus stop (if I got that far in the alphabet). And the Elephantopus carolinianus? Totally cool!
11-19-17. End of Old York Rd., Raritan, NJ 0.5 miles today, 157 miles total
Categories: unintentional plants
I was really stuck on "Y". I checked and there are no "Y" roads in my town or the town next to me. There are not even any "Y" municipalities in New Jersey at all. But there's an Old York Rd. and I went with that. The park at the northeast end of it is located where an old power canal lets back into the Raritan River, and is next to a statue of John Basilone, a local hero killed at Iwo Jima in WWII. Plant-wise there were no surprises. I saw meadow rue, which I don't see that often. There was also a turtle sunning on a log in the canal, which I did not expect at all. It's been quite cold here lately and it was only about 48F and windy.
11-20-17. Gradignan, France. 0.9 miles today, 675.6 miles total.
Categories: birds, road kill
Long day in the lab today, so I didn't get to go out for a proper walk. I did, however, manage to see a few birds on the walk to work with my husband. And he was the one who spotted the the dead salamander in the road near the lab entrance. Birding in the yard was quiet this morning since it was a little foggy. We had some chaffinches, though. They are the new bird in town this week.
Your alphabetical tour has been great fun to watch from afar! Good luck with Z!
11-20-17. War Memorial Dog Park, Basking Ridge, NJ. 0.75 miles today, 157.75 miles total.
Categories: fruit, unintentional plants.
I had an extra half hour between dropping my car at the body shop and taking my daughter to yet another doctor's appointment today, so I stopped at what I thought was just a soccer field to take pictures while she played Pokemon in the car. But behind the field was a dog park surrounded by a wildflower meadow. No complete surprises here, but I enjoyed all the fruit capsules: monkey flower, foxglove beardtongue, purple gerardia, and a st. John's wort, and the "berries": Oriental bittersweet, privet, bradford pears, and crab apples. It had snowed there overnight, just a dusting, but we didn't get any at home (just 7 miles south). It would have been the first of the year.
In the afternoon my son drove with me to a mall about thirty minutes away, and on the way home we passed 4 dead deer and three live ones.
11-21-17. Zaraphath, NJ 0.5 miles today, 158 miles total
Categories: unintentional plants
For my last letter I drove over to Zaraphath, a tiny but official town that is really just the Pillar of Fire church and its outbuildings. It has a population of 37. They have a chunk of the Delaware Raritan canal running through the property, but I've already iNat-ed it's towpath in both directions, so instead I walked between the main road and the canal. There was swamp rose and an alder, dodder and maybe pearly everlasting (I have trouble separating it from rabbit tobacco in winter). There was also a metal sign specifically prohibiting people from playing Pokemon on the grounds.
11-21-17. Gradignan, France. 2.5 miles today, 678.1 miles total.
Categories: birds, red, fungi
After scouting a bit on the satellite map I noticed several small ponds in the neighborhood on the other side of the lab. It's mainly an industrial area, and I could see gates across the roads near the ponds on the satellite images. But I could also see a big parking lot for a pubic building. So I went to check it out. No luck getting close to the ponds--even the big parking lot had a gate across it. But I wandered as close as I could anyway, then came back through the woods near our house. Since I've walked much of this route before, I concentrated on my category for the day "Red". I had great fun looking for fall foliage (red oak, Rubus fruticosa, and Rumex). I discovered that the flesh of Quercus robur acorns goes bright red when exposed to air. And thanks to searching for red, I came across a large brilliant red Amanita mushroom. And a dead fire salamander in the road.
11-22-17. Talence, France. 0.2 miles today, 678.3 miles total.
Categories: flowers
I got my chance to photograph weeds at the Peixotto train/bus station today between connections. I found both pink oxalis and Lindheimer's beeblossom thriving in a fenced in vacant lot. Out in Gradignan, I haven't seen many plants still in bloom these days. Maybe it's a little warmer in Talence, which is more urban since it it closer to Bordeaux. There were feral pigeons about as well, but I didn't photograph them.
Your trip to Zaraphath sounds too funny to be real! No Pokemon? As for dodder, I was just looking at some photos of that stuff yesterday. I don't think I'd recognize it if I tripped over it.
11-22-17. Central Park, Whippany, NJ. 0.5 miles today, 158.5 miles total
Categories: things my daughter noticed, fruits, unintentional plants
Took my daughter to her very last follow-up with the doctor. She has one more week of PT (which she will drive herself to) and then she is officially done (though he says the ankle will continue to improve for up to a year). Afterward we walked at a nearby park which had an outdoor fitness machine circuit. Not like the old running track with stops to do pull ups, this was actual gym equipment like chest presses and leg lifts, an elliptical, recumbent and upright bikes, all hydraulic and adjustable, but outdoors in the weather, and free. I've never seen the like. The park itself was mown fields and then a weedy edge (reed and knotweed) leading to the (little) Whippany River. No surprises. Teasel and willow herb, which I don't see often. My daughter is a camp counselor and likes to try to figure out what the plants are, which makes me happy, but I always take terrible pictures when someone else is along and I'm trying not to hold us up too much.
I've never seen beeblossom/Gaura in the wild, only in my mom's garden in NH, and I've seen pink oxalis once (and not in bloom at that). Dodder at this time of year is just fruit spiraling around a stem, like some slug strung its eggs there (but hard, not squishy). I like the idea of searching for a specific color; I may have to give it a try. I hope you have a good Thanksgiving, assuming you're still celebrating it in France. (and Charlie, as well).
11-23-17. Whitenack Woods, Liberty Corner, NJ. 1.5 miles today, 160 miles total.
Categories: fruit, lichen, moss, fungi, unintentional plants
I was thrilled to be able to get up at dawn and just go for a walk (instead of getting kids out to buses). I checked out a new-to-me park about 20 minutes away. Mostly woods, some clearings. I walked much farther than I intended and then had to turn back, with my foot sore, covering the same ground as before. So I challenged myself to find as many things fruiting as possible, and I ended up with 66! Some of that was pictures of fruit remains, calyces, etc. But it was fun, kept my mind off my foot, and I ended up finding several species I'd have otherwise missed. I found one unfamiliar thistle, pennyroyal and Japanese angelica tree which I don't see often, a lot of mosses and fungi. There were also enormous amounts of blackhaw berries, more than I think I've seen total before. But all in all a wonderful start to Thanksgiving.
So I posted the unknown thistle to the Facebook Plant ID group, and it came back as Carlina vulgaris, which is only known from the US in four counties, three in NJ, just north and west of the county I found it in. Very exciting.
Amusingly, it turns out I'm the only other person who's ever posted it to iNat from the US (and I totally forgot).
11-23-17. Le Teich Ornithological Park, France. 5.2 miles today, 683.5 miles total.
Categories: birds, yellow
Since it was Bird Day, I took the day off from work and returned to the bird reserve in La Teich. It was a fabulous day for birding, 65 degrees and sunny, much more comfortable than when we first went and it rained the entire day. But the tides were different. The first time we visited Le Teich, it happened to be high tide, and all the special shore birds were right up against the blinds along the trails. Today was low tide, so the shore birds were out on the mud flats at least 1/2 mile away. Still, my list for the day was none too shabby, with several white storks, some spoonbills, some northern shovelers, and plenty of pied avocets. Life birds for the day included common kingfisher (no photos, alas), some kind of rail, and some kind of night heron. I also saw 3 coypus (an invasive mammal like a muskrat/beaver). For my yellow collection, there were lots of yellow leaves, like Quercus robur and Acer platanoides, also willow and bamboo. The gorse is still in bloom with yellow flowers, and Senecio vulgaris. Since this was a high fa-lutin' park, there was no yellow trash to photograph, or much else that was yellow that wasn't alive.
Congrats on the thistle! And the 66 fruits! A suitable Thanksgiving feast.
11-24-17. Allen and Somerville Rd., Liberty Corner, NJ. 0.5 miles today, 160.5 miles total
Categories: buds, fruit, frost covered plants
I went to walk at a park called English Family Farm, only to find it posted private, no trespassing. So I walked along the road instead. It was a lovely frosty morning, and I love to catch familiar plants covered in frost. I also challenged myself to photograph as many different species' buds as possible. I got 33. I found the Carlina thistle again, right at the side of the road. And there were several blooming witchhazel. For some reason I've totally missed them blooming so far this fall.
Love the coypu; I've never even heard of them before, though I see they are like nutrias, which I've seen while hiking out west. Your pied avocet is a very handsome bird, in my opinion.
11-25-17. Trans Bridge Bus Stop, Branchburg, NJ. 0.5 miles today, 161 miles total
Categories: flowering, buds, leaves
I passed this bus stop in the ambulance yesterday, driving home from a hospital we don't usually go to, and thought there was a sign for a park behind it. Checked online and it looked like public land. Turned out is was just a Park and Ride sign. But there was an unofficial trail off the lot into a floodplain behind, which was nearly nothing but Japanese stiltgrass and red maple trees. But there were a number of different weeds around the lot, and I was the only one there on a Saturday, so not a total waste.
11-26-17. Lewis Morris Park, Mendham and Harding Twps., NJ. 0.75 miles today, 161.75 mile total
Categories: fruiting, bark, buds, green in winter, moss, ferns
I walked with my son up by this public lake beach, into the woods, past a pond, and along a brook. Lots of moss, witch hazel in flower, an interesting fern I didn't recognize, and a liverwort (I never find liverworts). There was also a sweetfern, but my photos didn't come out, as I was hurrying (I never take good photos with company, but I got my son to talk to me, which is rare, so it was worth it).
11-25-17. Arcachon, France. 4.8 miles today, 688.3 miles total.
Categories: birds, street weeds, trees, flowers
Went walking through several areas of Arcachon today with my husband and a French friend. Arcachon is a gorgeous seaside resort town where our friend has deep family roots. We started the day with a stroll down a quay lined with oyster huts. In addition to house sparrows, there were quite a few black-headed gulls (mouette riuese) along the water. I stopped to shoot a dandelion (of course!), a thistle I didn't recognize (probably not a Carlina thistle), and some Senecio vulgaris. Next we walked through the downtown area and out to the sailing school, where I saw more house sparrows and gulls, and plenty of street weeds like prostate amaranth. And several box elder sprouts working their way through the pavement. We ended the day with a hike up the famous Pilat sand dune, the tallest sand dune in Europe. The trail to the dune went through a small patch of forest where I noted the 2 kinds of local pine, maritime pine and umbrella pine. And some pokeweed. Out on the dune itself, there was nothing except view to photograph. No plants, birds, insects. Just sand.
11-26-17. Arcachon, France, 4 miles today, 692.3 miles total.
Categories: trees, street weeds, birds, flowers
Went walking again through Archacon with my husband and our friend today. We enjoyed a brisk morning walk through the "Winter Town", a scenic residential area on a hill (first hill I've seen on this trip to France!) topped by a belvidere tower built by Mr. Eiffel. We wandered through a park and sampled some fruits from wild strawberry trees (I had known they were edible, but I didn't know how tasty there were! Sort of like thimbleberries without the seeds). There was also quite a bit of cottonaster around, and plenty of Hedera helix, of course. After lunch we took a hike along a salt marsh trail behind the oyster huts. Looking at my GPS track, it looks like we were wandering through water the whole time, but there really is a paved and dry trail through the salt marshes. Plus, it was low tide. Out on the marsh we saw little egrets and a cattle egret. And where there was some water, also some mallards. Along the trail, there were some placards with names of plants! Hooray! With the placards, I got to study the differences between maritime pines and umbrella pines. The placards also pointed out some salt marsh plants that had caught my eye. But I don't recall their names--I'll have to download my photos first.
11-27-17. Glen Eagle Dr, Watchung, NJ. 0.5 miles today, 162.25 miles total.
Categories: fruiting, green in winter, blooming
I walked in a power line cut today. Witch hazel was blooming where I parked. Otherwise there were not many surprises aside from a patch of reed and a single cattail right at the top of the hill, which seemed an odd place for a wetland. Maybe there was a lip there that collects water.
I got home to see a sign that tomorrow the state will be doing a controlled burn in the park that is closest to my house (the section of it that is closest to me in fact). It's not so close that I need to worry about it getting out of control, but if I'd had even a few hours more notice I'd have walked the trails and documented what's there before it's all gone. The trail is rough and I was last on it two years ago before I injured my foot, but it would have been worth the effort. Sad, if needed.
Isn't strawberry tree Arbutus unedo? I always thought it meant it was "un-edible", but I looked it up and saw it's short for "I eat only one". I've never seen them in person, though.
11-28-17. Wagner Farm, Warren, NJ. 1.0 mile today, 163.25 miles total.
Categories: fruiting, green in winter, buds
This was mostly walking the edge between mown and unmown field. Some edge of woods. At the woods I was able to ID shagbark hickory from its buds for the first time (having studied them the day before, while helping someone ID a tree). There was a lot of bitternut (but its buds are much easier, being bright yellow).
11-29-17. Gradignan, France. 2.4 miles today, 694.7 miles total.
Categories: birds, flowers
Did some foggy birding in the backyard this morning. Plenty of tits about, blue tits, great tits, and coal tits. Also chaffinches, blackbirds, and jackdaws. In the afternoon, I walked downtown for groceries with my husband. Even though we were moving along at an exercise pace, I managed to snatch some photos of a Senecio vulgaris still in bloom.
I don't know why anyone would eat only one strawberry tree fruit. Well...they are a bit fuzzy on the outside. But otherwise quite pleasant. Too bad about the controlled burn in your park. On the other hand, maybe you can watch for pioneers next spring.
11-30-17. Gradignan, France. 3.8 miles today. 698.5 miles total.
Categories: birds, forms that begin with "f" (flowers, fungi, faces, fruits)
Birding in frost this morning had me thinking about the letter "F". This afternoon I went off in search of the Parc de Sabatey. According to the town walking maps, it is a large park a little south of the Parc de Cayac. But when I got to the area on the map, it was all fenced in and marked private property. Lots of wild woods beyond the fence, though. I decided to circumnavigate the fence. Round the back, the fence ended and there was a clear path, so in I went. Down the path, there was even a pedestrian bridge that said "Ville de Gradignan", so there apparently was some public land there. Just not a big park like was shown on the map. Anyway, inside the park was the same old Hedera helix, butcher's broom and gorse as elsewhere. For fungi, I found a magpie inkcap, right beside a lovely lavender gilled mushroom (Russula or Lacterius?).
11-30-17. Conant Park, Hillside, NJ. 1.0 miles today, 165.25 miles total.
Categories: fruiting, lichens, fungi, leaves, bark, buds
I walked at this wooded urban park in a bend of the Elizabeth River, along a high railroad embankment today. The undergrowth was thick, but almost all Japanese knotweed, with white snakeroot at the edges. It was so monotonous that I was even excited to find some Japanese honeysuckle over by the tracks. In fact the biodiversity was much higher there, where you can see they use herbicides to keep the vegetation down, than it was along the edge of the river. The main thing actually in the river was, sadly, trash. Tons of plastics up against every fallen tree. And there were a lot of fallen trees, thanks to Hurricane Sandy that came through several years ago. I did find one plant that I don't recognize. It's shaped like a small Giant ragweed, but the fruit is a dense, fairly one-sided terminal cluster of calixes like a mint, kind of. I'll upload it early and see if I can get an ID.
We've never had a controlled burn here before, it's kind of neat to see. I was interested in how there are patches all over the place of things that didn't burn and how untouched things even just a foot off the ground are. All this is from the roadside, as the park is still closed, and they are on their third day of burning. Interestingly, though it's been quite smoky in the town that I volunteer in (on the ambulance), we haven't had any difficulty breathing calls at all, just lots of car accidents (that I don't think have anything to do with the fires; it's not THAT smokey).
Fenced parks frustrate me. Here I mostly find them in sketchy urban areas, which is understandable, but annoying.
Turns out my giant-ragweed-like plant is Elsholtzia ciliata, of which there are only 4 US records on iNat, one of them mine from October. Go figure.
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