Poisonous Mushrooms at Thompson Park: October 7, 2021

These gorgeous mushrooms grow on the ground under spruce trees and that is exactly where we found them.

Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)

Here is what the National Audubon Society Guide says about them:

This mushroom is called the Fly Agaric because it has been used, mixed in with milk, to stupefy houseflies. The Fly Agarics of North America cause delirium, raving, and profuse sweating. Unlike its Siberian relative, this induces no visions.

Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)
Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)
Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)

Scenes around Thompson Park:

Brown-lipped Snail
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
St. Andrew’s Cemetery

Today’s group:

Some botany:

Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus inserta)
Panicled Aster (Symphyotrichum lanceolatum)
Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa)
Panicled Aster (Symphyotrichum lanceolatum)
Lady’s Thumb (Persicaria maculosa)
Black Walnut (Juglans nigra)
New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)
Spindletree (Euonymus europaea) also called Burning Bush
Great Burdock (Arctium lappa)
Manitoba Maple (Acer negundo)
Canada Goldenrod (Solidago canadense)
Norway Spruce (Picea abies)
White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis)
Linden (Tilia cordata)
Black Walnut (Juglans nigra)
Calico Aster (Symphyotrichum lateriflorum)
Daisy Fleabane (Erigeron annuus)

Some birds:

American Goldfinch
Red-tailed Hawks
Red-tailed Hawks
Red-tailed Hawks
Red-tailed Hawks
Downy Woodpecker (female)
House Finch (female)
Field Sparrow
Mallards
Mallards
Cooper’s Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk

Species list: mallard, red-tailed hawk, Cooper’s hawk, belted kingfisher, downy woodpecker, blue jay, American crow, gray catbird, black-capped chickadee, American robin, ruby-crowned kinglet, house sparrow, northern cardinal, house finch, American goldfinch, white-throated sparrow, field sparrow, song sparrow.  (18 species)

NATURE POETRY

A shaded lamp and a waving blind,
And the beat of a clock from a distant floor:
On this scene enter—winged, horned, and spined—
A longlegs, a moth, and a dumbledore.                           – Thomas Hardy (1840–1948) 

Miles Hearn

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