@watermancenter
Promote conservation education, outdoor recreation, and environmental literacy. We serve our members, the Twin Tiers community, and all visitors to our collection of nature preserves. (Border counties of Central New York and Pennsylvania.)
It hit 70 degrees today for our first real "Fake Spring" here in the Southern Tier of New York, but there's still ice on the pond that this bonded pair of Canada geese have just returned to
#thegeeseareback #Canadageese #pondlife #wetlands #wetlandecology #migration
Violet-toothed Polypore loves to take over stumps and snags. Here’s what it looks like when it’s new from above and below #FungiMonday #fungifriends #fungifans #fungi
iNaturalist guessed Mossy Maze Polypore
Did you look at the underside, and if so was it a darkish shade? It could be Violet-toothed polypore
This Smokey-eyed Boulder Lichen caught our eye! #lichen #crustoselichen #fungi #fungifriends
Fresh Turkey-tail is making our winter woods colorful right now #Sundayfungi #fungifans #fabulousfungi #turkeytailmushrooms #winternature
Hadn’t heard that one!
A ropey brown poison ivy root looks like a hairy snake climbing up the side of a tree
A close up of a poison ivy root on the side of a tree shows the many hairy offshoots that allow it to cling to the bark and give it a fuzzy appearance
It’s good to recognize these hairy roots for what they are: poison ivy! They really stand out in winter and can cause an allergic reaction even without the “leaves of three” #poisonivy #urushiol #winternature
A leafy triangle of grapefern (Sceptridium dissectum obliquum) blends in with the ground between disappearing snow patches because of the darkened bronze color
The snow has melted enough to reveal the hardy Bronze fern (aka Cutleaf grapefern) that’s been there since all season
#ferns #fernfans #grapeferns #winterplants #bronzefern #cutleafgrapefern
A central cluster of five brown stalks with brown beads poke up from the snow. The sterile green fronds of the Sensitive fern are long gone, but these fertile stalks persist
Just like us in the 6-degree weather of Upstate New York, these Sensitive fern sporophylls are waiting for spring! They will release their spores in March and April #ferns #fernfans #sensitiveferns #beadfern #spores #dimorphicferns #winternature
Newly formed ice crystals on a local pond look a lot like snowflakes
Changes in temperature make interesting patterns in the pond like these that resemble lightning bolts or antlers
Ice does interesting things as temperatures change
#pondice #icepatterns #temperaturechanges #iceart
A downed log shows a row of similar depth chew marks made by a persistent beaver--down to the final "pencil point" that allowed the beaver to haul the rest of the tree into the water
If at first you don't succeed, chew chew chew again! #beaver #beavers #busybeaver #winterfood #wetlandlife #pondlife #wetlandwildlife
The animal engineers at our local pond have been busy preparing for winter!
#beaver #beavers #beaverroads #beaverlodge #wetlandwildlife #pondlife #winterpreparation
youtu.be/CgmiWISBIKQ?...
Two trees are pictured, with the sycamore on the right showing a python-like winding vine of Oriental bittersweet girdling it
Yellowed leaves and bright orange-red berries of Oriental bittersweet
Typical Oriental bittersweet showing its tree-strangling behavior and bright fall-ripened berries
#invasivespecies #orientalbittersweet #vines #Celastrus #Celastrusorbiculatus #bittersweet #invasive #invasivevine
About 11-12 Canada geese fill up the slope of a beaver lodge, some sleeping or resting, and one near the top taking off with wings spread
Canada geese playing King of the Mountain on a local beaver lodge
#fallmigration #fallmigration2025 #seasonalchange #wetlandwildlife #geese #canadageese #naturephotography #beaverlodge
A twig of witch-hazel shows a colorful cluster of flowers, each one with four yellow strap-like petals
The delicate flowers of witch-hazel draw nutrients in part from their own senescing leaves. They bring both color and fragrance at a time when most flowers have faded
#witchhazel #witchhazelflowers #autumnflowers #fallcolors #fallnature #nutrientrecycling #senescence
An American bullfrog stares straight into the camera from the shallow waters of a pond, with a visible reflection of its throat, snout, and eyes. The photo highlights how smooth and rounded and broad its mouth is
The very smooth and round face of an #Americanbullfrog
#frogs #bullfrogs #pondlife #wetlandlife #amphibians #wetlandsmatter #naturephotography #frogsmakeussmile #frogfriends #frogfans #froggyfriends #froggyfans
Frogs don't eat Hickory tussock moth caterpillars as a rule because the stinging ("urticating") hairs normally protect the caterpillar and make it unpalatable. This Green frog didn't get that memo but may not choose to do this again!
#greenfrog #frogs #amphibians #hickorytussockcaterpillar
Tall Cinnamon ferns in beautiful shades of green to rusty orange cluster next to a tree (view from a boardwalk)
One of the boardwalks through the wetlands area of Sapsucker Woods at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Cinnamon ferns turn beautiful fall colors on their way out! These are along the boardwalk at #sapsuckerwoods at the #cornelllaborornithology
#cinnamonferns #ferns #fallferns #wetlandferns #fernfans #fernfriends #naturewalks #hiking #fallcolors
A fat bullfrog shows its smooth round face in a pond; its back and legs are mostly covered in the duckweed and watermeal that completely cover the surface of the water
Cornell's Sapsucker Woods doesn't just have wonderful birds and beautiful ferns--it has fabulous bullfrogs! The duckweed and watermeal couldn't hide this one from us 🐸
#froggyfriday #frogfriday #frogs #bullfrogs #amphibians #pondlife #naturewalks #cornelllabofornithology #cornell
Side view of Northern tooth fungus on a living tree shows the off-white shell-like layers
Front view of Northern tooth fungus with a hand in front to show scale. This particular fungus was at least a foot wide and high and shows the whitish-yellow overlapping, fan-shaped caps on a living tree
Northern tooth fungus (Climacodon septentrionalis) found in an old-growth forest--it got our attention!
#fungifriday #fungus #fungi #fungifans #fungifriends #parasiticfungus #parasiticfungi #plantpathogens #oldgrowthforest #hiking #mushrooms
Our 3-minute video of #fallwildflowers shows what you can see right now on your nature walks
#sonication #buzzpollination #bees #closedflowers #bottlegentians #newenglandasters #turtlehead #gentians #burnweed #pollinators #nature #naturevideo #fallnature
youtube.com/watch?v=r_k6...
Thanks again—that’s excellent information
Thanks! We considered all three species, especially since our photo wasn't taken with a macro lens. Could you share what makes you lean toward Hemitrichia?
There certainly can be visible fruiting bodies on the top, but a lot of times they are hiding underneath as they seem to crave a LOT of moisture
Tiny orange balls form a semicircle around a knot of wood on a rotten log
A neat #slimemold, Trichia varia
#slimemolds #slimemoulds #myxomycetes #naturephotography
This was our first season getting to find the fruiting bodies, and it's very exciting for us, too. When you see that unique colored wood (it will be on very rotted logs), always take a closer look and flip it over!
A round black fungus with what looks like a dog's nose protruding is on the side of a fallen log with no bark
A fun (and rare) find today: Dog's Nose Fungus! And this one was good enough to look like its name #fabulousfungi #fungi #fungifriends #dogsnosefungus
A web is bending over some Persicaria sagittata (Arrow-leaved tearthumb) on the edge of a pond. The web is filled with tiny spiders
Close up of the small white flower of Arrow-leaved tearthumb shows the web pulling it over and a better view of many baby spiders in it
Another closer crop of the original photo shows another white flower of the Arrow-leaved tearthumb and one of its leaves, as well as the spiky stem that gives the plant its name--and more baby spiders!
There were tiny surprises for us in this casually arty photograph of Arrow-leaved tearthumb (Persicaria sagittata) on a local hike #wetlands #wetlandplants #pond #hiking #naturephotography #persicaria #spiders #babyspiders
Rotting log with teal-colored stain--actually a fungus
A cropped photo showing the Green wood cups (or Green elfcups) up close. They are initially a very bright turquoise with a rough, often irregular cap-like shape--and they can be tiny and easy to miss!
A bright turquoise collection of Green wood cups on a small decaying tree branch lying on dead leaves
A dead log that is densely covered with more mature and therefore more teal-colored Green wood cups
This log may look like someone stained it with teal paint, but it's a #fungus! If you come across rotting wood that looks like this, now is the time of year to see the fruiting bodies known as #greenwoodcups!
#FungiSunday #greenelfcups #mushrooms #fungi #fungifans
