April 18, 2013
Discovery Park
Breaks in the clouds

Spring has sprung. An amazing amount of colors have emerged from all the drab brown and sea of green. I thought that my site was beautiful before, but now the variety that has blossomed really have made it extraordinary. Yellows and whites were the first colors to bloom, but now there are purples and reds all specifically designed to attract a certain kind of pollinator to them. It is hard to imagine the evolutionary changes that must have happened in order to make this scene so grand and rich. Plants that were before difficult to identify are now distinct. Their serrated simple leaves no longer blend together. My favorite part of this day was the sheer amount of bird calls I have begun to notice. During our UBNA class time our TAs pointed out the different songs each bird makes and how distinct they are. The most distinct in that area is the red winged black bird with its aggressive short short long short bird call. Unfortunately there are no red winged blackbirds in my area of Discovery Park, so I am still not able to identify many birds, but I will get there! The most enjoyable wildflower, that I have yet to identify have a kind of scattered pattern to their leaves and rounded edges. The flowers are simple, small, and purple with a yellow center. Another plant that is at my sight that I have previously described is Red Dead Nettle. It has a very distinct layering effect that all nettles have (but its not poisonous) and it has shading of purple on he base of the leaves and green on the tips. It is always exciting to identify something that you previously would have no idea what it is.

During this quarter we have also been using iNaturalist as well as a blog to document our discoveries. I try my best to identify everything with the most precision possible, but I am sure I have many mistakes. Since this site is open to the natural history community and other adventurers alike, one person was kind enough to point out my mistake and help me correctly identify it. Previously I thought that a bunch of mushrooms I saw in a log were Artist's bracket, but she let me know that the mushrooms I saw were actually Turkey Tail. They have more color on top than the Artist's bracket even though their shape and basic coloration are similar.