Date: November 6, 2022

Place: Sideroad 6, Durham ON, N0G 1R0, near the Rocky Saugeen River.

Time: 11:00am – 4:00pm (approx.)

Main references:

INaturalist Phone app

Weather:  Windy, approx. 11 C

Discussion: I wish I had paid more attention, but this forest seemed to be a mixed woodland area with a good diversity of different tree species. It was surprising to me that my INaturalist phone app could distinguish between tree species simply from the photos of the tree bark:

Alexis confirmed that these IDs were correct. I mentioned that I had read that not all pine tree are edible (it is frequently stated in survival books that one can eat the inner bark of pine trees, although when one of the participants on the TV series ‘Alone’ tried surviving on the pine bark it made him very sick!). According to the Internet:

Ponderosa, Monterey, and lodgepole pine are reported to be toxic, and also Norfolk island pine, balsam fir, and yew pine (these three are not really true pines). Most pines can be used to make tea from the needles which have a lot of vitamin C and other antioxidants.

I also saw some nice bracket fungi, although my app had trouble identifying them:

While meandering through the forest we found a pile of relatively small bones. I think it was the thin rib bones that gave it away that this was from a Horseshoe Hare:

Indeed, this was confirmed when we found Horseshoe hare claws, that Alexis had seen previously in scat:

Also, at one point members of our group saw a Horseshoe hare (I wish I had seen it!).

Here are a couple of miscellaneous photos:

I can’t be certain about the ID of this lichen because it usually grows on tree bark, but here it is found growing on a boulder. For a positive ID we would need to make some microscopic observations.

It was a strange tracking trip. All the leaves of the hardwood trees had fallen which made it difficult to track, and it was also too early in the season for snow. It wasn’t particularly cold, but after a few hours in the woods I felt chilled and wished I had worn a warm coat. The silence of the forest was disturbed by people riding their ATVs, and a couple of times they passed us while we were busy studying tracks. Here we are on our way back: