After a quick walk around Totem Park this morning to check on shorebird activity (it was pretty quiet), I spent most of this sunny (but not quite as warm as the past couple days) day wandering around in muskegs with Kitty checking out sphagnum mosses. Kitty is heading south for a workshop, so I took pictures of ones that she will try to identify during the class. Sphagnum mosses are most typically thought of in association with bogs, but around here they are also found in forests. With over 40 species reported from (or expected in) the region, it can be a difficult group, as well. To this point, the only Sphagnum species I’m comfortable identifying is Sphagnum squarrosum.
Along the way, while taking pictures of some forest Sphagnum, I happened to notice a bristletail crawling along the moss. It was an exciting find for me since I’ve heard about these forest bristletails for a while, but they are much less easy to find then their relatives that are commonly found on rocks near the beach. I’m still not positive about the identity, but I sent a picture off to someone who has studied them and hope to get some confirmation soon.
I was also interested to hear and then see a male Anna’s Hummingbird chattering a bit a perch visible from Gavan Hill Trail (just past the bench where the gravel accessible part of the trail ends). It returned to the perch at least once after leaving, so I wonder if it is a preferred perch and if it will be trying to nest here this year.
After dealing with moss photos this evening, I took pictures of several moth collections, but by the time I got done doing that, it was too late to take care of them further, so I’ll be adding more photos to this page’s gallery in the coming days.
Also appreciated today were encouraging words from someone who mentioned being a regular reader of the blog. Thanks!
