With my parents in town for a short visit and Alaska Day festivities (namely, the parade), it was a pretty full day. My dad wanted to check out a patch of cranberries he had noted this summer along Beaver Lake trail. The only time really had for that was this morning before the parade, so Connor, my dad, and I drove out to the Herring Cove trailhead and hiked up to the patch. It was a pretty productive spot, with the three of us getting over a quart in a little over an hour. (Okay, it was my dad who picked over half of them.)

I noticed several good-sized flocks of Pine Siskins flying around, also some Red Crossbills. A young pine tree on the trail was showing signs of recent buck activity – I guess it’s getting to be that time.

While I was up there I got a message about a possible Ross’s Goose down at Crescent Harbor. Of course when I mentioned this to Connor, he got pretty antsy to get going, but we stayed until the patch of berries had been pretty well picked. Reception was worse than spotty up there, so it wasn’t until we were back in to town that I saw followup messages about the goose and the fact that it was a Snow Goose, rather than Ross’s. We went down to the harbor to look at it – it seemed quite tame (as some of the pictures might attest), and smaller than I remember the other Snow Goose I’ve seen on the ground. However, the bill was not small like a Ross’s Goose would be. I’m not sure why this juvenile ended up at the harbor, but it seemed fairly content to rest and eat dandelion greens.

After the parade Rowan and I did a little looking for birds on our way to a family meal at McDonalds. We didn’t find anything unusual bird-wise, but I was interested to see Stereocaulon (a kind of lichen) growing along the rocks between the road and the lake. It’s not an unusual thing in general, but I’ve not seen much (if any) along the road system except up at the top of Harbor Mountain Road.

After late lunch at McDonalds, my dad and I walked back. As we were passing the gas station on Katlian Street, I noticed a small flock of birds land in the gravel lot in front of us. It took a few minutes, but I finally found them and saw they were Lapland Longspurs, the first I’ve seen this year. It was interesting to keep an eye on the foreboding clouds moving toward town from the south. We almost made it home before the rain started, but not quite.

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Sometimes the black line of black band lichen (Verrucaria maura) is described as a bathtub ring when rocky shores are viewed from a distance. A trip to John Brown’s Beach this past spring was the first time I had noticed such a narrow distinct band around the edge of a pool in the rocks. The pool was high enough that it probably often is not reached at high tide. This suggests that the water is probably fairly fresh (during rainy times) and the water level drops somewhat often (during dry times). However, the pool could not get much deeper than seen here, as there was a spillover spot at the other end.

Questions:

• Is this lichen more sensitive to submersion than desiccation?
• How much desiccation and/or submersion can the lichen tolerate?
• How does the lichen respond to salt vs. freshwater?
• Is this particular ring a rear-round phenomena?
• How fast does the lichen grow or die off as conditions change?

While down at the park I saw the two Brant again, as well as the Gadwall. The tide was up pretty high and they were all tucked in to the west backwater/meadow area (which was flooded at the time).

After some sun this morning, the day was pretty much overcast. Winds were blowing out of the Southeast, and temperatures dropped from the midnight high of 51 (which reminds me, I want to write a post about this warm night phenomenon).

iNaturalist Observations for this day

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Despite the damp and cool weather, I was inspired to take pictures of several bryophytes, mushrooms, and a lichen on a short visit to Blue Lake Campground.

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Dicranum pallidisetum photographed at Blue Lake Campground.

Buckiella undulata

Scapania bolanderi

Clitocybe connata found in alder stand at start of Beaver Lake trail.

Clitocybe connata found in alder stand at start of Beaver Lake trail.

Ceratodon purpureus photographed at Blue Lake Campground.

Ceratodon purpureus and Schistidium apocarpum photographed at Blue Lake Campground.

Brachythecium plumosum growing on rock at Blue Lake Campground.

Brachythecium plumosum growing on rock at Blue Lake Campground.

Brachythecium plumosum growing on rock at Blue Lake Campground.

Peltigera sp growing with bryophytes on rock at Blue Lake Campground.

Peltigera sp growing with bryophytes on rock at Blue Lake Campground.

Schistidum apocarpum found growing on rock at Blue Lake Campground.

Hypnum dieckii growing on rock at Blue Lake Campground.

Large rock with several bryophyte and lichen species growing on it.

Large rock with several bryophyte and lichen species growing on it.

Pictures of a Lobaria amplissima collection made in Three Entrance Bay.

Pictures from a walk to Totem Park this evening

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Lobaria amplissima collection from Three Entrance Bay.

Male American Robin feeding in the seaweed and herring eggs at the high tide line.

Male American Robin feeding in the seaweed and herring eggs at the high tide line.

Male American Robin feeding in the seaweed and herring eggs at the high tide line.

Female American Robin feeding in the seaweed and herring eggs at the high tide line.

Main trail through Totem Park.

This plant appears to be a hybrid between Vaccinium parvifolium) and Vaccinium ovalifolium

This plant appears to be a hybrid between Vaccinium parvifolium) and Vaccinium ovalifolium

Devil's Club (Oplopanax horridus) bud statrting to open.

Devil's Club (Oplopanax horridus) bud statrting to open.

I think this might be (Cladonia transcendens), but the habitat seems off compared to descriptions.

Last summer while coming down Verstovia in early July, I happened to catch some nice light at the first view point. There were some lichens that were illuminated in a manner that I found to be quite striking, so I stopped and took some pictures. As is my wont, I tried to figure out what I saw after I had a chance to sit down a look at the pictures.

I am by no means anything approaching competent when it comes to the identification of lichens. I am also not likely to become any sort of expert, as I am not particularly fond of making collections and even when I do, my motivation to do the chemical testing necessary for identification is minimal. However, I knew enough to tell that this was a Cladonia (which I also knew is a particularly challenging group), but not much beyond that. A little thumbing through the appropriate section of Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest, led me to Cladonia transcendens as a likely candidate.

The description for C. transcendens seemed to match my photos quite well, even down to the yellowish tinge (as these were growing in a relatively open area), so I felt reasonably comfortable with this choice. I was also reassured by the fact that similar species mentioned in the notes had (or lacked) characteristics that would seem to rule out the possibility that what I photographed was one of them. Some time later, I happened to notice that the prefered growth substrates indicated were not quite such a good fit.

Macrolichens of the Pacific Northwest indicates C. transcendens grows on bark and wood. The Lichen Inventory for Southeast Alaska indicates the species is present in the Sitka area, but also suggests it grows on “bark and lignum of conifers.” While I cannot rule out the possibility that the lichens I photographed were growing on a root or some woody debris, I’m pretty sure they were actually growing on the ground.

Given the difficulty of identifying Cladonia lichens to species, even though I felt pretty comfortable with the description, I decided that it’s best to leave this as Cladonia sp until such time as I decide it’s worth getting a collection and subjecting it to some chemical tests.

[Update: Posted to iNaturalist]

I think this might be (Cladonia transcendens), but the habitat seems off compared to descriptions.

I think this might be (Cladonia transcendens), but the habitat seems off compared to descriptions.

I think this might be (Cladonia transcendens), but the habitat seems off compared to descriptions.

I find this a good time of year to go out and take a look at the little things. The light is coming back and the temperatures are warmer, but the larger vascular plants have yet to obscure the little things with their towering structures of stem and leaf. I went for a short walk this evening and took along my macro lens and flash, thinking there might be some bryophytes or lichens that I could photograph.

There were many small things that caught my eye this evening. There were a couple of different mosses, but most of the bryophytes are still showing the effects of last week’s weather. It is not so much that the weather was cold, but rather that the moisture was minimal and little has fallen since the temperatures have warmed up. There was some black cup fungi and a single small bird feather; but mainly it was the lichens, always abundant and seemingly impervious to all kinds of weather, that ended up being the primary target of my camera this day.

There are not many lichens I know by name. There a few I think I recognize by sight, but that can be a problem with lichens; it is my understanding many species cannot be distinguished without chemical tests. I plan to try to learn the lichens by attempting to find, photograph, and identify as many different species as I can. It remains to be seen whether this approach, which has served me fairly well with vascular plants and birds, will work for the lichens. I will be happy if it gets me a good start down the road to recognizing the lichens.