A young Night Heron, flushed from the pond edge, was probably a Black-crowned. Royal Terns on the creek yesterday and today. Clapper Rail continues to call (clap? check?) from somewhere in the marsh. Eastern Kingbird reappeared today over the marsh, eventually landing on the dead cedar on the far side of the pond and then moving around from treetop to treetop. Young Robins and Cardinals are probably from second broods of these early nesters.
A few Indian Pipes have appeared; this curious plant has no chlorophyll so it is dead white and is sometimes confused with the mushrooms (it is actually a flowering plant in the composite or daisy family!). A few mushrooms continue to appear including chanterelles, lactarius and boletes. The most striking bolete is a big, fat and handsome grayish specimen which, alas, is far too bitter to eat; this is Tylopileus felleus or Bitter Boletus and it is most easily ID'd by the pinkish caste to its pores (the spongy part under the cap which is characteristic of all the boletes, edible or not).
The cicadas of summer have been tuning up for several days now. There's a daytime one (Dog-day Cicada I think) and an evening singer. Also a different one in the marsh. Some day, I'll get all these buzzers sorted out.
Eric Salzman
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