It hit 70 degrees today for our first real "Fake Spring" here in the Southern Tier of New York, but there's still ice on the pond that this bonded pair of Canada geese have just returned to #thegeeseareback #Canadageese #pondlife #wetlands #wetlandecology #migration

Violet-toothed Polypore loves to take over stumps and snags. Here’s what it looks like when it’s new from above and below #FungiMonday #fungifriends #fungifans #fungi

This Smokey-eyed Boulder Lichen caught our eye! #lichen #crustoselichen #fungi #fungifriends

Fresh Turkey-tail is making our winter woods colorful right now #Sundayfungi #fungifans #fabulousfungi #turkeytailmushrooms #winternature

It’s good to recognize these hairy roots for what they are: poison ivy! They really stand out in winter and can cause an allergic reaction even without the “leaves of three” #poisonivy #urushiol #winternature

The snow has melted enough to reveal the hardy Bronze fern (aka Cutleaf grapefern) that’s been there since all season #ferns #fernfans #grapeferns #winterplants #bronzefern #cutleafgrapefern

Just like us in the 6-degree weather of Upstate New York, these Sensitive fern sporophylls are waiting for spring! They will release their spores in March and April #ferns #fernfans #sensitiveferns #beadfern #spores #dimorphicferns #winternature

Ice does interesting things as temperatures change #pondice #icepatterns #temperaturechanges #iceart

If at first you don't succeed, chew chew chew again! #beaver #beavers #busybeaver #winterfood #wetlandlife #pondlife #wetlandwildlife

The animal engineers at our local pond have been busy preparing for winter! #beaver #beavers #beaverroads #beaverlodge #wetlandwildlife #pondlife #winterpreparation youtu.be/CgmiWISBIKQ?...

Typical Oriental bittersweet showing its tree-strangling behavior and bright fall-ripened berries #invasivespecies #orientalbittersweet #vines #Celastrus #Celastrusorbiculatus #bittersweet #invasive #invasivevine

Canada geese playing King of the Mountain on a local beaver lodge #fallmigration #fallmigration2025 #seasonalchange #wetlandwildlife #geese #canadageese #naturephotography #beaverlodge

The delicate flowers of witch-hazel draw nutrients in part from their own senescing leaves. They bring both color and fragrance at a time when most flowers have faded #witchhazel #witchhazelflowers #autumnflowers #fallcolors #fallnature #nutrientrecycling #senescence

The very smooth and round face of an #Americanbullfrog #frogs #bullfrogs #pondlife #wetlandlife #amphibians #wetlandsmatter #naturephotography #frogsmakeussmile #frogfriends #frogfans #froggyfriends #froggyfans

Frogs don't eat Hickory tussock moth caterpillars as a rule because the stinging ("urticating") hairs normally protect the caterpillar and make it unpalatable. This Green frog didn't get that memo but may not choose to do this again! #greenfrog #frogs #amphibians #hickorytussockcaterpillar

Cinnamon ferns turn beautiful fall colors on their way out! These are along the boardwalk at #sapsuckerwoods at the #cornelllaborornithology #cinnamonferns #ferns #fallferns #wetlandferns #fernfans #fernfriends #naturewalks #hiking #fallcolors

Cornell's Sapsucker Woods doesn't just have wonderful birds and beautiful ferns--it has fabulous bullfrogs! The duckweed and watermeal couldn't hide this one from us 🐸 #froggyfriday #frogfriday #frogs #bullfrogs #amphibians #pondlife #naturewalks #cornelllabofornithology #cornell

Northern tooth fungus (Climacodon septentrionalis) found in an old-growth forest--it got our attention! #fungifriday #fungus #fungi #fungifans #fungifriends #parasiticfungus #parasiticfungi #plantpathogens #oldgrowthforest #hiking #mushrooms

Our 3-minute video of #fallwildflowers shows what you can see right now on your nature walks #sonication #buzzpollination #bees #closedflowers #bottlegentians #newenglandasters #turtlehead #gentians #burnweed #pollinators #nature #naturevideo #fallnature youtube.com/watch?v=r_k6...

A neat #slimemold, Trichia varia #slimemolds #slimemoulds #myxomycetes #naturephotography

A fun (and rare) find today: Dog's Nose Fungus! And this one was good enough to look like its name #fabulousfungi #fungi #fungifriends #dogsnosefungus

There were tiny surprises for us in this casually arty photograph of Arrow-leaved tearthumb (Persicaria sagittata) on a local hike #wetlands #wetlandplants #pond #hiking #naturephotography #persicaria #spiders #babyspiders

This log may look like someone stained it with teal paint, but it's a #fungus! If you come across rotting wood that looks like this, now is the time of year to see the fruiting bodies known as #greenwoodcups! #FungiSunday #greenelfcups #mushrooms #fungi #fungifans

Wood ducks in a row 😀 #ducks #woodducks #beaverlodge #wetlands #wetlandswildlife #pondlife

The swamp milkweed is the hottest nectar bar in town these days, and everybody wants to have a drink there! Here two Bronze Copper butterflies share some space #butterflies #pollinators #swampmilkweed #naturephotography

There's a reason American Goldfinches are called "thistle birds"! As #granivores, their main food source is seeds; the #bullthistle provides these and also thistle down for their nests right at the time that they are breeding (now!) #goldfinches #birds #breedingseason

The tiny floret(s) in the center of many Wild Carrot (aka Queen Anne's lace) umbels has been a mystery since Darwin but has been shown to attract more pollinators to the plant. It seems to mimic an insect, promising opportunities for mating and eating #pollinators #wildcarrot #plantmystery

Monarch butterflies are pairing up now! Their mating can take from a few minutes to about 16 hours and can include flying from location to location while attached (as it did in this case) #monarchbutterflies #monarchmating #butterflies #nature #birdsandbees

On the left the Snowberry Clearwing (Hemaris diffinis) and on the right the Hummingbird Clearwing (Hemaris thysbe): Can you spot the differences? #moths #clearwings #snowberryclearwing #hummingbirdmoths #hummingbirdclearwing #pollinators #monarda #beebalm #wildbergamot

Thistle drama! #wasps #bees #naturephotography #pollinators

Slimy Waxcaps (Gliophorus irrigatus) really live up to their name! #mushrooms #fungi #nature #waxcaps #slimysunday

Dairying ants, their aphid flock, and the aphid wasp wolf #dairyingants #aphids #aphidwasp #mutualism

Common whitetail or Long-tailed skimmer (Plathemis lydia) at the local #wetlands #pondlife #dragonflies #naturephotography

The latest video in our fern playlist has dropped, and we had a lot of soggy-footed fun putting this together. In less than three minutes, anyone can feel confident identifying it! #ferns #livingfossil #cinnamonferns #wetlandplants #frondfriends #fernfans youtu.be/0FvlR-LQ5_U?...

Amazing life (and death!) to be observed in a #bog: Tiny Round-leaved #sundews are much the same size as the surrounding sphagnum moss and have gorgeous tentacles--not a happy thing for this unfortunate #damselfly (Bluet)! #bogs #boglife #damselflies #carnivorousplants

This Red admiral #butterfly seemed to be getting by quite well despite the missing bits #butterflies #pollinators #nature

Check out the tongue on this Common Eastern bumble bee (Bombus impatiens) enjoying Red clover nectar #bees #bumblebees

Where there's a hemlock there's often a Hemlock varnish shelf #reishi (Ganoderma tsugae). This one is ready for every formal occasion with its dapper bow tie #fungi #FungiSunday #mushrooms #nature #hiking

Dead man's fingers (Xylaria polymorpha)--very hard to ignore! #fungi #mushrooms #nature

We made a very short video that we hope will help you NOT get #poisonivy this season--take a (literal) minute and see some of the ways it can present itself so you won't get fooled! #nature #hiking www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvMq...

A closer look at a #spinulosewoodfern #fiddlehead and a #ladyfern revealed a tiny #jumpingspider and a Pure green sweat bee #ferns #fernfriday #fiddleheadfriday

Amazing (and varied!) things happening in the NYS woods now #hartstonguefern #ferns #fiddleheads #cancerroot #herbrobert #wildflowers #bellflower

#NewYorkferns show up after many of the others in our area and can be confusing as #fiddleheads. These taper down to a characteristic "bow tie" and like to take over the areas where they appear (no defined vase-like clusters here!) #ferns #fernfans #fronds #forests #nature #hiking

It's hard to keep up with the local #ferns with all the rain we've been getting this week, but these spore-bearing pinnae aren't waiting for good weather to do their thing! Pictured here are #Interruptedfern and #Royalfern #fernfriday #spores #sporangia #wetlands

From our forest rambles yesterday: Northern maidenhair fern, Long beech fern, Spinulose wood fern, and Hay-scented fern #ferns #fiddleheads #hiking #naturephotography

Our wet wanderings led us to the discovery of a new site for Rattlesnake ferns (Botrypus virginianus) and a well-advanced population of Royal ferns (Osmunda spectabilis). A frog supervised the boggy photo shoot #ferns #fiddleheads #nature #naturephotography #hiking #frogs

Deer vomit or Vernal orange slime (sometimes referred to as Fusicolla merismoides)--it's not really a species but an evolutionary "song"

Even some #ferns provide a sugar reward! The arrows here point to nectaries, which the #ants on these unfurling Bracken fern #fiddleheads are visiting #mutualism #naturephotography #frondfriends #fernfans

Too many #fiddleheads to keep up with, but here are some Evergreen wood ferns (Dryopteris intermedia)—not for eating! #ferns #frondfriends #hiking #nature #woods

So many Scarlet elfcups at Lime Hollow (near Cortland, NY) that we stopped taking pictures! #fungi #mushrooms #fabulousfungi #fungifriends #nature #hiking