Kate MacQuarrie
@katemacquarrie.bsky.social
📤 55
📥 16
📝 163
Award-winning biologist, naturalist, and author in Prince Edward Island, Canada
Lilacs are beautiful, edible, non-native (but not invasive), and among the first plants brought by settlers to North America. Learn more in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/common-...
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Common Lilac
Some PEI plants are inextricably linked with people – not only in how the species arrived here, but also in their ongoing social and cultural value. I can think of no better example than the Common Li...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/common-lilac
2 days ago
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The same traits that make plants attractive to gardeners also make them potentially invasive. Honeysuckles are problematic across North America, including here on PEI. Learn more in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/tartari...
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Tartarian Honeysuckle
Public awareness of invasive species is high now, but that hasn’t always been the case. In the 1800s, if a foreign plant was edible, medicinal, or pretty, it was brought to North America without much ...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/tartarian-honeysuckle
6 days ago
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Welcome to National Insect Appreciation Days (June 8-13). And what better insect to kick things off here on PEI than the beautiful Virginia Ctenucha? Learn more in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/virgini...
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Virginia Ctenucha
Welcome to Insect Appreciation Days, celebrated from June 8 – 13th annually, thanks to the Entomological Society of Canada. And what better insect to profile than PEI’s most commonly-reported moth, th...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/virginia-ctenucha
9 days ago
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If you live outside of northeastern North America, you may not be familiar with this beautiful, common, native PEI plant. Check out today’s post to learn about the flowering shrub that’s inspired everything from poetry to the name of a scientific journal!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/rhodora
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Rhodora
Right now, wildflowers are doing an amazing job of brightening up PEI’s spring landscape. Even bogs – habitats that go unnoticed most of the year – are putting on glorious displays of colourful Rhodor...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/rhodora
13 days ago
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Smallest, most agile, highest metabolism - Hummingbirds are creatures of extremes. Learn more about PEI’s Ruby-throated Hummingbird in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/ruby-th...
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Ruby-throated Hummingbirds
With their tiny size, fearless personalities, and amazing agility, Hummingbirds capture our imaginations in a way few other birds can. PEI has only one species – the Ruby-throated Hummingbird – and th...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/ruby-throated-hummingbirds
16 days ago
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Unlike many of our other familiar fruits, Apples are not native to PEI. And while many people have eaten Apples, fewer know that Apple flowers are edible, too! Learn more about wild Apples in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/wild-ap...
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Wild Apple
I love flowering tree season on PEI. Right now, roadsides and hedgerows are alive with blossoms of Chokecherry, Pin Cherry, Hawthorne, Serviceberry and soon, the showiest of all: wild Apple. Unlike ma...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/wild-apple
20 days ago
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Blister-causing blood and hitch-hiking on bees? Yes, please! Meet the fascinating, native Oil Beetle (aka Short-winged Blister Beetle).
www.pei-untamed.com/post/oil-bee...
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Oil Beetles
Perhaps it’s because there are so few blue plants, animals, or fungi in nature that they seem to really catch our attention. That is definitely true of this beautiful Oil Beetle (aka Short-winged Blis...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/oil-beetles
23 days ago
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LBMs (little brown mushrooms) are challenging even for experts. A good place to start is by narrowing your specimen down to family. Check out today’s post to learn how to ID the Entoloma Family!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/entolom...
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Entolomatoid Mushrooms
Late summer and fall may be peak mushroom seasons on PEI, but spring has fungi to find, too! While checking my go-to spots for Morels this week, I found lots of these Entolomatoid Mushrooms (Family En...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/entolomatoid-mushrooms
27 days ago
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It’s that time of year again! Love ‘em or hate ‘em, June Bugs do provide useful ecological services - when they’re not getting stuck in our hair, that is. Find out more in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/june-bugs
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June Bugs
They’re baaaack! Here in Central PEI, the first Hummingbird and the first June Bug arrived within a couple of days of each other last week. Most people look forward to seeing the tiny birds far more t...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/june-bugs
about 1 month ago
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Names are important in biology! Now is the time to enjoy some fresh, Wild Lily-of-the-Valley leaves, but don’t confuse this species with the garden plant of the same name. Check out today’s post to learn more!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/wild-li...
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Wild Lily-of-the-Valley Leaves
One of the nicest treats of a PEI spring is harvesting your own fresh, local food after a winter of stored root vegetables and imported fare. Fiddleheads, dandelions, cat-tails, dock, watercress, and ...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/wild-lily-of-the-valley-leaves
about 1 month ago
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Sometimes ‘lookalike’ plants aren’t that similar at all once you get to know them. For example edible (and delicious) cat-tail, sometimes found alongside toxic iris. Learn the difference in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/edible-...
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Edible Cat-tail vs. Toxic Iris
PEI has so many wild foods on offer in May: fiddleheads and nettle greens, burdock and primrose roots, morel mushrooms and pheasant’s backs, and so much more! Cat-tails (Typha latifolia) are versatile...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/edible-cat-tail-vs-toxic-iris
about 1 month ago
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Today’s species will be familiar to those on both the east and west coasts of North America. But did you know it’s a true plant and not a seaweed? Check out the amazing Eelgrass!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/eelgrass
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Eelgrass
There’s one PEI plant that most people are very familiar with, but few have seen growing in its natural habitat: Eelgrass (Zostera marina). This is how most of us know Eelgrass: washed up along the s...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/eelgrass
about 1 month ago
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Can you tell which of the needles in the photo are tasty and which are toxic? Check out today’s post and stay safe when foraging!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/edible-...
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Edible Fir vs. Toxic Yew
It’s almost conifer-tip season, that time of year when we can enjoy the tasty, Vitamin-C-rich, new growth of our needle-leaved trees. While all of our conifer trees are edible, PEI does have one poiso...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/edible-fir-vs-toxic-yew
about 1 month ago
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The return of Canada Geese brings the return of their feeding sign in PEI’s bays and estuaries. Check out today’s post for some cool examples!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/geese-a...
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Geese and Mussels
The sound of Canada Geese is one of my favourite signs of spring – “goose music”, as Aldo Leopold called it. Their northerly migration is also marked by the return of feeding signs in PEI’s bays and e...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/geese-and-mussels
about 2 months ago
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Beautiful but deceptive; edible but toxic. Meet Marsh Marigold in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/marsh-m...
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Marsh Marigold
As a botanist, I confess to teasing birders from time to time: groups of people flocking to the same spot to see an unusual species – really? But then spring rolls around and I eat my words as I make ...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/marsh-marigold
about 2 months ago
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Often, the best thing we can do for wildlife is the one thing we find the hardest: leave them alone. Check out today’s post to learn why!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/baby-wi...
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Baby Wildlife
Spring is a time of renewal, including for PEI’s wildlife. Early breeders such as Coyotes, Foxes, and Ravens have their young now, and others such as Snowshoe Hares, Striped Skunks, and Red Squirrels ...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/baby-wildlife
about 2 months ago
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Why flower with the summer crowd when you can get a jump on the competition in spring? Being precocious comes with advantages and disadvantages. Learn more in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/red-map...
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Red Maple Flowers
It’s that time of year when many people are anticipating the first flowers of spring, without realizing that some are already here! We’ve looked at two of my favorite precocious plants – Willow and Be...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/red-maple-flowers
about 2 months ago
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Tiny red flowers appearing now will become tasty native nuts in late summer. Find out how in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/hazelnu...
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Hazelnut Flowers
Some of PEI’s early spring wildflowers are showy, in-your-face sorts. Others are tiny, delicate, and go unnoticed to all except to those specifically looking for them. Today’s plant is in the latter c...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/hazelnut-flowers
2 months ago
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This common, native fungus looks like scat-on-a-stick and infects Cherry trees. Learn about Black Knot in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/black-k...
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Black Knot Fungus
This is a great time of year to spot a PEI fungust that's best known as a disease of Cherry trees: Black Knot (Apiosporina morbosa).Black Knot fungus forms distinctive, black galls on stems and branch...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/black-knot-fungus
2 months ago
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They’re more than just a cute name: Pussy Willows are important for pollinators, and the mature plants have a host of ecological benefits. Check them out in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/pussy-w...
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Pussy Willows
One of PEI’s first botanical signs of spring are Pussy Willows (Salix spp.). We have more than a dozen different Willows on the Island, but only one – Salix discolor – officially has the common name ‘...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/pussy-willows
2 months ago
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Beautiful, secretive, and beneficial - what’s not to like about Flying Squirrels? Read more about these common PEI mammals in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/flying-...
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Flying Squirrels
One of my favourite PEI animals is seldom seen despite being fairly common: the Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus), shown here in a photo by Ron Serres (used with permission). Flying Squir...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/flying-squirrels
3 months ago
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They fix nitrogen, feed wildlife, and are indicators of clean air and older forests. Meet Lung Lichens in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/lung-li...
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Lung Lichen
You may think there’s no old growth forest or wilderness on PEI, but that’s not true. We have amazing ancient and wild spaces if you know where to look and can recognize the signs. Lung Lichen (Lobari...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/lung-lichen
3 months ago
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This PEI bird is rare (and rarely seen!) but its distinctive signs can be found across the Island. Meet the Pileated Woodpecker (well, its holes at least).
www.pei-untamed.com/post/pileate...
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Pileated Woodpeckers
Some PEI wildlife signs are subtle, while others are hard to miss! These are the unmistakable holes of a Pileated Woodpecker. Pileated Woodpeckers are roughly crow-sized birds, with black bodies, whi...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/pileated-woodpeckers
3 months ago
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The death of a tree is part of the life of a forest. Check out today’s post about the tremendous importance of standing and fallen dead trees!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/cavity-...
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Cavity Trees
We’ve looked at needle-leaved and broadleaved trees this winter but standing and fallen dead trees make enormous contributions to PEI’s forests, too! Trees die naturally from a variety of causes: old...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/cavity-trees
3 months ago
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It’s not easy swimming in icy water or standing barefoot on the slushy shore. Fortunately, waterfowl have a special adaptation to keep their temperatures in check. Learn more in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/duck-feet
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Duck Feet
PEI’s bird tracks come in five different forms. So far this winter we’ve looked at two: game bird (featuring Ruffed Grouse and Ring-necked Pheasant) and classic (aka ‘anisodactyl’, illustrated by a Ba...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/duck-feet
3 months ago
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It may be St. Patrick’s Day to you, but to us it’s Cuan’s fifth birthday. Here’s the birthday boy on his first day home, and looking more mature and stately in today’s wind. 🥳🐾🥳
3 months ago
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You may not associate insects with winter, but some very important species appear this time of year. Meet the Winter Stoneflies!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/stonefl...
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Stoneflies
If you think the best thing about a PEI winter is the absence of insects, I have bad news for you: this is peak season for some of our invertebrates! Carla McKie recently sent me this photo of one the...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/stoneflies
3 months ago
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The glowing eyes of wildlife can help identify who is looking back at you. Learn more about this adaptation in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/eyeshine
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Eyeshine
Tracks and scat may be the most common signs of PEI wildlife, but they are not the only ones. Other examples include dens, nests, cavities, caches, browse, and this very cool adaptation: eyeshine. Not...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/eyeshine
3 months ago
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Conifers and broadleaved trees each have their adaptations, but what about Larch - a deciduous conifer? Check out today’s post to learn about the tree with a foot in each world!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/larch-a...
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Larch Adaptations
Last month, I posted about the advantages and disadvantages of multi-year needles versus annual broad leaves on trees (You can read about that here: https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/conifer-adaptation...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/larch-adaptations
3 months ago
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The largest winter wildlife track on PEI comes from an animal you might not have thought of: the Bald Eagle! Learn more in today’s post.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/bald-ea...
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Bald Eagle Tracks
Pop quiz: what’s the largest winter wildlife track you’ll find on PEI? Coyote is our largest animal, so that would be a reasonable – but wrong – guess. Snowshoe Hare’s hind feet are pretty big, but no...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/bald-eagle-tracks
3 months ago
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Winter is a great time to spot a cool phenomenon of conifer trees: blue resin! Check out today’s post to learn about the colour and cause.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/blue-tr...
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Blue Tree Resin
Welcome back to Ask a Naturalist, your own personal Google for information on all things natural on PEI. Jeff Matheson sent me this wonderful photo of blue resin on the side of a spruce tree and was c...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/blue-tree-resin
4 months ago
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All types of wildlife leave tracks and sign - even birds! Today’s post looks at the differences between tracks of native Ruffed Grouse and introduced Ring-necked Pheasant.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/grouse-...
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Grouse vs. Pheasant Tracks
Birds may not be the first animals that come to mind when you think winter wildlife tracks, but some of our avian neighbours spend more time walking than flying. Two good examples are Ruffed Grouse an...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/grouse-vs-pheasant-tracks
4 months ago
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Have you ever thought about the advantages and disadvantages of keeping your leaves year-round like conifers do? The trees sure have - check out today’s post to learn more!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/conifer...
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Conifer Adaptations
Snow on spruce trees is a hallmark of the Canadian winter. While most PEI plants lose their leaves or disappear altogether as temperatures drop, you may not have thought about how and why conifers tak...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/conifer-adaptations
4 months ago
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It takes practice to tell feline tracks from canine, but side-by-side examples can help point out the differences. Check out today’s post to learn what to look for!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/feline-...
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Feline Track Refresher
Whether it’s the potential for Bobcats here on PEI or reports of Eastern Cougar on the mainland, wild cats have a mystique that makes many of us want a track to be Feline. This, coupled with how felin...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/feline-track-refresher
4 months ago
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Ice can be beautiful on frosty winter mornings. We usually call this ‘hoar frost’ but it’s often a very different type of ice. Check out the phenomena in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/hoar-fr...
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Hoar Frost vs. Rime Ice
Few PEI scenes are more beautiful than frosty winter mornings like the one we had last week. Under certain conditions, ice crystals coat trees, twigs, and fence lines, turning the landscape into somet...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/hoar-frost-vs-rime-ice
4 months ago
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It may look like a Muppet ran through your yard, but it’s really a Snowshoe Hare! Learn about Hare tracks & scat in today’s post.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/snowsho...
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Snowshoe Hare Tracks & Scat
So far this winter, I’ve had more questions about this type of track than all others combined. It seems everyone is curious about Snowshoe Hares! I get it: Snowshoe Hare tracks look like they were ma...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/snowshoe-hare-tracks-scat
4 months ago
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Here in the Maritimes, lichens are bright spots in the mostly-monochromatic winter landscape. They also have some very cool adaptations. Check out today’s post to learn more!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/sunburs...
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Sunburst Lichen
The Island’s winter landscape is mostly monochrome, making the occasional burst of colour all that more beautiful. One of my favourite bright spots is the aptly-named Maritime Sunburst Lichen (Xanthor...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/sunburst-lichen
4 months ago
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It’s wild canine breeding season here in the Maritimes, so foxes and coyotes are especially active. That makes it a great time to brush up on your canine track ID! Check out today’s post for helpful tips.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/canine-...
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Canine Track Refresher
It’s breeding season for PEI’s wild canines, meaning foxes and coyotes are more active right now. Even if you haven’t seen (or heard) any in your neighbourhood, tracks will tell you who’s been around....
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/canine-track-refresher
4 months ago
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It’s been bitterly cold here on PEI and in many parts of North America. Media have been all abuzz about the temperature causing trees to ‘explode’. Want to look beyond the clickbait and into facts? Check out today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/explodi...
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Exploding trees?
There have been some bitterly cold days this winter, with temperatures well into the minus teens and twenties Celsius. Clear, cold days are great times to be in the woods, but you may notice some unus...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/exploding-trees
4 months ago
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No feet? No problem! Just like other animals, snakes leave tracks and use a range of gaits. Learn about serpentine locomotion in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/snake-t...
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Snake Tracks
We’ve reached that time of year when my weekly posts switch from plants and fungi to wildlife tracks and sign. Here’s a nice reminder that not all tracks are made by feet!The dry summer weather made f...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/snake-tracks
7 months ago
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Some fungi just don’t play by the rules! This fungus is more closely related to many-pored bracket fungi than other toothed fungi, and preys on insects trying to prey on it. The very cool Northern Tooth!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/norther...
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Northern Tooth
Welcome to the final Mushroom Monday of 2025. We’ll end with a large and easy-to-identify species that hasn’t been recorded all that often on the Island: Northern Tooth (Climacodon septentrionalis). A...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/northern-tooth
7 months ago
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Meet the beautiful, migratory songbird that’s among the most-commonly heard in PEI forests (and terrified a 100 lb dog!): the Parula Warbler.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/parula-...
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Parula Warbler
Earlier this year, my youngest (and largest) dog was cornered on the deck by something that was clearly very scary. I rushed to rescue him and immediately saw the fearsome creature: this lovely Northe...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/parula-warbler
7 months ago
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Here’s a group of mushrooms that’s common, edible, easy-to-identify and - here on PEI at least - everywhere! Meet the Slippery Jacks.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/slipper...
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Slippery Jacks
Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s fascinating fungi. Today we have not one species but a whole group that’s both reasonably easy to identify and edible: Suillus speci...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/slippery-jacks
7 months ago
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It’s alien-looking, toxic, medicinal, and the bane of farmers in some places. Meet the interesting - and native - Cocklebur.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/cocklebur
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Cocklebur
If I had to design vegetation for a movie set on an alien planet, I’d take inspiration from this PEI plant: the odd-looking Rough Cocklebur (Xanthium strumarium). Cocklebur gets its name from spine-c...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/cocklebur
7 months ago
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It looks like the leftovers from someone’s lunch but may have an important future in medicine. Check out Orange Peel Fungus in today’s post!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/orange-...
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Orange Peel Fungus
Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s fascinating fungi. Not all mushrooms have the cap-and-stem look we tend to expect, and today’s species is a well-named example of a d...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/orange-peel-fungus
7 months ago
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They look like a fungus and produce sugar-rich poop. Meet Woolly Alder Aphids!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/woolly-...
7 months ago
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Today’s mushroom is beautiful and delicious but does have a toxic lookalike to be aware of. Meet the Shaggy Parasols!
www.pei-untamed.com/post/shaggy-...
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Shaggy Parasols
Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s fascinating fungi. I taste-tested today’s species for the first time this year, and it’s now among my favourite edible wild mushrooms...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/shaggy-parasols
7 months ago
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Edible, medicinal, and ecologically important? Sounds like the bears are on to something! Meet Bearberry in today’s post.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/bearberry
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Bearberry
PEI has more than 30 native, wild plants with edible berries, but here’s one of the lesser-known: Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi). Bearberry doesn’t compete taste-wise with some of our other wild...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/bearberry
7 months ago
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A delicious, purple mushroom? Why, yes, don’t mind if I do! Meet the Blewit.
www.pei-untamed.com/post/blewits
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Blewits
Welcome back to Mushroom Monday, your weekly look at some of PEI’s fascinating fungi. Today’s species is both beautiful and delicious. Meet the Blewit (Collybia nuda). ‘Blewit’ is an odd-sounding name...
https://www.pei-untamed.com/post/blewits
8 months ago
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Happy Halloween!
8 months ago
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