Rainy Nature Walk Around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir

Today I went on a nature walk around the Chestnut Hill reservoir after class around 3 pm and saw a lot more plant life on my walk home than I had ever noticed before. It was dark and raining pretty hard so I did not expect to see as many animals as I usually do. I looked for turtles and ducks as I usually see them in the pond but found none today. However, I did notice a lot more variety of flowers. I saw pink, yellow, and white flower species. I observed coneflowers, rose spiraea flowers that seemed like they had not yet bloomed, and hairy white Oldfield aster flowers. It is crazy to me how I never noticed these pretty weeds until I was looking for them today. I also saw some fungi on my walk. There were some really cool hair curtain crust fungi growing on a small tree in the woods as well as little sweetbread mushroom hiding behind some leaves. On my walk, I also saw a bee that I tried to get a photo of but it flew away too fast. I noticed a fat squirrel eating some nuts and preparing for winter but could not get a picture of it either. I did not think I was going to get to see any animals until the last few minutes of my walk when I saw 2 swans in the pond feeding. They kept dunking their heads under the water to get some food. I watched them feed until they eventually swam side by side out further along the pond. Finally, I was walking back to my apartment when I saw a chipmunk and was able to catch a quick picture before he ran off. When I saw him the chipmunk was making a squeaking noise as if it was communicating to another chipmunk. I have never seen chipmunks do this and I wonder what he was communicating!

Posted on September 28, 2021 11:34 PM by allison427 allison427

Observations

Photos / Sounds

What

Black-eyed Susans and Coneflowers (Genus Rudbeckia)

Observer

allison427

Date

September 28, 2021 03:29 PM EDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)

Observer

allison427

Date

September 28, 2021 07:11 PM EDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Sweetbread Mushroom (Clitopilus prunulus)

Observer

allison427

Date

September 28, 2021 04:12 PM EDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Hairy Curtain Crust (Stereum hirsutum)

Observer

allison427

Date

September 28, 2021 03:13 PM EDT

Photos / Sounds

What

American Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana)

Observer

allison427

Date

September 28, 2021 03:15 PM EDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Hairy White Oldfield Aster (Symphyotrichum pilosum)

Observer

allison427

Date

September 28, 2021 03:00 PM EDT

Photos / Sounds

What

Eastern Chipmunk (Tamias striatus)

Observer

allison427

Date

September 28, 2021 03:10 PM EDT

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