# Today in nature I saw **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 20, 2020, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854 "2020-07-20T18:22:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 210
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2026, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4184 "2026-06-09T21:59:17Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > a Grey Heron, a Canadian Goose and some ducks hanging out It sounds like the setup for a bad joke. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2026, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4185 "2026-06-09T22:08:53Z")
> [@Mollie\_Magill](#): > > It sounds like the setup for a bad joke. Where does the nun fit in? ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2026, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4186 "2026-06-09T22:13:44Z")
So the duck says, “Who let the nun in?” ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2026, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4187 "2026-06-10T01:26:12Z")
Very cute (and FYI, it’s just Canada Goose - these geese don’t claim citizenship, though perhaps Egyptian geese do 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2026, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4188 "2026-06-10T01:28:33Z")
But America Robins do? ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2026, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4189 "2026-06-10T01:32:38Z")
Is ‘American’ really a citizenship? My passport doesn’t say so. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2026, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4190 "2026-06-10T21:07:43Z")
More fungi fun. [![](https://i.ibb.co/yF1HFb7k/Mushrooms-20260610-073045003.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/yF1HFb7k/Mushrooms-20260610-073045003.jpg) [![](https://i.ibb.co/vxjPNz7P/Mushrooms-20260610-073027769.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/vxjPNz7P/Mushrooms-20260610-073027769.jpg) [![](https://i.ibb.co/QjNX2pkY/Mushrooms-20260610-073001042.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/QjNX2pkY/Mushrooms-20260610-073001042.jpg) [![](https://i.ibb.co/g1wbVbJ/Mushrooms-20260610-072932851.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/g1wbVbJ/Mushrooms-20260610-072932851.jpg) [![](https://i.ibb.co/ZzBnRp7n/Mushrooms-20260610-072908401.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/ZzBnRp7n/Mushrooms-20260610-072908401.jpg) [![](https://i.ibb.co/v6dfMCMC/Mushrooms-20260610-072840799.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/v6dfMCMC/Mushrooms-20260610-072840799.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2026, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4191 "2026-06-10T22:00:07Z")
Please be very, very careful with mushrooms that look from above like the second picture, particularly if they display a ring and a volva in the **[stipe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stipe_(mycology))** (stem for those not **[mycologically](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycology)** nerdy). This picture is probably not **[what I fear](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanita_phalloides)**, you have left out the relevant identifying parts, but if it is, don’t even touch it. It is **[spreading](https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/02/deadly-mushroom-arrives-canada/581602/?gift=cU4WmXraWG3WoSDDx6g_kaCmbF4lqWIvvv-jYu-fzhs&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share)** in North America and it is not called the **[death cap](https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/06/death-cap-poisonings/530028/?gift=cU4WmXraWG3WoSDDx6g_kXdDWXoEi6ebvXDZunyZVkA&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share)** in vain. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2026, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4192 "2026-06-10T22:18:31Z")
Meh. I’ve been touching probably deadly mushrooms since childhood. I’m not afeared. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2026, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4193 "2026-06-10T22:20:17Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > It is **[spreading](https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/02/deadly-mushroom-arrives-canada/581602/?gift=cU4WmXraWG3WoSDDx6g_kaCmbF4lqWIvvv-jYu-fzhs&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share)** in North America and it is not called the **[death cap](https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/06/death-cap-poisonings/530028/?gift=cU4WmXraWG3WoSDDx6g_kXdDWXoEi6ebvXDZunyZVkA&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share)** in vain. The first death caps to appear on the West Coast hit Northern California in 1938. Since then, _Amanita phalloides_ has been a constant menace to people in the Bay Area. Yeah, to me they’re old hat. My inclination is to think that isn’t a death cap by the way - cap doesn’t look right to me, but that’s a gestalt thing. I sure wouldn’t trust my opinion without one in hand. Then I still wouldn’t trust my opinion despite having taken a couple of college courses in mycology, because I am massively out of practice and didn’t trust myself with Amanitas generally even when I had a microscope at home for IDing them. I would never eat any that I collected even though I have a little bit of a feel for distinguishing coccoli (A. calyptroderma) from it’s look-alike cousin. But touching them and spreading spores. Eh, that’s a nothing burger IMHO. They’re going to spread and will do so just as efficiently locally without any human mechanical interference at all. They’re also not really toxic to touch - you have to eat them and not just a tiny nibble. Now if you do eat a whole mushroom you’re probably going to die or best case need a new liver pretty quickly. But I wouldn’t really sweat very casual handling. Then again, if you aren’t taking mycology there’s also no real reason to handle them in the first place 🙂. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2026, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4194 "2026-06-10T22:24:11Z")
Not today but last week when I was in Point Reyes: I had [Drake’s Beach](https://youtu.be/rsDa1lbQJcI?si=JTL90pMeKWSwOCs5) entirely to myself for a couple of hours. A lot of people head to the north part of the beach where the elephant seals are the main attraction. But I go the other way and walk all the way to the mouth of Drake’s Estero. On this particular morning the clouds were just breaking up as they passed over the bluffs and scudding out over the bay which created a pretty magical light and shadow show. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2026, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4195 "2026-06-10T22:34:44Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > Now if you do eat a whole mushroom you’re probably going to die or best case need a new liver pretty quickly. I don’t have to worry because I precisely zero interest in attempting to eat yard mushrooms. Even from the patch I have that produces what I have been told are chanterelles and a big deal. (This is some from 2021. I picked them just for the photo, then left them to rot. Sorry, gourmets.) [![](https://i.ibb.co/qXs3DKr/FB-IMG-1781036549461.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/qXs3DKr/FB-IMG-1781036549461.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2026, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4196 "2026-06-11T14:55:14Z")
Relevant question, then, would your cat (or any other pet) eat them? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2026, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4197 "2026-06-11T15:33:48Z")
I’ve always had pets and mushrooms outside, no evidence that they’ve ever interacted. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4198 "2026-06-13T11:08:38Z")
Accidentally twisted the camera while taking a photo. [![](https://i.ibb.co/q8mjvHt/IMG-20260613-065300465-HDR.jpg) ](https://i.ibb.co/q8mjvHt/IMG-20260613-065300465-HDR.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4199 "2026-06-13T13:02:40Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Accidentally twisted the camera while taking a photo Ahhhhhhhhhh! Stop this thing! ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4200 "2026-06-13T14:09:52Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Accidentally twisted the camera while taking a photo. One of us has had too much to drink. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2026, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4201 "2026-06-13T14:30:07Z")
Or maybe not enough. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4202 "2026-06-14T16:59:40Z")
I still get impressed by bird vision. Walking along a trail last week, I stepped back off of it to get a better view of a female Western Bluebird in a tree. She then promptly fluttered down near my feet right where I had been walking and picked up a Spiny Elm Caterpillar (aka a [Mourning Cloak/Camberwell Beauty butterfly](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nymphalis_antiopa)) that I had completely missed in the weeds. [![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczOzymMZIVE8FOWwcf-MPldHVpOu7XZN6BDTCv3ElsIDvVcZRtbASbL2BclY1TDX9_1xOzrqINjM3lEps2hbwyvkXcJmC8iYqCCUrUwQleT318nkWdt_4zt_BzuBH3z2vs_msT_X5xznvGXbZcANHaq7=w1559-h877-s-no) ](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczOzymMZIVE8FOWwcf-MPldHVpOu7XZN6BDTCv3ElsIDvVcZRtbASbL2BclY1TDX9_1xOzrqINjM3lEps2hbwyvkXcJmC8iYqCCUrUwQleT318nkWdt_4zt_BzuBH3z2vs_msT_X5xznvGXbZcANHaq7=w1559-h877-s-no) Yesterday, in between trying to take pictures of grebe chicks in difficult light, I briefly stopped to watch this Great Blue Heron hunt in shallow water. He kept catching these tiny little minnows about the size of my thumbnail and I have small hands. I was just about to move on when he noticed something at the edge of the water and swiveled. Hmmm…maybe a mouse? A lizard? Nope a Botta’s Pocket Gopher - a BIG one. It’s like he went from eating individual oyster crackers to a whole roast chicken: [![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczNc0jkcQmugDEOznU0zY_vXa-1Zy2mvfKWvbsltpyYU486PtGMi3_wwFgJP4BpMRY58lILs9IGOalewyaLhL96_VYpJrJzL4sYO5uxyt2geCqHhOjpx_RJw5nkET-oiJrATyXjDKgoaKQ-cU0afLl8-=w1559-h877-s-no) ](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczNc0jkcQmugDEOznU0zY_vXa-1Zy2mvfKWvbsltpyYU486PtGMi3_wwFgJP4BpMRY58lILs9IGOalewyaLhL96_VYpJrJzL4sYO5uxyt2geCqHhOjpx_RJw5nkET-oiJrATyXjDKgoaKQ-cU0afLl8-=w1559-h877-s-no) It was pretty fascinating to watch. He dipped it in the water, swished and swashed it back and forth to thoroughly soak and lubricate it, then re-positioned and down it went. When I walked back that way an hour later he was still standing about in the same spot placidly digesting: [![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPvDqiyC0DhLQBe2CkmwISyfrbUgEaDyvJek8FsjeT6OVsWqXo0-_KatTMzwGSmlX5PfZdnPyFNVo0Dljh8IqS8JpZfBG5hKs0apDOkHVL8jPbFCb1EiXtHX7-odvkI7FHawIJmP3JpPSS2RQFiaoil=w1559-h877-s-no) ](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPvDqiyC0DhLQBe2CkmwISyfrbUgEaDyvJek8FsjeT6OVsWqXo0-_KatTMzwGSmlX5PfZdnPyFNVo0Dljh8IqS8JpZfBG5hKs0apDOkHVL8jPbFCb1EiXtHX7-odvkI7FHawIJmP3JpPSS2RQFiaoil=w1559-h877-s-no) [![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczP3jHmMOrrzkEpoLVHl_qZgBq8AayBuLXoHmnbD7sJxW-9gUmdsQSXU8KvvKJLHj6fvWW-wC7H-3-vj1BnhsNfCkAZhfFiyIygbWSGNUc5i9aCeVFSrHPzufUCUhdq5OdJtg1NbU69ZGY3fzKIlhEQX=w1559-h877-s-no) ](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczP3jHmMOrrzkEpoLVHl_qZgBq8AayBuLXoHmnbD7sJxW-9gUmdsQSXU8KvvKJLHj6fvWW-wC7H-3-vj1BnhsNfCkAZhfFiyIygbWSGNUc5i9aCeVFSrHPzufUCUhdq5OdJtg1NbU69ZGY3fzKIlhEQX=w1559-h877-s-no) [![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczO2YDYRVI9t-heLnpwNvq_FqcD_W_MCnsvP9XxLQLFRE2Wz83VYrbOyZ04RJwV-8e_AuJCmZ7gBt9ygQjaoPk4LpPYiWMpmlHsWSTFVGFUDWDnbaV7BCOcGLVj4B0TIMDJlQ95AtCEI0FAgcdvmsa6p=w1559-h877-s-no) ](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczO2YDYRVI9t-heLnpwNvq_FqcD_W_MCnsvP9XxLQLFRE2Wz83VYrbOyZ04RJwV-8e_AuJCmZ7gBt9ygQjaoPk4LpPYiWMpmlHsWSTFVGFUDWDnbaV7BCOcGLVj4B0TIMDJlQ95AtCEI0FAgcdvmsa6p=w1559-h877-s-no) [![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPVr7EhYT8loSKPFCEqQVUFwa16XQhxSz9kzVpSJiCJBrqHa5eGpe8wWWz-T9TgXBRHLT4WlygCd3SFQAm1mPxM9wqk8Fzov5wa-f0k2FAU0gduo-1BwlcwhM8UOVnglMeA-SzwGKTHiF_0vE82iKYP=w1559-h877-s-no) ](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPVr7EhYT8loSKPFCEqQVUFwa16XQhxSz9kzVpSJiCJBrqHa5eGpe8wWWz-T9TgXBRHLT4WlygCd3SFQAm1mPxM9wqk8Fzov5wa-f0k2FAU0gduo-1BwlcwhM8UOVnglMeA-SzwGKTHiF_0vE82iKYP=w1559-h877-s-no) [![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPehdSzm_YotpJKApBBb4Hf2vruYqKFSusKxh9rP0IXiyglKhm8mKlL-J_S0D3yAXtunEP4Wc6vgPx_Q4M95hMtBEvdfaUhl8_COOEjhTw4irs03kbtmoGPkUHBEbjnv2AASOTYf0tMHxVHqN8Us_6i=w1559-h877-s-no) ](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczPehdSzm_YotpJKApBBb4Hf2vruYqKFSusKxh9rP0IXiyglKhm8mKlL-J_S0D3yAXtunEP4Wc6vgPx_Q4M95hMtBEvdfaUhl8_COOEjhTw4irs03kbtmoGPkUHBEbjnv2AASOTYf0tMHxVHqN8Us_6i=w1559-h877-s-no) [![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczNoAhWSjOgGl2R8I9alnOTOlYmzLuUwe8n71DVl2_6xkNlRHnDg8XMGCeopy8nm0Pi5KwqDJEhF2QAwOiMC-oEeTRDRFEkVZ858FUj3qx9RKJS3_qfR18lZMyzWmgxxTye3BJIY8epVcL9vwp6EWY0l=w1559-h877-s-no) ](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw/AP1GczNoAhWSjOgGl2R8I9alnOTOlYmzLuUwe8n71DVl2_6xkNlRHnDg8XMGCeopy8nm0Pi5KwqDJEhF2QAwOiMC-oEeTRDRFEkVZ858FUj3qx9RKJS3_qfR18lZMyzWmgxxTye3BJIY8epVcL9vwp6EWY0l=w1559-h877-s-no) ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2026, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854/4203 "2026-06-14T17:40:56Z")
And now I have indigestion, lol. Great pics! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854.md?page=209) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/today-in-nature-i-saw/915854.md?page=211)