Home / Walks / 8 August 2026

Also seen that day

The meadow at Wachusett 09:11

The sanctuary's open hay meadow under heavy cloud, looking toward the wooded ridge. The walk began at the field edge before entering the woods.

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Hedge bindweed and bumblebee 09:17

A bumblebee working a hedge bindweed flower (Calystegia sepium) at the meadow edge, photographed over about a minute as it moved in and out of the corolla.

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Red efts 09:25

Three separate red efts — the terrestrial juvenile stage of the eastern newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) — found on moss and leaf litter through the morning. Efts emerge in numbers on damp days, and finding three in one walk says as much about ground moisture as any of the fungi do.

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Fern glades, boulders and the brook 10:19

Hay-scented fern glades, the boulder-strewn slope, and the brook crossing with its boardwalk. The open, rocky, fern-dominated understory here is quite different from Broad Meadow Brook and Leominster, and probably explains the different species mix.

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Boletes 6

Red-capped bolete with yellow poresBoletaceae · Aug 8ModerateYellow-brown boleteBoletaceae · Aug 8Low–moderateRed-brown bolete against a logBoletaceae · Aug 8LowOrange-capped boleteLeccinum sp. · Aug 8ModerateSpeckled ochre boleteBoletaceae · Aug 8Low–moderateDeep red bolete with reticulate stipeBoletaceae · Aug 8Moderate

Violet & amethyst agarics 6

Violet agarics on a mossy decaying logCortinarius or Laccaria · Aug 8ModerateLarge violet agaric by a fallen logCortinarius or Laccaria · Aug 8ModerateWeathered violet agarics on a bankCortinarius or Laccaria · Aug 8ModeratePale violet agaric on the bankCortinarius or Laccaria · Aug 8ModerateTall violet agaric by the stone wallCortinarius or Laccaria · Aug 8ModeratePale pinkish-lilac agaric among bouldersCortinarius or Laccaria · Aug 8Moderate

Orange & yellow 7

Orange mushrooms on a rotten logUnidentified agaric · Aug 8Low–moderateYellow jelly fungusDacrymyces or Tremella · Aug 8Moderate–highYellow-capped mushroom on a logHygrophoropsis or Gymnopilus · Aug 8ModerateSecond yellow-capped mushroomUnidentified agaric · Aug 8Low–moderateBright yellow mushroomcf. Amanita · Aug 8Low–moderateTall yellow-capped mushroomHygrophoropsis sp. · Aug 8ModerateOrange troop on a standing logUnidentified agaric · Aug 8Low–moderate

Pale agarics on wood 6

White funnel on a mossy logUnidentified agaric · Aug 8Low–moderateTan gilled mushroom on a logUnidentified agaric · Aug 8LowGrey funnel with decurrent gillsUnidentified agaric · Aug 8Low–moderateCream mushroom on a mossy logUnidentified agaric · Aug 8LowFrilly-margined white mushroomsUnidentified agaric · Aug 8Low–moderateSmall fruitbodies along a logUnidentified agaric · Aug 8Low

Polypores & brackets 4

Bracket colony among fernsTrametes or Stereum · Aug 8Low–moderateTurkey tail on the fallen logTrametes versicolor · Aug 8Moderate–highPale mushrooms on one fallen logcf. Pleurotus · Aug 8Low–moderateBracket colony on the rock ledgeTrametes sp. · Aug 8Low–moderate

Other finds 19

Tan cap in meadow grassUnidentified agaric · Aug 8LowFlat tan disc on the groundUnidentified agaric · Aug 8LowLeaf litter beside the bolete logUnidentified agaric · Aug 8LowCommon puffballs in litterLycoperdon perlatum · Aug 8Moderate–highSmall tan mushroom in litterUnidentified agaric · Aug 8LowSmall red-brown cap on the slopeUnidentified agaric · Aug 8LowPale caps in leaf litterUnidentified agaric · Aug 8LowCommon puffball — mossy bankLycoperdon perlatum · Aug 8Moderate–highWhite capped agaricsUnidentified agaric · Aug 8LowTall grey-brown agaricPluteus or Volvariella · Aug 8ModerateCommon puffball — by the boulderLycoperdon perlatum · Aug 8ModeratePale capped mushroom on the bankUnidentified agaric · Aug 8LowTan mushroom at the fern edgeUnidentified agaric · Aug 8LowPale mushroom by the fernsUnidentified agaric · Aug 8LowPale disc on bare groundUnidentified agaric · Aug 8LowCommon puffball — moss cushionLycoperdon perlatum · Aug 8HighPale capped mushroom among bouldersUnidentified agaric · Aug 8LowSmall tan mushrooms in litterUnidentified agaric · Aug 8LowWhite cap on mossUnidentified agaric · Aug 8Low