I had a couple of busy days this week, so couldn’t get to morel hunting (round 1) until yesterday. Pulled on some mid calf rubber boots so I could cross over to the other side of the creek. Alas, no morels. I will keep hunting periodically.
I did find some neat mosses, ferns, and IDed a couple native wildflowers that I didn’t know the names of, the Mayapple and Bristly buttercup.
Also used the sound ID feature of the Merlin bird ID app that I have. It’s so handy! Besides the birds I see and hear everyday (cardinals, titmice, wren, jays, etc) I discovered there were Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Pine Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher, and White-throated Sparrow in the area. I thought I heard a Red-headed Woodpecker too, but it wouldn’t ID that. When I got back to the house, I saw the Redhead (I’ve nicknamed him/her Rudy) head to the suet feeder at least a dozen times.
I grew up in northern Michigan and once in a while would hunt morels with my grandfather. He always knew where they were.
As a side note, my old home town up there hosts a morel mushroom festival every year on the weekend after Mothers Day.
https://www.bcmorelfestival.com/
Great birding! We have a pair of the Red Headed Woodpeckers - and they are NOISY! It’s fun to watch them; they’ll come to the platform feeder, grab a shelled peanut piece and head back to their tree in the woods...and do that all day long.