Price Lake Discoveries

While exploring for trout lilies on the Price Lake Trail this week I discovered a number of these curiosities in quiet pools along one of the small creeks that feed into the lake.  I collected a photo record of a couple of them hoping later to learn what they are.  They appear to be gelatinous masses, perhaps egg masses of some kind, about 2-3 inches across in size.  There were no creatures visible in the immediate vicinity, and I don’t know at this point what they are.  I’ve put out inquiries to the CNPA forum, hoping that some of the field biologists who frequent those forums may be able to identify them.

My second discovery surprised me by fluttering across my path as I walked around the trail, swooping here and there and then landing for a moment on the trunk of a tree alongside the bridge across the largest creek entering Price Lake.  I was very surprised to see a bat here, but that’s exactly what it was!  I have never seen a bat around Price Lake, and I was especially surprised that one would be fluttering about in the midday sun since I thought bats are nocturnal creatures.

I was able to get a documentary snapshot of this creature, but nothing that I would call a quality photo.  It didn’t sit still very long and was very skittish, zooming away when I approached the tree it was perched on.  Photos in flight were not very successful either, since I was flying by the seat of my pants just trying to document that I had actually seen a bat!  In the end, that’s about all I was able to do, but at least I have some proof that I actually discovered a bat in an early afternoon in April on the far side of Price Lake!  It’s a first for me, and it’s a pretty exciting discovery!

As with the gelatinous blobs described above, I don’t really know the name of this creature but I hope to learn it soon.  When I learn more about these discoveries  I’ll post an update.