The most abundant and least utilized mushroom here at this time of year is the Winter Chanterelle, Craterellus tubaeformis. I've been picking these almost every winter for over thirty years and have only come across a fellow forager once, and that was last year. Besides that occasion, I've never even seen any signs of picked specimens. In a good year, like this one, they are very abundant and will last until a hard freeze-up from an Arctic air outflow. At least once, they lasted into April. Here are a couple of photos of typical habitat from which I gathered 18 litres of mushrooms the Sunday before Christmas.
