Notes: Ah, yes, the only duck to give a title to a James Bond movie. We actually have two goldeneyes, conventionally known as the common goldeneye and Barrow’s goldeneye, but Barrow’s are pretty scant, with a handful of them found at our local hotspot at the Bahia Lagoon among the few hundred commons that winter there. Both are distinctive, with dark heads punctuated by golden eyes and white face markings (a circle on commons, a crescent on Barrow’s), as well as a generally bold pattern of black and white. Females have brown heads and mostly gray backs. Goldeneyes arrive quite late, not really becoming numerous until December, but are well worth seeking out, particularly when they engage in their yoga-inspired courtship displays shown here.

Everyone’s heard of the Bermuda Triangle in the Caribbean, but on the mainland U.S. there is an even more mysterious aquatic polygon in Lake Michigan. The lore started in 1891 when a wooden ship hauling lumber and seven sailors disappeared without a trace — literally, not even a single piece of wood was ever found despite a thorough search.

Deep down in Japan’s southern island chain, near Taiwan, is Yonaguni. Island waters here are known among divers for their abundance of hammerhead sharks, but in 1987 one diver discovered something much cooler that still baffles scientists to this day.

The San Luis Valley desert in southern Colorado is so mysterious, it even has its own Google Map  highlighting various paranormal activity that's been reported there. A flying humanoid was spotted in the desert in 2009, there have been many bigfoot sightings over the years, and it's home to a ranch that “figured prominently in the [animal] mutilation waves of the ’70s.”

With all the ridiculous names given to mushrooms and fungus here is one that absolutely screams out for one – “The human brain fungus“! But no, for some reason they named it false morel, which it doesn’t really look like. Obviously something as delicious looking as a human brain is not going to go uneaten. And it doesn’t. The false morel is a popular delicacy in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.

If this mushroom had its name written on it absolutely no one in their right mind would f**k with it! The Destroying Angel, that just screams “Eat me and you will die!”. And this pretty much sums up these members of the genus Amanita.

Related to the Destroying Angels is the similarly appealing sounding death cap. It is this deadly poisonous mushroom that has been responsible the majority of human deaths both accidental and on purpose. The death cap has a long history and is associated with the deaths of a number of notable victims including the Roman Emperor Claudius, a pope and a Russian tsar.

This beautiful mushroom’s colors are a sign to stay away. It produces a poison that will sicken people unless it is cooked very thoroughly.

In most uses, this word refers to something that can harm or kill an organism. But in biology, only some organisms that make a toxic substance are considered truly poisonous. To get that name, they must secrete the chemical passively. Then it just stays on or inside the organism until somebody — or something — eats it. Plants can be poisonous. So can animals that secrete toxins through their skin. But if an animal has to bite or sting to deliver its toxic chemical, scientists call it something different: venomous.

Feel weightlessness for a few brief seconds by jumping off a cliff into refreshing water below. This extreme feat was once a test of bravery for Maui's King Kahekili II, who would make his warriors jump off a cliff into the water to prove they were loyal and fearless.

Taos, New Mexico — which has been drawing artists to its ancient surroundings since the very end of the 19th century — is a magical place well worth a visit in its own right. The Taos Pueblo, a five-story series of adjoining homes, dates back a millenia and is one of the oldest continually inhabited communities in America.