I started off through the local woods with the wind whistling through the trees and causing an avalanche of leaves from the Sweet Chestnuts and others , providing a carpet over the woodland paths .
Very little evidence of birds , apart from the odd Corvid calling . On the far side of the wood and looking South-west , the sky looked threatening , but only the odd spot of rain on the wind . On the power lines near Nash , a flock of about 100 Starling looked as if they were on parade in four straight lines . On the footpath behind the livery stables , the Holly trees are heavy with ripening berries . This quiet place is favoured by the visiting Redwings and Fieldfares , but no sign of them here yet . Where the footpath flattens out for a way before rising again , and somewhat sheltered from the wind , I disturbed two Rose Ringed Parakeets which flew off noisily . Also in the hedgerow were several Robins and Tits . Looking uphill across the field , a very large mixed flock of Corvids were feeding on the ground . They were mainly Jackdaws , but good numbers of Carrion Crow and Magpies were included . The field belongs to the owners of the farm lake , and has been ploughed and I suspect planted , to attract such a large flock . Along with the Corvids was a 100+ Starling flock , possibly the ones I had seen earlier , and a flock of mixed Gulls made up of Black Headed and Common . The gusting wind made all the birds very 'twitchy' , and would send them noisily into the air , to come back down some distance off . Whenever they caught sight of me on the edge of the field the same happened . By the time I reached the Bridleway at the top of the hill , nearly all the birds that were up there , were now down at the bottom by the footpath I had just come along . Apart from avoiding speeding cars on the lane leading home , the journey was quite uneventful . It was therefore a surprise when , as I was passing the horsefield , that a flock of 12/15 Pheasants decided to erupt out of a patch of Stinging Nettles , and fly into the field across the lane , narrowly missing a couple of passing cars . One female 
couldn't be bothered to fly and walked casually across the lane , but only made it with the curtesy of the third passing driver . Where a Horse Chestnut that blew down in the winds last 
year stood , a strong growth of Armillaria mellea-Honey Fungus has sprung up from the rotten stump . Further along the lane , I stopped to look at the Aleuria aurantia-Orange Peel Fungus that I posted a while ago . I was hoping that there would be a good display by now , but the 
original is discolouring , and the two smaller specimens do not seem to be growing any larger . The two smaller specimens are bottom right and just above the original , both still well down in the grass . Interestingly , if I hadn't known they were there , I wouldn't have seen them as the whole lawn was covered with Beech leaves . The rain was still in the air when I arrived home , but not enough to dampen anything .
Very little evidence of birds , apart from the odd Corvid calling . On the far side of the wood and looking South-west , the sky looked threatening , but only the odd spot of rain on the wind . On the power lines near Nash , a flock of about 100 Starling looked as if they were on parade in four straight lines . On the footpath behind the livery stables , the Holly trees are heavy with ripening berries . This quiet place is favoured by the visiting Redwings and Fieldfares , but no sign of them here yet . Where the footpath flattens out for a way before rising again , and somewhat sheltered from the wind , I disturbed two Rose Ringed Parakeets which flew off noisily . Also in the hedgerow were several Robins and Tits . Looking uphill across the field , a very large mixed flock of Corvids were feeding on the ground . They were mainly Jackdaws , but good numbers of Carrion Crow and Magpies were included . The field belongs to the owners of the farm lake , and has been ploughed and I suspect planted , to attract such a large flock . Along with the Corvids was a 100+ Starling flock , possibly the ones I had seen earlier , and a flock of mixed Gulls made up of Black Headed and Common . The gusting wind made all the birds very 'twitchy' , and would send them noisily into the air , to come back down some distance off . Whenever they caught sight of me on the edge of the field the same happened . By the time I reached the Bridleway at the top of the hill , nearly all the birds that were up there , were now down at the bottom by the footpath I had just come along . Apart from avoiding speeding cars on the lane leading home , the journey was quite uneventful . It was therefore a surprise when , as I was passing the horsefield , that a flock of 12/15 Pheasants decided to erupt out of a patch of Stinging Nettles , and fly into the field across the lane , narrowly missing a couple of passing cars . One female couldn't be bothered to fly and walked casually across the lane , but only made it with the curtesy of the third passing driver . Where a Horse Chestnut that blew down in the winds last year stood , a strong growth of Armillaria mellea-Honey Fungus has sprung up from the rotten stump . Further along the lane , I stopped to look at the Aleuria aurantia-Orange Peel Fungus that I posted a while ago . I was hoping that there would be a good display by now , but the original is discolouring , and the two smaller specimens do not seem to be growing any larger . The two smaller specimens are bottom right and just above the original , both still well down in the grass . Interestingly , if I hadn't known they were there , I wouldn't have seen them as the whole lawn was covered with Beech leaves . The rain was still in the air when I arrived home , but not enough to dampen anything .
1 comment:
I was also out today greenie, not a very interesting one. although the fresh wind and bity rain felt very exiler...exhiler..exilara..excitingat times!
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