Thursday 6th.November 2008

The work party up on Hayes Common was cancelled today because of the weather , absentees , our leader being knackered , so I took myself off to High Elms Country Park , hoping to find some Winter visitors .

The weather was overcast with the threat of drizzle in the air and quite wet underfoot . Straight away , the most predominant bird was the Rose Ringed Parakeet , they were everywhere , but very difficult to get a true count as they are so mobile . My estimate of seen/heard on my visit would be between 25 and 35 . Whilst crossing the first fairway , I had 6 in one tree , 4 in another , and had a fly past of 5 (difficult to get a good shot because of their speed and bad light conditions ) , and many more could be heard calling locally . The 'nesting tree' also had a good few squabbling as I went past , the whole place will be over-run if they have another good breeding season next year .

Great Spotted and Green Woodpecker and Nuthatch were seen/heard , but it wasn't until I got to Burnt Gorse that I had the first Redwings , a fly over of just three , calling . As usual , Corvids and Tits made up the other species seen , with the odd Blackbird , Chaffinch and a couple of Mistle Thrushes . As I left the car park , I did see another small flock , 10/15 Redwings , but no sign of Fieldfares .Another specimen of Rhodotus palmatus was found , and this one , being more in the open , shows it's characteristic 'wrinkled' appearance .

The Chlorosplenium aeruginascens-Green Wood-cup still looks good , it is one of those few fungi that have a good fruiting period .

The second Geastrum triplex-Earthstar , the one bottom right , which hadn't opened last time I looked , is now fully opened , and a third , top middle appeared and has been well chewed .

I also found one of the Lactarius-Milk-cap family , L.turpis-Ugly Milk-cap , not very 'pc' in this age . All the Lactarius family exude droplets of white liquid-milk , which gives them their name .

What must be one of the last Coprinus picaceus-Magpie Fungus was just about still standing , it's cap , like all the Ink Caps , starting to drip the black inky fluid which gives them their name .

Back home in the garden , the female Brambling has been seen briefly three times today , I saw her once before going out and Carol saw her twice whilst I was out . I spent half an hour watching this afternoon , but very few birds came to the feeders , but the light was getting really bad too . Hopefully , she will get less tentative , and I'll get a shot of her in some sunshine . The only regular visitor was the Coal Tit , with his diagnostic twin wing bars .

The answers to last night's old/country bird names were :-

Bird 3 . Oven Bird or Sally Picker ------Willow Warbler

Bird 4 . Tongue Bird or Rain Fowl ------Green Woodpecker

Tonight's two are :-

Bird 5 . Black Oxeye or Coalhead

Bird 6 . Whistling Dick or Mavis