Friday 27 November 2009

Friday 27th.November 2009

I'll be hedgelaying tomorrow , down near the junction of the M25 and M23 , nice quiet spot , and heading up North , well , North of Watford Gap , in what looks like atrocious conditions , visiting family on Sunday , so after doing some chores , headed off after lunch for a look around High Elms Country Park . The sun was out , but it was a much cooler day than yesterday , and by 1430 , it was downright chilly , nothing like those barmey Summer days at Burnt Gorse enjoying the butterflies . After leaving the car park , the thing that struck me most , was the quietness of the woodland . Never great for birdlife , I really struggled to hear/see much today . The best was Gt.Spotted Woodpecker , Mistle Thrush and Fieldfare , but apart from that , a few Corvids , the odd Tit and Finch , and I won't mention the ever present Rose Ringed Parakeets , too late , I have . A few Grey Squirrels , and that was it , so I started looking for fungi , and did much better than with the birds .
Looking more like an outcrop of coral than a fungus , a large specimen of Ramaria stricta was found on a fallen limb of Scots Pine .
After strong winds , is always a good time to find the very delicate Crepidotus variabilis , when it's host is laying on the woodland floor . A very common species , found particularly on dead Beech is Hypoxylon fragiforme . The newer specimens are bright pink , becoming brick red , before blackening . On the edges of the fairways on the golf course , I found 3 species of Wax caps , but , surprisingly not the red species , Hygrocybe coccinea-Scarlet Hood , that I was expecting to find . Snowy Wax Cap-H.nivea and H.ceracea , the yellow species , were found side by side in great abundance .
Fewer specimens of the normally more abundant Meadow Wax Cap-H.pratensis were found .By the side of a tee , close to the car park , I found a really large specimen of Field Blewitt , 35mm film cannister for comparison .The same cannister was dwarfed by the large group of Oyster Mushroom-Pleurotus ostreatus , that I found on a fallen bough , just behind the car park .

5 comments:

Wilma said...

Great fungi shots, Greenie. Some of the oyster mushrooms still look like they would make good eating!

Anonymous said...

Another fungi filled post, Greenie. Nice one.
Still a bit on thin side for it up here.

Warren Baker said...

It was a tad chillier today Greenie, especially as the sun started toset, suppose we're just not used to it now.

ShySongbird said...

There are types of fungi there that I have never heard of at all and definitely never seen, it really is a fascinating subject.

I have also been fascinated for some time (or just plain nosy!) by your constant companion the 35mm film cannister!! As its original function has to be redundant now do you carry it purely for comparison purposes or does it serve some other purpose? It could be an antique of the future ;)

Greenie said...

Wilma ,
I hear you , but will still stick to Supermarket sp.

Dean ,
Not as good as previous years down here too . Had to really search yesterday .

ShySongbird ,
Fungi is a fascinating , but also a very large subject with 4/5000 species in UK . Some experts just study a specific species . I just dabble .
As for the 35mm. cannisters , I usually have 3/4 in my camera bag , and use them either to keep small finds safe eg. Dragonfly exuvia , or as with the fungi , for size comparison , as photographers , of an age , can identify with the object .