Monday 1st. November 2010

First stop this morning was Down House , to do the Bird Survey . After several poor visits recently , it was nice to get 27 species today . Two of those species , were the Winter Thrushes that I had so far failed to find this year . 26 Fieldfares , in several small flocks and 15 Redwings in two almost even flocks certainly brightened a grey morning . Good numbers of Corvids and Starlings , and 2 Green and 3 Great Spotted Woodpeckers kept the interest going . The most unusual record for the site was a fly over Common Gull .
The birds might have been better than usual , but it was hard work finding fungi . The first found was what is termed a 'slime mould' , Mucilago crustacea , unusual for a fungus , found on grass . I then got into a run of Wax Caps :
Blackening Wax Cap-Hygrocybe nigrescens ,
the beautifully coloured and rare Hygrocybe calyptraeformis . I looked for this species last visit , without finding it , and only found 6 specimens , mostly just emerging as above , but also a single fully emerged specimen on the main lawn of the house . It was then down to the Cricket Field to provide some more species ; normally found in numbers , but only a few Scarlet Hood-Hygrocybe coccinea ,
and Hygrocybe ceracea ,the square itself provided Clavulinopsis helvola , a small , club shaped species .On a log in the Sandwalk Woodland , Rhodotus palmatus , which can vary from Peach to Apricot in colour .

Also in the woodland was this female Roe Deer . Unfortunately , she saw me at the same moment I saw her . After seeing Warren's shot of Hawthorn in flower on a recent post , I kept my eyes open for something similar , but could only come up with a couple of small stands of Ox-Eye Daisy , and the odd flower still blooming on some Bramble . There was also the odd Spear Thistle and Black Knapweed flower to be found . On the edge of the Golf Course , I found a couple of specimens of Magpie Fungus-Coprinus picaceus . I must admit , I thought I had seen the last of this species about a month ago . Heading home , as I drove through Downe village , I had to slow down for a couple of Peahens , outside one of the pubs . The first one retired onto the roof of the pub's outbuildings , but the second , a strange looking specimen , insisted on playing 'Chicken' in the road .

I looked at Keston Ponds on the way home , just one male Mandarin in residence and a single Tufted Duck was all that had changed . The Farm Lake was no better , nothing different on the lake , but a flock of 20/25 Rose Ringed Parakeets screeched overhead into the woods , the largest flock I have seen locally for some time .

And finally , for anyone who has recently taken up 'twitching' , there is a fly on the wall programme all about it on BBC4 at 9 o'clock tonight , repeated 1030 Thursday night , you never know , we might see ShySongbird . Obsessive and fixated are both mentioned in the write up . It is followed by a programme on the Cuckoo . There are also two bird programmes on the same channel on Wednesday .