Monday 22nd.November 2010

It seems that Steve/Kingsdowner , was right when he commented that Saturday's Waxwing was probably a scout , as although I have spent quite some time in the local streets , getting some very strange looks re. the camera and tripod , no further sightings of Waxwings , or even Winter Thrushes have been forthcoming . On the plus side , I now know where every berry bearing tree is on the estate , so if we do get an invasion , I know the places to look .
In an effort to repair Saturday's 'dumping of Carol in exchange for a strange bird' , so aptly put by ShySongbird , I offered Carol a lift up to town this morning . As with every exit from the house recently , the camera was with me , and before I could get out onto the road , I had to wait for this Pied Wagtail , doing a very good impression of a 'road runner ' . Passing cars didn't bother it , and even when I did pull out , I had to steer around it . On the way back , I detoured around the roads with the berry laden trees , without any luck , but did find an unexpected cock Pheasant on the pavement outside one house . He must have been related to the 'road runner' , as he took no notice of me and just carried on doing his yoga exercises .
Before lunch , I had a quick look at Keston Ponds and Common . No sign of any Mandarins , and no change on the local residents , starting to sound like Cortonwood . A car stopped and a chap got out with a big bag of white bread , not ideal for waterfowl , but everything must have been hungry , as they all descended on the bread , and in a couple of minutes , it was all gone . Lagging about afterwards , were these four bitsers , and I thought any one of them would make a good subject for a 'Who do you think you are ?' episode .
A walk up on Keston Common was pleasant enough , but hardly a bird was seen/heard , and very little fungi was found . Under some Scots Pines , I did find a few specimens of Auriscalpium vulgare , a species that I have only found once before . This species only grows on decaying/buried Pone cones , and has spines rather than gills or pores , similar to the Hedgehog Fungus that I posted a while back . Oh yes , it's common name , Ear Pick Fungus .
And finally , a warning passed on from the Sec. of the Surrey Hedgelaying Group .
Beware if you receive a card through the letterbox from PDS ( Parcel Delivery Service ) , stating that they tried to deliver a parcel , but no one was in . They ask that you ring 0906 6611911 to arrange a return visit . IF you ring the number , a recorded message starts , and the cost of the call - £315 . This scam originates in Belize , and if you get a card , Royal Mail Fraud
( 0207 239 6655 ) , would like to know .