Friday 8th. November 2013

Mainly due to the weather and lack of interesting finds , a new post has been a long time coming . When I have been able to get out , very little was out there to find , so this post is restricted to a few shots from those outings .
The hoped for Winter visitor at Sevenoaks Reserve never materialised , but a couple of Kingfisher sightings from Willow Hide and 10/12 Egyptian Geese constantly flying between Snipe Bog Lake and the sheep fields beyond , made for the only shots taken on the visit .

The bird survey at Down House did nothing to lift the spirits , with just 16 species recorded . The highlight were 6 Mistle Thrush , feeding avidly on one of the Apple trees . I passed the same tree on my way out , but the Thrushes had been replaced by 7 Rose-ringed Parakeets , 5 of which were

caught in the viewfinder , two being half hidden under the middle/top bird . before I could get into a better position , two gardeners came round the corner , and they were off . The lawns behind the house always hold interest at this time of year , and this year the rare Wax Cap , Hygrocybe

calyptraeformis , seems to be doing very well indeed . Starting compact , it soon starts to split

radially from the middle as it get older . Also found in the same area , White Spindles / Clavaria

vermicularis . Not so good was that every Violet Helleborine that I found had been grazed , no doubt by the Roe Deer . Today , I made a visit to South Norwood Country Park , but things were still the same with very little to be seen . A Robin greeted me on one of the platforms around the lake , and at the same time the nearby litter bin came to life as several Brown Rats decamped from it's interior and

disappeared into the bankside vegetation . On one side of the island , a pair of Shoveler were having a

lie-in , whilst around the other side , a single adult Lesser Black-backed Gull , and possibly a

juvenile , and what looks like a Common Gull to me , but unsure caused by the black tip to it's bill  , were resting just above the water line . The rest of the gulls on site were all Black-headed . On the way home I stopped off briefly on the Common , finding a Jay opposite where I parked , which for

once allowed a couple of shots before it disappeared . Close-by were several Fly Agaric / Amanita muscaria , but most had been damaged by someone/something , so I had to be satisfied with a newly

emerged specimen , still with the remnants of it's veil showing on it's cap .

Hedgelaying tomorrow and heavy rain forecast for the morning , happy days !