Week 41: Frilly Fungus & Woodland Treecreepers

Just headlines and snippets this week...

Bonkers weather: Peak daytime temperatures seemed to hover around 18-20 degrees celsius most days…and….It’s November!?!

Dellfield Oak and lazy sheep

Warm Temperatures + Damp Conditions = Great for Fungus
On the log pile near the south-east gate from Dellfield I found Crimped Gill (Plicatura crispa) and Silverleaf Fungus (Chondrostereum purpureum) (growth about 15 cm long). In Hay Wood, I came across at least 3 colonies of tiny Angel’s Bonnet (Mycena arcangeliana).

Silverleaf Fungus (Chondrostereum purpureum) [above and below]

Silverleaf Fungus close up

Over on the River Bulbourne, Papa Kingfisher is still trying to encourage his youngster to stop raiding the food cupboard (aka river) and find her own territory. She’s not giving up without a bit of wing flapping, posturing and squealing. A stage most of us go through. This week, negotiations were taking place by the Station Road bridge (record shot here).

Bovingdon Brickworks 27/10/2014. North-east end of the main meadow with the mound (beyond the trees is Green Lane)

Birding in Hay Wood

Friday morning, I spent almost an hour listening and watching, standing in a small area of the wood, close to Dellfield meadow. Nothing beats being in amongst wild birds as they flit about the canopy, chattering to one another, hovering under leaves to get at spiders or insects, and tussling over territory. I counted more than 10 Goldcrests (I had kept a special eye/ear out for Firecrests but no luck); 2 Treecreepers; 7+ Coal Tits; 6+ Great Tits; 9+ Blue Tits; 1 Nuthatch; and 2 Bullfinches. The Goldcrests and Treecreepers were particularly delightful and never fail to make me smile. They also very rarely stay still so getting photographs under a dark canopy with a slow lens was something of a challenge. Below are the best I could manage for the gorgeous little Treecreeper.

The delicate call of the Treecreeper

Autumn in Hay Wood