I’m sure they have been around for a while already, but I saw my first small group of Redwing (Turdus iliacus) this morning. Similar to the Song Thrush, it has a wash of orange-red on the flanks that gives it its name. It is a winter visitor from the colder northern parts of Scandinavia, as well as Iceland and the Faroes.

Three fungi noted in the woodland today were Witch’s Butter (Exidia glandulosa) on a dead branch (of what tree I am not sure) and possible Birch Woodwart (Jackrogersella multiformis) on a fallen birch trunk, as well as a tiny Mycaena sp. on another fallen trunk that may be Frosty Bonnet (Mycena adscendens).

A tiny unidentified larva was discovered on a decaying oak leaf in the leaf litter. The leaf was coated with either a powdery mildew fungus or a slime mould.

Out on one of the meadows I found several clusters of a slime mould in the grass, as well as one mass encircling a hawthorn twig close by. For obvious reasons it revels in the name Dog Sick Slime Mould (Didymium spongiosum).

                                                                                              <<<< Previous page | Next Page >>>>