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| © Richard Coomber |
Between Hawkhill and Ladycross
A beautiful sunny spring
morning with a record turnout (21). The
sunshine
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| © Richard Coomber |
brought out the butterflies, Brimstones and Red Admiral, and a pair of Buzzards soaring high above us enjoying the thermals. We walked into Hawkhill
Inclosure where we had a quick lichen and moss revision: lichen: Oakmoss - Evernia prunastre, Ramalina farinacea, Usnea
subfloridana and Bryoria fuscescens;
and moss: Polytrichum commune, Thuidium
tamariscinum and Dicranum majus.
Not easy to remember!
Brimstone butterfly
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© Angela Morrell
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The lichen Bryoria fuscescens
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| © Angela Morrell |
And the moss Thuidium
tamariscinum
We walked down the drift way between Hawkhill and Frame Heath, where there are many very ancient oaks
growing in fantastic shapes. This is Sika Deer territory and we noted the deep
gouges that the stags make in the bark of trees when they rub the velvet off their new antlers.
We rescued some frogspawn which had been dumped on the leaf litter, probably by
crows, and found a good puddle to put it in.
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| © Angela Morrell |
Sika Deer gouges in bark
Wild Honey Bees were out foraging and in an old Holly tree we found the nest
containing comb. Later some of us saw Fallow Deer. As we neared the car
park Sarah showed us Dung Roundhead Stropharia
semiglobata, a fungi with a distinctive hemispherical cap and as its name
suggests restricted to a limited habitat.
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© Richard Coomber
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Wild Honey Bees' nest with comb
Birds were rather few and far between today and in addition to the Buzzards we had good views of Marsh Tits. Stock Doves were also noted (AM)
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| © Richard Coomber |
Buzzard overhead