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Porcelain Fungus
©
Glynis Payne
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A party of fifteen, nearly sixteen
with an enthusiastic pony, set off on a rather overcast morning but it quickly
developed into a lovely crisp sunny autumn day with the main highlight being
the wonderful variety of fungi that we encountered along the way.
Walking past the cricket ground we
found a collection of Fly Agaric and then on down a broad swathe of lawn with a
number of Green Elf Cup stained branches we were treated to a flight display
from at least a couple of Wood Larks, several Mistle Thrushes and a fleeting
sight of a Great Spotted Woodpecker.
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Southern Bracket
© Richard Smith
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On diving into the dense old wood we
came across a fallen Beech that was covered in hundreds of small yellow
mushrooms and the splintered base was host to good specimens of Southern
Bracket.
Emerging from the wood we walked
along open rides with a lot of chatter in the trees from Great Tit, Blue Tit,
Coal Tit and Chaffinch. A gang of about a dozen Long-tailed Tits crossed the
path just ahead of us.
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Brown Birch Bolete
©
Glynis Payne
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A coffee break by a stream revealed
Wood Spurge and Wood Sorrel and an unusual white coral type fungus covered in
green mould on the underside of a fallen Beech plus a couple of Chanterelle.
Then on across the footbridge and up into the wood, emerging again onto an open
lawn called Gutter Heath with ponies and cattle grazing among the tussucky
mounds with a Painted Lady flitting briefly by.
Winding back across the stream we
passed an oak that had had one of its lower burrs illegally removed with a
chain saw. These are highly valued in order to make very decorative veneers
from the marbled and knotted wood. A sign in the car park had asked for
information about this activity.
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| Common Puffball
© Richard Smith
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We heard the croaking of a Raven and
the call of a Green Woodpecker and found several more fungi species, including King
Alfred’s Cakes, Brown Rollrim, Porcelain Fungus and Brown Birch
Bolete, before returning past the cricket ground and back to the car park. R&GP