We can expect an
excellent talk tonight, for Andy Page works for the Forestry Commission as Head
of Wildlife Management South England Forest District. Raptors are a particular interest
and expertise, which he has used to great effect with his involvement in the
setting up of the Goshawk nest cameras at the Reptile Centre near
Lyndhurst.
Talk: 28 November 2017 Fungi in the New Forest
Sara Cadbury captivated the audience with her talk on New
Forest fungi. Sara, an expert mycologist and member of our own Naturalist
Society started with the identification of fungi including the difficulties
that this involves due to mycology being a rapidly advancing science, hence the
names in the identification books are often out of date. Identification is a
calculated guess without the use of a microscope. Identification is based on
habitat ( both woodland/grassland, also which tree /plant it is attached to ) ;
size; colour ( also difficult as some colours are water soluble); colour of
spores, smell and if it has a cap or gills. Sara showed us the cocoa coloured
spores of the large Ganoderma fungi
found in the forest.
Broadly fungi can be divided into two groups- Basidiomycetes,
which drop their spores, examples being Boletus fungi, and Ascomycetes, which
shoot their spores out, examples being cup fungus and green oak cup.
Sara had photographs of spores, showing the variation in size,
shape, ornamentation and spikes and the means of measuring these microscopic
spores. The microscope also revealed the structure, named a basidium, of the
Basidiomycetes, which have usually four arms at the apex, each of these arms
has a spore attached. These spores are immature, and for identification
purposes cannot be measured until unattached. In the Ascomycetes the spores are
in asci, and when ripe they shoot out of the top.
Next we looked at Ergot, which occurs mainly on cereal
crops, usually rye. These fungi used to cause death, as the fungi were
incorporated into flour and then onto bread. The poison within the Ergot caused
constriction of capillaries, leading to gangrene and death. The symptoms
involved itching of the extremities and hence the disease was named St Vitus
dance.
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| A spalted bowl |
Sara bought along many examples of spalted wood, which is
greatly favoured by wood turners, due to the black lines that are so decorative
in the finished bowls. These black lines are war zones where two fungi, of
either similar or different kinds are defending their territory. Between these
two lines there is often a further fungus growing. The Porcelain Fungus can
produce a yellow line in these circumstances.
Sara then spoke of a number of different and interesting
fungi to be seen in the forest. Stinkhorn has an unusual spore dispersal as the
smell it emits attracts beetles and flies, which the disperse the spores.
Usually spores are wind dispersed.
 |
| Devil's Fingers |
Forest specialities include Clathrus archeri, Devils Fingers, which occur on Setley Plain,
their spore dispersal is also by flies and beetles. Poronia punctate, Nail Fungus, occurs on manure from New Forest
ponies that have poor nutrition and diets high in roughage. Hericium erinaceus, Bearded Tooth, Hericium caralloides , Coral Tooth and Hericium cirrhatum, Tiered Tooth, are
all rare but do occur on beech trees in the forest.
Sara explained that the large diversity of fungi in the New
Forest is due to the variety of habitats, from the Headon beds south of the A31
to the sands and gravels in the north.
Sara was particularly interested in the numbers of fungi
with parasites themselves- showing us photographs of Peppery Boletus fungi
being parasitic to Fly Agaric. Earth balls and puff balls also have parasites.
We finished with photographs of Chicken in the Woods, Dyers Mazegill, Magpie Fungus,
wax caps and Wood Blewit.
Sara was warmly thanked by a full audience of members and
visitors. Visitors are very welcome at both the evening meetings and our walks
throughout the year. Details to be found on our website www.lymnats.org.uk
07 January 2018 Keyhaven Bird Walk
The first Sunday bird walk of the year saw nine hardy
souls turn out at Keyhaven in a bitterly cold strong north-easterly wind but
with mostly clear blue skies as some compensation. We followed our usual route
from Keyhaven along the sea wall then returning via the Ancient Highway.
 |
| A female Pintail followed by a pair of Shoveler |
We began our walk a couple of hours after low tide
which meant plenty of mud in Keyhaven harbour for the probing Dunlin, Common
Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit and Grey Plover; out on the water were Little and
Great Crested Grebes, Red-breasted Merganser and Brent Goose.
On the lagoons numbers of birds were unusually low and
most of those that we did see were hunkered down sheltering from the wind.
However we managed to add a number of duck species to our list – Teal, Wigeon,
Shoveler, Pintail, Shelduck - and the low angle of the sun meant that their colourful
plumage was visible at its best.
 |
| Brent Geese in flight |
Overhead a large flock of Golden Plover and Lapwing
swirled back and forth in flight but we didn’t see what had disturbed them. Brent
Geese also took to the air a number of times; it’s always a pleasure to hear
them calling constantly to each other either in the air or on the water.
Small birds were few in number though we did manage to
note Stonechat, Reed Bunting, Pied Wagtail and a snatch of Cetti’s Warbler song
along the Ancient Highway where there were good numbers of water birds on the
balancing ponds, perhaps because it was a little more sheltered there.
 | |
| Grey Heron, Little Egret and Wigeon sheltering |
Overall we noted 42 bird species during the morning plus
a couple of Roe Deer browsing on the marsh beside Fishtail Lagoon. MF
Top two photographs © Richard Coomber. Bottom image © Richard Smith
23 December 2017 James' Hill
 |
| Leucobryum glaucum |
Despite the gloom and proximity
of Christmas, 17 turned up for this 2.5 mile walk, taking in deciduous
woodland, boggy clearings and a bit of local history along the way.
We headed SW on grassy paths, muddy and ill-defined at times with little
of note at first. At last some fungi, mosses, lichens and elusive birds were
spotted. Robin, Blackbird, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit,
Nuthatch, Mistle Thrush, Jay, Carrion Crow, Great Spotted Woodpecker,
Woodpigeon and Stock Dove were all present. Leucobryum
glaucum, formed green cushions on ground and logs. If knocked over, this
moss can grow through its base and re-establish itself. Various fungi were
identified including bright Green Elf Cup, pale and gelatinous Beech Jellydisc,
Turkeytail, Oyster Mushroom, yellow and scaly Gymnopilus junonius, and King Alfred’s Cakes.
 |
| Turkeytail |
Our path descended
to the Cut Walk, a straight track following the line of a road built in 1725
for the Duke of Bolton, Lord Warden of the Forest who lived in Burley Lodge, to
make his journey to Swan Green more comfortable. A short diversion led to the
beautifully arched, brick ‘Roman’ Bridge over Highland Water, also about 300
years old and thought to be on the site of a roman road.
We turned back and
headed northeast along the Cut Walk until we reached the garden wall of Allum
Green House. This small settlement has attractive dwellings where Vera
Brittain, WW1 nurse, author, feminist, pacifist and mother of Shirley Williams,
lived with her family for a while and where a stray bomb killed 4 Royal Army
Ordnance Corps men in 1940. Here we turned north crossing areas of boggy, open ground
back to the road near White Moor then east to James’ Hill. MW/SP
Photographs © Sandra
Peel
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