Waxcap #18 - Blushing Waxcap

Pretty distinctive with its gnarly form, dark grey brown colours and quickly turning bright red when bruised but not often recorded. This appeared here for the first time last year and is back in the same place. Definitely one of my favourite Waxcaps

Another Pinkgill - the Indigo Pinkgill

This one is not a new species as I found it in the West Field last year. This year it is to be found in both the West Field (in a different place) and the South Field. As I was doing the ID and gradually homing in on Entoloma chalybeum I noticed a brown edge to the gills on one of the specimens which I had not previously realised was a feature sometimes seen on this species.

And another new mammal species - Daubenton's Bat

I came across the fourth Bat species for the site in an unfortunate manner, when I contemplated lighting a first fire of the year in the log burner and found a dead bat amongst the ash. It looks like it has been there a while and maybe this was a young bat that had not yet got to grips with what was and was not a suitable roosting place. Anyway the small positive I take from this is that I can add Daubenton's Bat (Myotis daubentoni) to the mammal list alongside Common and Soprano Pipistrelles and of course Lesser Horseshoes.

New Mammal Species - Reeve's Muntjac

I have seen Muntjacs before a couple of miles from the village, but this morning there was one right in front of the house. That's one more addition to the Mammal's list.

Waxcap #17 - Oily Waxcap

Seventeen is the number that under Rald and Vesterholt's criteria would make it a site of National (ie UK) importance. (I think I may have #18 as well but I've got to do some checking). Not a typical Oily Waxcap (Hygrocybe quieta) as it is more orangey than most but the gills and smell give it away.

New Species - White Saddle

Of course I don't just get grassland fungi here, we have treed areas and soil and compost heaps. I was quite surprised to get a Saddle on the drive however, although it seems that it is quite common. This is the White Saddle (Helvella crispa), a largish fungus and quite distinctive.

Waxcap #16 - Scarlet Waxcap

Usually here in quantities so no surpise that the Scarlet Waxcap has appeared. It was spotted by me today 15th October, last year the first one seen was on 14th October.

Another new Pinkgill species - Cream Pinkgill

What a year for Pinkgills. Another day, another new species and this is a good one - the Cream Pinkgill (Entoloma sericellum).

Major New Species - Big Blue Pinkgill

It's been a great year for Pinkgills but even so I would never have expected to find the elusive Big Blue Pinkgill here (Entoloma bloxamii). At first I thought it was another Mealy Pinkgill as it is on the brownish side of blue rather than steel blue as some of them are. However the stipe was definitely blue and further consideration with the help of our local expert identified the specimen as the Big Blue Pinkgill. This year has been superb for fungi so far - particularly Pinkgills.

Waxcap #15 - Earthy Waxcap

This was an exciting find as I don't see it very often here. In fact this is the first time I have seen it in the West Field. Just a single specimen so maybe it is a developing organism still in that field. For the first time I tested the base of the stip and after bruising it I got the faint red colouration that Boertmann mentions.

waxcap #14 Parrot Waxcap

Has sprung up in East, South and West Fields. The first one I saw was particulalry orange and pink.

Waxcap #13 - Cedarwood Waxcap

Smell gives it away! Cuphophyllus russocoriacea is around and about in the West Field.

New Species - Entoloma juncinum

It's been quite a year for Pinkgills and I have managed to id another new on for The Beeches list. I was surprised to find a long narrow yellow-brown stipe on what had appeared to be a faded C. flavipes next to other flavipes specimens. It turned out to be E. juncinum (no English name).