Common Spotted Orchids

2013 is turning out to be a good year for orchids here at The Beeches. In 2011 we had a grand total of 14 orchids and last year only 11. This year we have reached a total of 30 Common Spotted Orchids and so that is definitely satisfactory progress towards the vision of meadows drenched in orchids. The surprising things is that one meadow has shown no significant change in numbers and the other has an increase of more than 400%. The first field has gone from 8 flowers in 2011 to 6 and then 7 this year. The other has gone from 6 orchids to 5 in 2012 and this year has 23 specimens. Of course these are small numbers so we can't read anything into them but it will be interesting to see how the numbers change over the next few years.

Fallow deer

Normally they are fairly skittish and don't hang around to be photographed but one came by the house today and was obliging enough to have its picture taken. I was happily watching it browse on the trees in the garden but will be very cross if it has trampled any of the orchids.

New species - Slow Worm

I have seen probable evidence of slow worms before - round holes in compost heaps - but I saw one live for the first time a couple of days ago. I lifted up a large bird bath to find one resting below. I hastily put the bird bath back and got my camera hoping that the lizard would kindly remain in place. Alas it merely left me a wriggling tail and had slunk off to grow a new one.

Woodpeckers like suet

A new visitor to our suet balls is a Greater Spotted Woodpecker who makes short work of suet placed in the feeder and also makes a lot of noise about it. I find myself being woken sometimes not that long after dawn by the woodpecker's visits. A couple of days ago I heard a loud bang on the window of the room I was in and going outside found the woodpecker stunned on the ground, having flown into the window. It recovered after half an hour or so and seems none the worse for the experience. It is back eating through the suet again and I have just re-ordered supplies.

New Species - Dryad's Saddle

A monster Dryad's Saddle (Polyporus squamosus) is gradually encircling a large ash tree in one of the field boundaries. It can't be doing the tree any good but it makes an impressive sight. Until I saw this I had not realised that this fungi feeds on living trees as well as dead ones.

New bird species - Raven

I know this is Raven country but I hadn't seen one until yesterday. It was the distinctive call that alerted me - it sounds like a double bass version of a woodpecker to me. The picture is poor but it was all I could do at short notice. The raven performed some aerial stunts above our fields before disappearing rapidly into the clouds. Strangely enough I was out walking later in the day and a couple of miles away I came across seven ravens - again confirmed by the calls. I hadn't appreciated that ravens flocked as I have only ever seen them in ones and twos before.

Fungi

The late cutting of the waxcaps field has been unfortunate for this years crop. I was hoping that the cut would be in time for the waxcaps to fruit again but amongst the grass were lots of broken up waxcaps including a pink one, golden ones and scarlet ones as well as meadow waxcaps. I was too late - but without my own machinery there was not much I could do to affect the timing. Interestingly I saw also some Crested Coral (Clavulina coralloides)and a new spindly sort of fungi which was an orange colour. I wasn't sure about the ID as it looked like it might be Golden Spindle except for the colour. The books say that Golden Spindle is a bright yellow but this was definitely orangey. I can also add one new fungi species to the site list - a single example of Liberty Cap (Psilocybe Semilanceata)was found on the newly mown field which had either missed the mower or sprung up afterwards. I apologise for the poor photo but I didn't have a suitable lens with me.