Stoat back on site

We found a Rabbit carcass the other day so that was maybe a sign. Today for the first time this year we saw an actual Stoat. I don't think it was our original one back again as it looked a little smaller and moved differently. Perhaps it is a female - we assumed the previous one was male but had no proof. Any Stoat is not going to starve here - there are a lot of Rabbits around this year!

Waxcap #1 for 2023 - Golden Waxcap

An early Golden Waxcap (Hygrocybe chlorophana) kicks off the waxcap season. It's not normally one of the early ones but I have seen it fruiting at this time of year once before.

Flowers in 2023

So far nothing new although the apparent appearance of two Greater Butterfly Orchids is great news (only one last year). The two species that seem to be doing exceptionally well are the Bluebells which have put on a great show this year and in the West Field, Spring Sedge which has spread dramatically. A few years back we only had the merest few of Spring Sedge plants so that is very pleasing.

Lots of Turf Mottlegills around

There are not many grassland fungi around at this time of yeat but we do have Turf Mottlegills (Panaeolus fimicola) fruiting. They are a dung-based fungi but I have no idea whether it is the rabbit dung or the deer dung that gets them going. They appear similar to the Brown Mottlegill (Panaeolina foenisecii) but the Turf Mottlegills have a black spore print rather than a very dark brown one and there are differences in the spores.

Roe Deer

We had the pleasure of a Roe Deer in the East Field today - it didn't stay long enough for a photo but it is worth recording as only the second sighting of a Roe Deer here in the twelve years we have been here. They seem to have an elegance that the Fallow Deer who are here every day misses out on.

Orchid update 30th April

The number of Orchid rosettes found by the end of April is an increase over last year which itself was a record year for Orchids here. However beneath the headline figures - 183 in 2023 and 142 in 2022 there are substantial differences field by field. This year 86% of the rosettes were almost equally divided between the East and West Fields, the two with the largest Orchid populations but last year the equivalent percentage was 49%. One big effect was the reduction in Orchids found in the South Field from 48 to 4 whilst the Orchids found in the two biggest fields almost doubled. I can see that the overall increse from last year may have no significance as weather effects could easily make such changes but the disparity between fields year to year I find more puzzling. Of course the big news is that amongst the total we appear to have two Greater Butterfly Orchids which would be a 100% increase on last year - a chance for some breeding!

First Pinkgill of 2023 - Star Pinkgill

Probably the most common grassland Pinkgill, the Star Pinkgill can be confidently identified if you can look at the spores through a microscope. This example in the North Field has all the right macro characteristics and the right star-shaped spores for Entoloma conferendum.