First badger sighting

Despite having moved here nearly two years ago my only badger sighting was a dead one that mysteriously appeared on a verge in the centre of the village last year. yesterday I caught sight of the first live badger about a mile from the house. It was a fairly small badger and of course it decided to run in front of the car before eventually veering off into a field. I look forward to seeing one actually in our fields........

First moth of 2015 - Dotted Border

The first moth of the year turned up sitting on the window a couple of days ago and I managed a quick photo which has allowed an ID. It turns out to be a Dotted Border (Agriopis marginaria)identifiable by its dotted border unsurprisingly. Interestingly I know the moth was male because the female is flightless and hangs around on tree trunks. This is a new species for the site although a common moth.

New Species - Clouded Agaric

The waxcaps have largely gone by now but it is still a prolific fungi season this year. Here is a species that I have identified for the first time. It is growing in profusion close to a Beech tree and a compost heap. It is Clouded Agaric (Clitocybe nebularis).

New Species - Apricot Club

Even more fungi are coming up in our fields and I have found a new species today. I am fairly certain this is Apricot Club (Clavulinopsis luteoalba)and I found it growing just under the edge of a large Meadow Waxcap. That makes probably five species of clubs and spindles so far here; White Spindles, Crested Coral, Meadow Coral, Apricot Club and one yellowy spindle I didn't identify.

New Waxcap variety

Returning to the subject of the moment here at The Beeches which is grassland fungi, I have a new waxcap which is pretty much a white version of the Meadow Waxcap. This year I have had hundreds of Meadow Waxcaps (Hygrocybe pratensis) and it is probably the most common waxcap on site but there are a few white fungi which look very similar in size and in the gill formation. There is a question as to whether these are a separate species or a variety - the variety proposal is based on the fact that it is only the colour that distinguishes it whereas the lack of any intermediate forms argues for a species definition. However as I have the book by Boertmann on genus Hygrocybe, I shall follow him in treating it as a variety. The photo above is therefore Hygrocybe pratensis var. pallida.

Pied Wagtail finds a friend

The male Pied Wagtail who has been around on our roof for a couple of weeks has attracted a special friend and they were doing what looked some display type flying today. I was a bit surprised as I would have expected this sort of behaviour early in the new year rather than in the Autumn.

Parrot Waxcaps in profusion

Until yesterday I had only seen a single Parrot Waxcap (Hygrocybe psittacina) on site and that was in 2011. Yesterday I spotted three groups of fungi close together that at first sight looked like three different species. The central group was clearly Parrot Waxcaps, the unique green colouration evident on caps, stems and gills. The left-hand group was basically an orangey colour and the right-hand group a yellowy colour. Closer examination showed them to be all Parrot Waxcaps. I knew that Parrot Waxcaps came in a range of hues aside from showing the green colouration unique amongst waxcaps but had never thought that there would be such a range of colours in fungi so close together. It has been an epic waxcap year so far. The photo is the right-hand yellowy coloured group.