Spring Flowers

The Spring flowers have come early and all in a rush this year. Snowdrops have been around for a while of course but this warm spell has seen Lesser Celandine, Primrose, Wood Anemone and Slender Speedwell all appear. And of course in the wood around us are the Wild Daffodils - what a great sight.

Long-tailed Tits

Having recently reinstated bird feeding now that the Sparrowhawks and Squirrels have forgotten about it we are getting the usual suspects back on the feeders. The big difference this time is that rather than having an occasional visit from two or three Long-tailed Tits we are having daily visits from a troupe of about ten birds - sometimes all on the feeder at the same time in one big ball of tits. I didn't manage to get a picture of massed birds so three will have to do.

New Species - Ivory Spindle

I saw lots of what I assumed was Crested Coral (Clavulina coralloides) in the East Field. It turned out to be the much less common Ivory Coral (Ramariopsis kunzei). Another species for the Beech's list.

Waxcap #22 - New Species

It's always a red-letter day when I find a new waxcap here and #22 is the Crimson Waxcap (Hygrocybe punicea) one of the most handsome waxcaps. Unfortunately they were in the field with the sheep and had been well trampled but identifiable nonetheless. It could be 23 species if the previously recorded Orange Waxcap stands as a valid ID but I am having doubts so I need to review the survey info and photos before claiming 23 species. Even at 22 species this makes The Beeches a site of international importance according to criteria set up in the 1980s and 1990s. However it is worth adding that I know of sites with similar numbers of species around here. It is partly that we are blessed for old meadows around here and partly that waxcaps have been underrecorded.

November Fungi - Trooping Funnel

A big show of trouping funnels (Clitocybe geotropa) in the West Field - actually conforming to stereotype and trooping and not far from a beech tree. It's common enough so surprising I haven't identified it before.

November Fungi - Devil's Fingers (Clathrus archeri)

I saw this extraordinary fungi for the first time yesterday on a hill pasture on the other side of the Wye when I didn't have my camera with me. Strangely enough I found it today in my own fields. For an Australian native that was introduced accidentally last century and which my book says is confined to the southern England and rarely recorded, it is spreading fast! It is clearly past its best so I will keep a look out for any more that might fruit.

November fungi - Pearly Powdercap

I see the Earthy Powdercap (Cystoderma amianthinum) often - it is one of the commoner grassland fungi. The closely related Pearly Powdercap (Cystoderma carcharias) pictured above seems much less common. I saw it for the first time in an orchard in Penallt. It has somewhat different colouration and a more persistent ring but the clincher is that it smells mealy whereas the Earthy Powdercap does not have a distinct smell.