Remember what the dormouse said.....

Not only do we have dormice here but now we have a white rabbit as well. We have seen several pure white rabbits half way up the lane where they have lived wild for a number of years. Now a young one has appeared here so I suppose the genes are spreading. We find in hard to believe it isn't a serious survival deficit being so visible at night but the evidence is pointing otherwise. Depending on your cultural references this either makes us a Lewis Carroll wildlife site or a Jefferson Airplane one.

Dazed Nuthatch

We try and prevent bird collisions with our windows through the use of stickers and other obstructions but they still happen from time to time. Nuthatches are in potential danger due to the speed of their flight and I guess their long large beaks don't help if they do hit glass. Luckily for this Nuthatch the consequences were not too bad - he staggered to his feet fairly quickly and was able to fly after 10 or 15 minutes.

Frogspawn at last

The pond was created in 2014 and I was expecting to find frogspawn because I used to see a lot of frogs around. Finally in Year 4 there is frogspawn - four clumps of it. Actually I saw markedly fewer frogs in 2017 so this is a surprise. I'm hoping for grass snakes now there is a food source for them but I am not sure how they might find one small pond far from other standing water.

New waxcap here

Frustratingly I have not got a confirmed ID for what is undoubtedly a new waxcap species for The Beeches. It will be a world heritage site at this rate but I can't add this to the list of confirmed waxcaps yet. I found two pretty far gone examples of a dull orange waxcap with distinct squamules on its dry cap. At first I thought it might be H substrangulata but the environment is not right as it is an acid and bog lover. I am now convinced it is the Goblet Waxcap (Hygrocybe cantharellus) but the specimen I had did not get confirmed before its spores were dried out. Hopefully it will reappear.

Stag's Horn Fungi

This is a common fungi but I am not sure I have recorded it here before. Also called Candle-snuff fungus and best known as Xylaria hypoxylon, it is found growing on dead wood of (usually broad-leaf) trees.

Meadow Coral

The third Clavaroid to appear here this year after White Spindles and Apricot Club is Meadow Coral (Clavulinopsis corniculata). It is branched and appears in dense clumps.

Blushing Waxcap

The best find of the day at the book launch at Pentwyn was the Blushing Waxcap (Hygrocybe ovina) which is not seen very often. I found it in the same field that I have seen it before at Pentwyn although the example I found was pretty far gone. However finding rare waxcaps must run in the family as my sister found this magnificent specimen.