WI to Fungi

Wednesday, March 16th 2016

The day started with me getting in early to walk with the guys doing the paths so they could get on and avoid damaging our bridges on the moorland. It soon became clear that as they scraped the old gravel off to put new on that they would have to remove it, as opposed to dumping it next to the actual path and potentially damaging the wildflowers. It was decided that they hire a small dumper truck, which is the width of our paths, to extract the spoil and put it on one of the muddy net rides. So off they went to get that, whilst I returned to the Field Centre to talk about up-coming visits.

We had a WI Group in for a tour of the site with Brian and Christine; they were pleased to watch Great Spotted Woodpeckers on the Lake Hide feeders and a Stoat run across their paths. Another chap also came in to say there was a possible sighting of a Long-eared Owl, however I was unable to confirm this.

Christine had been out looking at lichens and fungi . Our piles of wood for bugs from wind felled and cut timber also produces great fungi. Here are some examples:

Jelly Ear

Scarlet Elfcup

and a new species for the site Rhopogorahus filicinus, striking black patches on dying stems of bracken

Ramalina fastigiata, which was from Sean's tree surgery efforts on a dangerous Ash tree late last week, gave us access to dead branches which were usually higher in the canopy.

Sadly, although we had more moths last night than the zero of last Thursday, it was only 2… a Chestnut and another Pale Brindled Beauty… if the weather warms up before next Tuesday I am going to get that trap out again!

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