Saturday 20th October - Funny Fungi

It turned out to be a weekend where I did little on the birding front, but Saturday morning Adie wanted to do a project for school so we decided to go and look for mushrooms and toadstools. I thought Ebernoe would be a good bet as a generally damp wealden woodland and in past years has been a fungi heaven at this exact same time of year. The issue recently has been that damp has been taken to new levels of damp.

We arrived in the mist and wandered into the woods via the furnace pond keeping our eyes peeled and seeing nothing that remotely resembled a mushroom. We then bumped into a chap with some camera equipment and meekly asked whether he'd seen any mushrooms. I got more than a bargained for as the answer was more technical about latin types of fungi (I recognised the bit about slime moulds but just nodded at the rest). The general gist was all the rain meant very little had appeared at all,  but very helpfully he did say that the old brick kiln furnace area was probably the best bet so that's where we went. We spent the next couple of hours looking around fallen trunks and roots and did pretty well taking pictures of what we saw in the very waterlogged and sodden understorey. A few Goldcrests and Long-tailed tits were encountered and we had a duet with a calling Tawny Owl that eventually took flight which we briefly glimpsed.

Birds around home were similar to last week, but with more Redwings, Blackbirds, Song Thrush and Mistle Thrush. At least 4 Goldcrests were around the place and Siskins and goldfinches in the Alders had increased (but none on the feeders which are currently extremely quiet. I had a few Meadow pipits flying over calling and 3 Cormorants flew past. There are still at least 4 raucous Jays around and more than one Tawny owl has been vocal both at day and night.

You'll see from the pictures below that I have no clue on the naming of the fungi - My fungi field guide is still buried in a box, I'll try and improve somehow to help Adie with her half-term project - so any guru who can name the fungi please own up.

Misty Furnace Pond at Ebernoe

An orange one

A Green one

One of these (Penny Bun - Cep)

One of those - (Glistening Inkcap)

Lots of these - Sulphur Tuft

Even more of these - Candlesnuff

but a small group of them

~.. and a big one of this

Sunday 14th October - Ouzel'd

First time this autumn the car had frost on this morning. Went out early to cissbury, to try for Ring Ouzels again. It was very misty driving over there, but on arrival the hill was clear and it was bright and crisp. 
 
I did a clockwise walk around the ring, taking the car park at the northerly point as 12 O'clock. (not to get confused by the real time which was just before 8am).  Several Goldcrests and flyover Skylark were the first birds seen with a large flock of c60 Goldfinches, and as I walked down towards the old rifle ranges in the SE corner (or 5pm). I heard several Blackbirds and then the deeper slightly more metallic clacking of a Ring Ouzel. I saw 3 birds that flew directly South and away down the valley, and another bird was sitting obscured in a tree, eventually just disolving into a bush. Much of the vegetation had been cleared from this area but it was amazing how a small stand alone Blackthorn held a dozen or more Blackbirds without any of them being visible.

I carried on walking round to about 7 O'clock, seeing several more Goldcrest a couple of Chiffchaff and a Blackcap, with Yellowhammer, Meadow Pipits, Siskin and Swallow overhead.

Another area of scrub had a few Blackbirds and then a handful of Redwing. It was only when I reached c 9 O'clock on the circuit and the vicinity of a fruiting Yew tree that I heard the familiar 'chacking' again. I spent the next hour around this tree, where there was a least 6 Ring Ouzels, which at one point were together in flight in a loose flock, but spent most of the time frustratingly invisible inside the Yew. It was a favoured tree for thrushes, Blackbird, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, , Redwing and Ring Ouzel all seen together (just missing Fiedlfare). Redpoll, Bullfinch, Sparrowhawk and House Martin were also seen whilst watching the thrushes.

Back home around lunchtime for clearing up the mess I'd made with the Bamboo last week. 3 Sparrowhawks were circling at one time with 2 Buzzards, and a few Meadow Pipits were passing over with 1 Crossbill, 2 Redpoll and 29 Redwings, so a very autumnal feel.

Firstly a silhoueted Ring Ouzel

Then hiding

..and blurry in flight.

Mistle Thrush

Sparrowhawk hunting finches.

View North East from Cissbury over 'No Mans Land'

Sunday 7th October - Bamboozled.

.. Have spent the afternoon cutting into the bamboo forest in the garden. Why the previous owners planted so much of the stuff ? - Fastest growing plant on the planet, with wildlife potential virtually zero,  at least in this country where wild Panda's are something of a rarity.

A lot of rain this week and again the exciting bird news was in the far flung corners of the land (if you count Ireland as being part of the same territory). After being particular drained from work and still nursing a sore back it wasn't without a little lethargy that I surfaced on Saturday and like a trooper (or so I thought) grabbed the optics and went out of the door fairly early no doubt to mop up on the significant overnight influx of migrant birds.... mmm.  . With heavy overnight rain and a stiff northerly wind I decided to stay inland and headed to Cissbury Ring in the faint hope of an early Ring Ouzel. This ancient mound, just on the tip of the downs overlooking Worthing, is for some reason favoured by autumn migrant Ring Ouzels, though typically after a couple of days of Easterly winds and generally mid-October rather than the beginning of the month.

A good number of Blackbirds were in the bushes with a couple of Song Thrush, but no sign of any Ouzels, plenty of Chiffchaff,  Goldcrest and a constant stream of Swallows, and around 20 Meadow Pipits passed through with Siskins and 2 Redpoll and a tree full Jays, but no surprises were on offer, so I headed to Pulbrough Brooks. There had been a Pectoral Sandpiper during the week, but the rain, especially overnight had reduced anywhere with muddy margin potential to swimming only. No sign of the Pec Sand, around 10 Snipe and small groups of Lapwing were the only waders on offer. Wildfowl numbers had obviously started to increase with Wigeon  and Teal plentiful and smaller numbers of Pintail and Shoveler. c100+ Swallows and House Martins were hawking over the brooks and 2 Stonechats were visible and a single Yellow Wagtail with a group of Pied's. The local flock of Canada and Greylag Geese were harbouring a Bar-headed Goose, no doubt of more domestic origins.

After a bacon baguette in the cafe I sauntered home.

Sunday morning weather was quite pleasant - a little misty but it cleared quite well. I'd been out in my Pyjamas chasing a Fox out of the filed and before I started garden chores I had a coffee with bins in hand and saw a female Redstart ! it was near the top of a Horse Chestnut then moved to an Alder. Having watched for a couple of minutes I legged it inside for the camera but couldn't relocate the bird when I came back - Another new bird for the house list and one I hadn't seen at Greyhound. Over the course of the morning I also saw Siskin, Redpoll, Pied Wagtail, Treecreeper, Mistle Thrush, Great Spotted Wookpecker, Goldcrest, Bullfinch, 2 distant Sparrowhawks, and 2 Buzzards. A commotion at the end of the field was worth investigating and I finally found a hidden Tawny Owl in a Hazel. In total 24 Meadow Pipits flew over calling and later in the afternoon my first autumn Redwings, a group of 7. Over the course of the day I saw 35 species at home , but the Redstart was especially pleasing.





Big Mushroom - fluffy with chocolate sprinkles ? 

Area where I saw the Redstart !

Tawny Owl was hiding !

Roe Deer in the field.

Saturday 29th September - Pagham

The bird excitement in the week had all been in the Scottish Islands, down South it had been quiet, so nothing for it but the same punishment as last week - I headed back to Pagham... Just as well I do like the place and it does have the potential to turn up something good, just not that often and not today.

The weather was again looking glorious, not a good sign when looking for migrant birds. The bushes around the car park, however were busier than last week. In total I must have had over 100 Chiffchaffs through the morning. Several Blackcaps, a Reed Warbler , a Sedge Warbler and a single Whitethroat. Plenty of Swallows and House Martins in the sky and the number of Teal around the Ferry was now over 100 as were the number of Lapwings. A Kingfisher paused briefly on the Ferry sluice and a Sparrowhawk darted through.

The walk up to Church Norton, produce a continuous stream of Meadow Pipits and more Chiffchaffs, 2 Stonechats several Siskins moving and most surprisinghly a fly by Turtle Dove. The tide was getting high by the time I reached Church Norton and there were Grey plover, Redshank, Curlew, a single Curlew Sandpiper, 1 Dunlin and Turnstone and 2 Sandwich Terns. Other than passing hirundines it was very quiet along the beach by the Severals until right at the end where another Stonechat and a Spotted Flycatcher were seen along with a calling Cettis Warbler.

I added very little walking back to Siddlesham and then drove round to Halseys Farm and walked over to the Breach pool on the North Wall of the harbour, 40 Black-tailed Godwits were roosting with  6 Snipe and a Ruff flew over. There were 4 Greenshank in with the harbour at roost. A walk round the fields didn't produce anything different other than a Willow Warbler.

Another pleasant walk !

View over the Harbour

Teal - still in eclipse plumage towards end of moult

Cotoneaster fruit - ripe for rare thrushes - or at least just Blackbirds.

Gadwall