Split gill fungi

30 Saturday Nov 2024

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British fungi, Schizophyllum commune, Split Gill, Split gill fungus

I don’t usually reference Wikipedia in my blogs but I rather like their description of today’s fungus: ‘The mushroom resembles undulating waves of tightly packed corals or a loose Chinese fan.’

241130 split gill fungi (1)

This is Split gill fungus (Schizophyllum commune), a species I’ve only seen once before, back in 2016, so I was both amazed and captivated when I found these growing on a huge old Oak tree in Cardiff’s Heath Park yesterday. From above, this fungus is a round hairy mass that doesn’t really look like a fungus at all. The magic happens when you look at the underside of the cap and see the stunning sculptural nature of the mushroom’s gills.

241130 split gill fungi (2)

Wrinkled peach

29 Friday Nov 2024

Posted by sconzani in fungi

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Tags

British fungi, Elm tree, fungi on Elm, fungus, Rhodotus palmatus, Wrinkled peach

I was struggling to think of what I would blog about today so, for my daily walk, I headed to an area where I thought I should be able to find some fungi. And so it proved. In fact, much to my surprise and delight, I found today’s subject first, then went on to find two other relative rarities at other sites during my meander. This was a very good day for fungi!

241129 wrinkled peach (1)

Today’s fungus is Wrinkled peach (Rhodotus palmatus), still beautiful even though the five specimens I found were all a little past their best. They are perfectly named: their pale pinkish peachy colour is unmistakeable, as is the crinkled skin on their caps.

241129 wrinkled peach (2)

And, as they grow exclusively on Elm trees, which have been devastated by Dutch elm disease, these fungi are now quite a rarity so I was particularly lucky to spot them.

241129 wrinkled peach (3)

Stock dove days

28 Thursday Nov 2024

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, Stock dove

Another day, another bird blog. I was going to apologise for the proliferation of birds this week but I don’t think we can ever have enough birds in our lives and, hopefully, some of you feel the same. Fortunately, today’s bird was much closer than those I’ve featured in the last two days.

241127 stock dove (2)

In fact, seeing one strutting happily along the towpath at Forest Farm last Friday and then this one in a grassy field, also at Forest Farm but during a second visit on Monday, was a particular treat as my usual, and sadly infrequent, views of Stock doves are as distant specks in farm fields, where they can be difficult to pick out from their Woodpigeon cousins.

241127 stock dove (1)

And they are such beautiful birds that they need to be seen up close to appreciate the subtle colours and patterns of their plumage.

Even more distant birds

27 Wednesday Nov 2024

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Common scoter, Melanitta fusca, Melanitta nigra, Velvet scoter

The day was bitterly cold, a strong wind from the north cutting right through the many layers I was wearing, as I watched snow showers shedding their flakes above the hills of Exmoor on the opposite side of the Bristol Channel. Why was I standing on a beach in sub-zero temperatures? Birds, of course.

241127 scoters (1)

As I mentioned yesterday, cold stormy weather can bring in rarities, and it had, again, in the form of three scoters, two Common scoters (Melanitta nigra) and a Velvet scoter (Melanitta fusca). For me, using only binoculars, no telescope, these were even more distant than yesterday’s Red-breasted merganser, just three little black sea ducks bobbing along in the choppy waters off shore. We’d had Common scoters in Cardiff Bay earlier in the year (Distant birds, 25 April 2024) but I’d only ever seen a Velvet scoter once before, off Musselburgh beach, in Scotland, on a short birding trip with friends back in May 2018. So, it was definitely worth risking frostbite for even a distant glimpse of this one.

241127 scoters (2)
– one of the Common scoters is on the left; the larger duck on the right is the Velvet scoter

A distant bird

26 Tuesday Nov 2024

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, Mergus serrator, Red-breasted merganser

Most folk prefer calm weather and warm temperatures but we birders often hope for the exact opposite. That’s because bad weather, especially cold stormy weather, often forces birds to seek shelter in locations where they wouldn’t normally be seen. That’s exactly what happened last week, and it brought a bird that’s usually more at home on the salty seas to Cosmeston Lakes Country Park.

241126 red-breasted merganser (1)

This is a Red-breasted merganser (Mergus serrator), a cousin of the Goosanders that overwinter in the non-saline waters (I hesitate to use the word ‘fresh’ to describe them) of Cardiff Bay, with a similar saw-like bill structure. I’ve only seen these mergansers a couple of times before and, sadly, this bird stayed quite far out from the lake shores so I didn’t get great views, despite trying to sneak a look from every possible direction. Still, it was wonderful to see one locally.

241126 red-breasted merganser (2)

Leafmines: Ectoedemia subbimaculella

25 Monday Nov 2024

Posted by sconzani in insects, leaves, trees

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British leafminers, British moth larvae, Ectoedemia subbimaculella, leaf-mining moth larvae, leafmines on Oak, Oak leafminers

This is the second of the three new leafminers I recently found in ‘green islands’ on fallen Oak leaves during half an hour’s fossicking in one of my local parks. And this one, both the adult you can see on the UK Moths website and the mine of its larva, is very similar to the first of the three I blogged about (Leafmines: Ectoedemia heringi, 18 November).

241125 Ectoedemia subbimaculella (1)

Active during October and November, today’s leafmines were created by the larvae of the moth Ectoedemia subbimaculella, and the difference between the mines of the two species is the slit in the lower part of the mine, on the under side of the leaf, of this one. If you want further information and to see additional, better photos, check out the entry on the British Leafminers website.

241125 Ectoedemia subbimaculella (2)

Perennial wall-rocket

24 Sunday Nov 2024

Posted by sconzani in plants, wildflowers

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autumn colour, autumn wildflowers, British wildflowers, Diplotaxis tenuifolia, Perennial wall-rocket

A new plant! As I’ve not been roaming far outside my local area this year, it can be difficult to find new plants to feature but, this week, I struck lucky as I had one of those ‘Oooo, that looks different!’ moments while wandering around Forest Farm Nature Reserve.

241124 perennial wall rocket (1)

I haven’t had this confirmed but I’m fairly certain this is Perennial wall-rocket (Diplotaxis tenuifolia). I found it growing on a spoil heap, a mound of dirt and stone chips and other wildflowers, which, from what I’ve read, is one of its preferred locations. It’s a member of the mustard family, and it seems gardeners also cultivate it as a vegetable, so I assume this particular plant has become naturalised, possibly from the nearby local allotments.

241124 perennial wall rocket (2)

Little egret on the canal

23 Saturday Nov 2024

Posted by sconzani in birds

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, Forest Farm Nature Reserve, Little egret, Little egret fishing

This gorgeous Little egret was foraging for food along the old Glamorgan Canal at Forest Farm Nature Reserve in north Cardiff yesterday.

241123 little egret

I took a short video to show how it uses its feet to stir up the sediment in the bottom of the canal to release tiny invertebrates and fish to feed on. It was fascinating to watch, and seemingly quite effective, and I couldn’t help but think it was almost like a dance, a leg shimmy, a Michael Jackson moonwalk in reverse.

Ballerinas and friends

22 Friday Nov 2024

Posted by sconzani in autumn, fungi

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Ballerina waxcap, British fungi, Cathays Cemetery, Clavaria fumosa, Clavulinopsis corniculata, Cuphophyllus virgineus, Meadow coral, Pink waxcap, Porpolomopsis calyptriformis, Smoky Spindles, Snowy waxcap

I do like to take my friends walking in all the best places so, when I caught up with my friend Sharon last week (Hi, Shar!), part of our time was spent wandering around Cardiff’s Cathays Cemetery. This might sound a bit morbid but the cemetery is one of the best places I know for fungi. Here are some of the delights we found …

241122 ballerina waxcap

My first Pink (Ballerina) waxcaps (Porpolomopsis calyptriformis) of the year

241122 snowy waxcap

And also my first Snowy waxcaps (Cuphophyllus virgineus)

241122 smoky spindles

There were several clumps of Smoky spindles (Clavaria fumosa), most just past their best

241122 meadow coral

And this clump of Meadow coral (Clavulinopsis corniculata) was a lovely find.

Aphid giving birth

21 Thursday Nov 2024

Posted by sconzani in insects

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aphid, aphid giving birth, aphids on Sycamore, Drepanosiphum platanoidis, Sycamore aphid

Did you know that aphids give birth to live young?

241121 sycamore aphid giving birth

When I was turning over Sycamore leaves one day last week, I noticed this adult Sycamore aphid (Drepanosiphum platanoidis) was in the process of giving birth. As well as the photo, I tried to capture a short video but that didn’t go well. You can just see the baby wiggle its legs before the end of the video, which I had to cut short because the passage of the other tiny creature through the frame caused the camera to lose focus, and the adult aphid scurried away before I could try again.