Author Archives: Francis Hickenbottom

Black Nightshade

Posted on August 24, 2018 by Francis Hickenbottom

In the centre of Hemsworth, I spotted some black berries on a plant growing in a car-park. I then noticed the small white flowers, which were obviously those of a Solanum – the group of plants that includes potatoes and … Continue reading →

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Silky Rosegill

Posted on August 23, 2018 by Francis Hickenbottom

In these continuing dry conditions, there are still relatively few fungi around but it is still worth spending some time searching. A week ago, I spotted a large and conspicuous white fungus on a tree-stump at Nostell Priory. On closer … Continue reading →

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An Interesting Start to the Fungus Season

Posted on August 7, 2018 by Francis Hickenbottom

The very dry conditions created by this summer’s hot weather don’t give much promise for a strong start to the fungus season. However, two of us went out to search several local sites last week in the hope of finding … Continue reading →

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Giving Swifts a Little Help

Posted on June 25, 2018 by Francis Hickenbottom

It was Swift Awareness Week last week. Work was a bit busy then but, a week later, I have finally put up two swift nestboxes that I was prevented from putting in place earlier in the year. By doing a … Continue reading →

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Stromatolites at South Elmsall

Posted on May 9, 2018 by Francis Hickenbottom

Following a fruitless trip to search for adders yesterday, three of us decided to visit a particularly interesting quarry at S Elmsall. The quarry is a Site of Special Scientific Interest because of some shapes that can be seen in … Continue reading →

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Spring Mushrooms

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Francis Hickenbottom

Note: Please do not eat any mushrooms that you collect from the wild as a result of anything that you read on this page. You should not eat wild-collected fungi unless they are identified for you by an expert. Spring … Continue reading →

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Winter fungi

Posted on February 10, 2018 by Francis Hickenbottom

We are well into the winter but there are still some interesting fungi to be found. Common candlesnuff is easy to spot on decaying treestumps and smaller pieces of dead wood. However, if you want more of a challenge, you … Continue reading →

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Peregrine in Residence at Old Moor

Posted on January 12, 2018 by Francis Hickenbottom

Exciting news in recent weeks has been the identification of a peregrine that has taken up residence at RSPB Old Moor as PAA – a female from this year’s Wakefield Cathedral brood. Young peregrines don’t breed until two or three … Continue reading →

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Earth Tongues and Other Interesting Fungi

Posted on December 4, 2017 by Francis Hickenbottom

One of the things that I have learnt in recent months is that a great place to look for interesting fungi in late autumn is amongst the moss in patches of grass which have not been pampered for many years. … Continue reading →

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Fungi on Heath Common

Posted on October 29, 2017 by Francis Hickenbottom

Colin Booker and I had a look on Heath common yesterday to see if there were any interesting fungi. As we had hoped, we started finding colourful waxcaps almost immediately. Some waxcaps are indistinguishable without the use of a microscope … Continue reading →

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