Monthly Archives: October 2016

Newmillerdam Fungi

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Please note that all names given to fungi in this post are merely suggestions!

I took a walk in the woods at Newmillerdam yesterday and made further efforts to identify a few fungi. My first sighting was of an attractive white fungus growing on the end of a log.

Ossicaulis lignatilis

Ossicaulis lignatilis

I’ve struggled to get an ID for this one and I’ve narrowed it down to Ossicaulis lignatilis or Panellus mitis. Panellus seems to prefer twigs, so I’m going with Ossicaulis for the moment.

The next fungus that I saw was the artist’s bracket (Ganoderma applanatum).

Artist's Bracket

Artist’s Bracket

The name doesn’t have an obvious meaning until you find that scraping the white pores on the underside of the bracket leaves a brown mark. In other words, you can draw a picture and this will remain for a long time. These fungi drop a lot of rust-coloured spores.

There were many yellow-capped fungi with white gills and stems.

russula-600-x-400

I believe that these were probably the common yellow russula (Russula ochroleuca).

I also spotted a fungus which had a red cap and stem but distinctive yellow gills.

Plums and Custard

Plums and Custard

I have decided that this is plums and custard (Tricholomopsis rutilans).

Towards the end of the walk, I found clumps of a fungus which had a fairly distinctive appearance.

Redleg Toughshank

Redleg Toughshank

My best estimate for this one is that it is redleg toughshank (Collybia erythropus). The only thing which makes me doubt this identification is the obvious funnel shape to the caps.

I saw many other fungi, some of which seemed to be quite distinctive at the time, but it is going to take a while for me to beging to work out what they might be. I spotted two boletus, one with yellow pores which didn’t bruise and one with yellow pores which bruised blue, but I can’t be confident about names for them. The one which didn’t bruise had a particularly dark cap.

Boletus

Boletus

 

A spooky sign of autumn

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The changing and breathtaking colours of some of our magnificent trees, together with flocks of visiting birds on their long migration journeys, and a bounty of fruits and seeds for them to feed on are proof that autumn has arrived. However, thanks to Pauline, on the 27 October we were witness to a less obvious clue if not, indeed, a very spooky sign of the season.  We met along the disused railway, now a fantastic public walkway, starting behind the Co-op stores on Leeds Road, Outwood. There, on the timber post and rail fencing we found hundreds of ‘Halloween ladybirds’ as they are known in the USA, because they gather in their overwintering areas during September to November before hibernating, often in buildings.  Such large gatherings of insects are known as aggregations.

Here in the UK this beetle is known as the harlequin ladybird (Harmonia spp) and is an unwelcome invader.  The adult is very variable in appearance with a range of colours and patterns (see photos).  Unlike many of our native ladybirds it produces multiple generations and a single female may lay up to 2,000 eggs in a lifetime leading to large populations.  The life cycle then proceeds to a larvae (see attached photo), which can shed their skins several times before forming a pupae, and then after several days the adult emerges.  The larvae and adults feast on aphids and when these have been devoured they sadly eat and out-compete our native, treasured ladybirds, bringing a ghostly end to autumn.

harlequin ladybird larvae

harlequin ladybird larvae

harlequin ladybird adult

harlequin ladybird adult

Chiffchaff in the Ryhill garden

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A sure sign of autumn for me is the flocks of titmice passing through the garden along with the occasional Phylloscopus warbler and today’s offering was a lovely chiffchaff/ The bird was fliting in the autumn red and yellow leaves of an Indian chestnut tree in the garden and was in full song. Lots of these birds on the coast, blown in by easterly winds, but not sure if this was a migrant or a UK bird heading south. Most welecome whatever his origins and, as I didn’t photograph him, here’s one I did earlier on the Yorjshire coast

chiffchaff

 

Maple Leaves in Autumn

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In the grounds at Ackworth School yesterday, I noticed some striking leaves on an ornamental maple tree.

Maple leaves

Maple leaves

Only a section of the tree is affected. The leaves on most of the tree are completely green.

Maple leaf

Maple leaf

I suspect that the markings are the work of a fungus that is taking advantage of the weakening state of the leaves as they begin to shut down for autumn. It will be interesting to see how the infection develops in the next week or two.

Ruddy darter at Nostell Long Row

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After an anazing day at Sourn yesterday viewing eastern migrant birds like never before, a visit to the local patch was somewhat of a let down! However, I did manage to catch up with a couple of late ruddy darters basking in the warmth of the autumn sun.

Ruddy darter at Nostell Long Row

Ruddy darter at Nostell Long Row

Howell Wood Fungi

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Encouraged by this week’s talk from David Winnard on “Edible and Poisonous Plants and Fungi or the North-West,” I spent an hour in Howell Wood searching for fungi. Rain in the past few days has increased the chance of finding something interesting.

Stinkhorn (Phallus impudicus)

Stinkhorn (Phallus impudicus)

Alongside one of the rides, I found quite a few stinkhorn, in all stages of development. The smell from these was pretty obvious, without getting too close.

Candlesnuff fungus (Xylaria hypoxylon)

Candlesnuff fungus (Xylaria hypoxylon)

Most of my identifications of fungi are suggestions only! I believe that these little fungi, growing from a saw-cut in a rotting log are Candlesnuff fungi. They were only a centimetre or two tall.

Earthball (Scleroderma)

Earthball (Scleroderma)

Earthballs growing by the path looked good. I don’t know enough to say which species this Scleroderma was.

Birch polypore (Piptoporus betulinus)

Birch polypore (Piptoporus betulinus)

On fallen birch, I found this birch polypore. There were many other bracket fungi, large and small. There were also many other fungi growing amongst the moss and leaf litter and I now need to narrow down the identities of these.

Unidentified fungi

Unidentified fungi

 

 

 

Juvenile Peregrine Fatality

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Unfortunately, I received some sad news today from Mick Price of the Sorby Breck Ringing Group. Mick was one of the people who ringed our young falcons earlier this year. He reported that 3Z – one of the young males – was found dead beneath some overhead wires on a farm near Ripon in North Yorkshire on the 22nd September. It was found 56 km north of the cathedral, 124 days after it was ringed. It is believed that it was carrying prey because a dead golden plover was found with it.

Although this is disappointing, it is good to have some feedback about the fates of our birds as a result of the ringing. Mortality for young birds is high during their first year and it is quite normal for 50% or more to die. I’m sure that the darvic rings will lead to us receiving some more positive news before too long.