I arrived a little earlier than Dave, so tried a vismig to pass the time. After 40 minutes I had counted 172 Woodpigeons, 38 Redwings, 11 Chaffinches, one Siskin, and 11 Meadow Pipits heading south or west. So not massively impressive, and I'm afraid it set the tone for the rest of the morning.
Once Dave joined me we ambled round, starting at the south end. At the side of the road were some large whitish fungi, which I am hoping someone can help identify. I have tentatively gone for Giant Funnel, but neither of us know much about fungi, so a re-identification is quite possible.
In fact I've now had a response from David Antrobus of the Warwickshire Fungus Group confirming it is likely to be either Giant Funnel or Trooping Funnel. They can only be distinguished from one another by looking at their spores under a microscope. Result.
 |
| Giant Funnel or Trooping Funnel |
A Mistle Thrush was the first here for several months, five Yellowhammers further increased the largest count this year, and we also counted three Stonechats before reaching the flash field. Here the usual Greylag Goose flock was present, but duck numbers seemed lower, with just 22 Teal and about 30 Mallard present. A flock of 17 Lapwings were visible on the furthest flash.
A small surprise at the Kingfisher Pool was a Little Grebe, probably the one seen last week.
Finally, the Barn Owl was not in the barn, but the floor was strewn with pellets suggesting recent occupation.
No comments:
Post a Comment