Wednesday 15 January

Mild, damp morning

I have had a tentative ID on this fungi, Olive Oysterling, I can only agree as I am not an expert.

 I know this one though - Scarlet Elf Cup :)

 Scarlet Elf Cup - Sarcoscypha sp.

Snowberry - Symphoricarpos albus

Take Care

Sunday 17 November

Mild & Damp

 Dull this morning, plenty of birds about.

 Footpath on the Rucks

 Holly in flower - Ilex aquifolium

 Snowberry - Symphoricarpos albus

 Our Swans ready and fit for next year - hopefully lots of cygnets

Tern Rafts now occupied by gulls

A video of the birds near the Top Lodge

Take Care

Saturday 29 September

Damp Morning

 Collared Earth Star - Geastrum Triplex just past it's best

 Collared Earth Star - Geastrum Triplex just opening

 Snowberry - Symphoricarpos albus

Three new warning signs around the lodge - this is due to a young local boy drowning this summer, I hope youngsters take notice, last year a grown man had to be rescued from the tern raft after he got into difficulty.

Take Care

Tuesday 7 August

Damp morning

 Common Fleabane - Pulicaria dysenterica

 Hedge Bindweed - Calystegia sepium

Snowberry - Symphoricarpos albus

Take Care

Wednesday 13 July

Dry morning.

 Common Fleabane Buds- Pulicaria dysenterica

 Snowberry - Symphoricarpos albus

Taken at home on my Buddleia

 Small Tortoiseshell

 Small Tortoiseshell

 Small Tortoiseshell

All the flowers below are on the Blainscough Woods Reserve.

 Water Soldier - Stratiotes aloides

 Great Burnet - Sanguisorba officinalis

 Great Burnet leaves - Sanguisorba officinalis

 Great Burnet - Sanguisorba officinalis

 Meadow Vetchling - Lathyrus pratensis

 Scentless Mayweed - Tripleurospermum inodorum

 Field Scabious - Knautia arvensis

 French Crane's-bill - Geranium endressii

On my way home had a look at the community garden.

Owls in the Coppull Community Garden

Take Care.

Wednesday 12 January

Mild wet morning.

No one about - we picked up another Chinese flying lantern, they have been all over the place, thought we had found them all but this one was right behind the top lodge.

Not had much to photograph due to the weather, the homeward path was a mess - muddy and still slippy in parts.

Looking back to the lodges and the middle bridge.

Snowberry - Symphoricarpos albus

Not a lot of berries left on the trees and shrubs. The birds will struggle if we get another cold snap.

Take Care

Monday 4 October

A damp morning, but the sun was trying to appear.

We stayed near the lodges as Meg has had a bad month and the vet has upped the Bromide and reintroduced Phenobarbitone (a small dose) - this means she is a little wobbly at times so we are keeping the exercise down for a while, that is of course our idea but Meg has other ideas and is still very active.

 The big lodge - hard to believe that the lodges were all part of the industry that use to be in this area.

Tern Raft has been used successfully for two seasons with a total of 5 youngsters.

 Looking down the lodge.

Earth Star - good job I went to have a look for them as the day after I had another look and they looked like they had been kicked about and stood on. Makes no sense - see something out of the ordinary and some folk think it's dangerous, yet they will be growing worst things at home and not realise it.

That weird shaped Fungi on silver birch.

Plenty of Hawthorne Berries about.

 Still some Oxeye Daisies - Leucanthemum vulgare in flower.

The small pier or jetty on this small holding lodge (originally something to do with bleaching) has never been used.

This is the Small Lodge.

Snowberry - Symphoricarpos albus

Flying lessons have been taking place, one of the youngsters is a little bit slower than the rest but it is finally getting in the air, as you can see Mum and the five cygnets are airborne.

Half way and still coming, if you look closely the slow learner has dropped back and down.

Mum and four made it to the channel end, the late developer got just over half way.

This is the one with mum - it's the darkest of the 5 but at least I have seen it fly, I was beginning to think it would never get going.

He/she is as big as the rest and looks well. It was soon eating along with the rest.

Mum and the four good flyers are already eating.

Lonely Lucy on land with Billy hanging about.

Take Care.