Wood vole
Toad trying to hide
Russula gracillima
Cep / Pennybun
I think this is Brown roll rim
Lawyers wig / Shaggy inkcapI'm often drawn back to the area where I grew up. It is almost 20 years since there was a tip at Widdrington so I will probably have to rename it some time in the future. These former opencast sites are well established with acres of broad leaved and pine plantations and miles of hedgerows (which don't get flailed) are untouched by chemicals and thus host an incredible variety of wildlife. The plantlife around here has always been good but it is quite good for birds as it is only a couple of miles from the sea. If you try hard enough it is one of the few places where you can record 5 species of Owl as they all breed around here. Only a single snipe on the tip but flocks of Skylark, Meadow pipits and Chaffinches numbered 70+ per flock. The tip itself is a large boggy area covered in Alder and birch. I will make visits here more frequent than I have in the past as these sort of areas are often overlooked by naturalists.
Around Morpeth I have seen another Speckled wood and a Badger on the curly kews and there is a fine display of Boletus badius on someones lawn at Cottingwood.
4 comments:
The 'Jacks' will be in soon. Just need some easterlies...
Some very fine fungi there. It's interesting how well former opencast coal sites recover. There's a large one near us with an excellent pond and boggy areas that attract a lot of snipe in winter. Plenty of skylarks in the grass in spring too.
I`d agree with Brown Roll Rim, Nigel. Is that a new one for you ?
Thanks for the comments.
BB & G I need to cover this area more to give it some justice.
D It is the first one I can remember seeing but it was a rusty brown colour that didn't make it text book looking. They were growing in a damp ditch on acid soil which may account for the colour variation.
Post a Comment