January 24th 2019 - 9.30 am At Home - The Owl in the Towel Some years ago in the middle of the night our cat was going bonkers, mewing and rushing around like a lunatic. I got up out of bed to investigate and found a Tawny Owl in the dining room sitting on the back of one of our dining room chairs. ...

Wurzel, Goldie We have had a spate of Total Lunar Eclipses these past few years so it came as a bit of surprise to me that the next one is 10 years out - but then, that is the way with eclipses I suppose - the same as Red London busses. You have to wait a long time and then a whole bunch of them com...

CORRECTION!!!

I gave a wrong date for the next TOTAL LUNAR Eclipse from the UK.

It is actually the 20th-21st December 2029.

Its 10 years away!

While reviewing my recent entries on my PD I found I had forgotten to transfer this snippet of info.... " I saw one Small Copper on the ground with its wings up do a very definite, single wing-roll! It was as good a wing-roll as any Green Hairstreak or Silver-Studded Blue might perform, but it ...

January 21st 2019 - 4.30 am to 5.15 am Total Lunar Eclipse this morning and wonder or wonders it was a clear sky here in Hampshire. 2019 (3).jpg 2019 (7).JPG 2019 (8).JPG 2019 (9).JPG 2019 (10).JPG Previous years... 2015 (3).JPG 2007 (3).JPG And just to finish off - The Supermoon of 2014, the closes...

Goldie - The Ochre Brittlegill (aka The Common Yellow Russula) is known for being a bit bland and peppery. Not one for your pastry I am afraid. Wurzel - I know nothing about slime moulds other than from a TV programme about them I saw years ago and found out they are not fungi and that they are weir...

Deadwater Valley - 19th Nov 2018 Brrr. It never got above 6 degrees today and settled around 5 degrees for the most part so no sight of Woody today but did get a few interesting fungi. A small amount of Yellow Brain. Yellow Brain (1).JPG And Birch Woodwart. Birch Woodwart (2).JPG Peniophora quercina...

Guy, Wurzel, David - Thanks for your comments on my mushroom experiences and of course on Woody! The fungi are still out there to be found but tempus is fugit-ing away. Soon it will be only the winter birds to keep us going...

Kingsley Churchyard - 17th Nov 2018 The Waxcaps of this Churchyard and really getting going now. We now have… Golden Waxcaps Golden Waxcap (2).JPG Golden Waxcap (3).JPG Meadow Waxcaps Meadow Waxcap (1).JPG A not yet fully black Blackening Waxcap Blackening Waxcap (1).JPG And the fuscescens variety o...

Dave - You are right. The (relatively) warm weather is allowing some butterflies to get out and about still. Allan - I am envious of your seeing the fruiting bodies of Green Elfcup. Here is a green elf to prove it. :mrgreen: Goldie - It is my first Peacock at my house too this year. Amazing to think...

Broxhead - 12th Nov 2018 Despite all the wind and rain we have been having recently, it has remained reasonably warm and even today was around 10 degrees. Usual fungi already noted in previous diary entries but three newcomers… The Birch Brittlegill was very common, some were ageing white. Birch Bri...

Trevor, Janet, Wurzel, David and Neil - thank you all for your welcome comments. I am glad you are liking the fungi. I seem to be quite lucky where I live for them. I have seen over a hundred species within a 10 mile radius of my house over the years. And the November Specklie was an added bonus of ...

Hi, Wurzel

Saw your mushroom pic. I have not seen this species before but it looked like an Inkcap to me so I looked it up. I think you'll find its a Snowy Inkcap - Coprinopsis nivea or Coprinus niveus. My book says it grows out of dung and that its white scales fall off (just like you described).

Broxhead - 8th Nov 2018 A nice group of False Chanterelles False Chanterelle (1).JPG With close-by, some Fleecy Milkcaps. Fleecy Milkcap (2).JPG And some Ugly Milkcaps too. The Beauty and the Beast of the Milkcap world. Ugly Milkcap (2).JPG There was a Sulphur Knight under an Oak. This is similar to...

The Brocas - 5th Nov 2018 This pic taken today is not my best pic of the Bloody Brittlegill but shows enough for a positive ID. Bloody Brittlegill.JPG Kingsley Churchyard - 5th Nov 2018 A parasol mushroom just emerging. Parasol just coming up (1).JPG Sleaford - 6th Nov 2018 On the grassy bank were a...

Chawton Park Wood - 4th Nov 2018 Now Stinkhorns stink to attract flies to them to distribute their sticky spores. I was lucky enough to see two Stinkhorns side by side, one fresh with its gelatenous spore mass and the other gone-over without its gelatenous mass but both still attracted the flies. St...

Alice Holt - 3rd Nov 2018 The fungi season marches on! The Butter Caps are out now for example. They can vary a lot. This one is fairly typical of var. asema. butyracea - Butter Cap (16).jpg But it is “hygrophanous” and as it ages it tends to lose its cap colour quite dramatically like this one near...

Wurzel: Yes, the Waxcaps are my favourite fungi and the Parrot Waxcap is odd being green - not a colour you find in mushrooms often. David: Thanks. I'm glad you like the fungi entries. Some years are good, others bad. This year has been OK, around average I would say. And of course I am always on th...

Kingsley Churchyard - 2nd Nov 2018 Continuing the fungi foray. Recently I found that the Parrot Waxcaps were out at Kingsley. They are still there but now three more waxcaps are in residence. First the Snowy Waxcap. These were dotted around in fair numbers in two locations either side of the church ...

31st Oct 2018 – The Brocas My first ever Jellybaby fungus. A few were growing out of the moss of an old tree-stump. They were aged but still definitely recognisable. The name is very descriptive, especially as they are only a cm high or so when fully grown. Leotia lubrica - Jellybaby (99).jpg The Sh...