Swirling fog obscures the park
Birds call out from parts unknown
Raindrops glisten on tree bark
And mushrooms rest on a rotting throne
A rainy and foggy day today, with few birds on the wing. I decided that discretion was the better part of valour and headed into the shelter of the Woodlands as soon as I could. A few birds were fluttering about in the shelter of a Blackthorn, including Wrens and a Garden Warbler. A Carrion Crow shuffled along the grass beside a picnic bench, apparently unconcerned by the rain.
Fortunately the damp conditions had done wonders for the fungi population, and I had a rich array to find as I stayed beneath the shelter of the canopy. Raindrops slapped heavily against the leaves of Hartstongue Ferns, and showers of water droplets indicated the passing of Grey Squirrels, their weight shaking them loose as they bounded from branch to branch.
The first saprophytes I stumbled across were happily tucking into a large log. There was a good array of the orange Hairy Stearum, flourishing in the wet, as well as several nice blobs of Witches Butter. The heavy wingbeats of a Wood Pidgeon marked the passage of the only bird brave (or stupid) enough to take flight in the rain. Robins were singing from the hedges, but didn’t care to brave the elements.
Further into the woods I strolled past a nicely coppiced Hazel tree, its straight stems sticking up proudly, just begging to be made into fences, walking sticks or other such handy items. Above it towered a Magrocarpa, standing head and shoulders above its fellow trees. On the forest floor I spied a nice Hoof Fungus specimen, as well as a splendid patch of Turkey Tail.
A few sightings of unfamiliar species as well. A cluster of small brown mushrooms nestled on a log, which I suspect are a colony of Clustered Brittlestem. Also, a fungi bearing a striking resemblance to a piece of flint on the timeline. More research needed on that one.
I returned to the Learning Centre and was immediately conscripted by the Nature Nursury to capture and release a bird that had gotten into their classroom. After much undignified flailing with a net at the top of a step ladder, I finally caught the creature, which turned out to be a beautiful Firecrest. My best sighting of the day.