Branched Oyster Fungus
Fried up with Witches Butter
On Lacquered Bracket
Great Tits and Tree Sparrows were in voice by the Learning Centre as I rolled up this morning. I took a quick peek over the fence of the Wildlife Area to admire the Ox Eye Daises and Birds Foot Trefoil inside. Wending my way through the patchy scrub opposite the patio I heard Jackdaws and a Common Whitethroat singing from the Blackthorn. Crosswort, Wild Clover and Wild Carrots were all in flower on the areas we cleared last year. Most striking was the sighting of a Bullfinch, sitting in the middle of the road as I approached. I love it when it’s that easy.
Making my way down the Woodland Path to the Castle I spied a few patches of Rosy Crust and Jelly Ear encrusting the log borders. After making sure the carpenter could get into the Castle I set out for the Clifftops, admiring the Mock Orange and watching a Grey Squirrel bound up the trunk of a Holm Oak.
Spears of Agrimony jutted out of the grass at the path margins, with a few flowering Hedge Bindweed and Woody Nightshade on display as well. Herring Gulls gently descended towards the ocean to my left, with Wrens and Chaffinches alighting on the Gorse and a Swift in the skies above.
I rounded past the Tilly Whim caves and took in the scene below. Rock Pipits were diving over the edges of the cliffs and our resident Guillemots were quite active. Individuals kept taking off from the water and engaging in short, criss-crossing flights above their brothers and sisters. A Fulmar glided further up, seemingly looking down in disdain at their clumsy attempts at flight. At the observation point I spied a few Gannets and a Kestrel as well.
I finished with another excursion into the woods to check on the fungi. The tuft I spoke of before is still to young to identify positively, but the mysterious red bracket appears to be a Lacquered Bracket. I also came across some of what I believe is Witches Butter, the black jelly like substance coating the log changing colour with the wet weather.