A wild night last night, with almost 30mm of rain lashing the Park in the teeth of strong south-westerly winds.
Still a bit wet and windy as I walked up through the woodland, however the gloom brightened by the vibrant shades of Elm leaves (a sulphurous yellow) and the last few Sycamore leaves, shading from green to gold.
Water is rushing down the stream at Sunnydale – lovely to stand on our newly restored Victorian bridge and watch it bubble by.
Now the canopy is almost clear, you can really see the results of last winter’s tree work – the London Planes near the wooden bridge looking great, with their dappled bark – we will be starting the final tree surgery at Sunnydale in January.
On the woodland floor a patch of bright orange Yellow Stagshorn fungus catches my eye – a dense clump of bifurcated sprouts just a few inches high. Nearby, a patch of the weird Candlesnuff Fungus sprouts from a rotting log – a similar shape to the Stagshorn but shaded from black at the base to white tips (so an upside-down candle really!). Puffy black Dead Man’s Fingers fungus also growing nearby, while a log in one of our new habitat piles is speckled with orange Coral Spot Fungus. The purple Jelly Ear fungus is growing on an Elder on the edge of one of the newly cleared glade.
Here and there the orange seeds of Stinking Iris stand out beneath a canopy of Holm Oak, while Snowberry is covered in round, pure white fruit.
Above me, a Jay hungrily tears acorns from a Holm Oak, with a group of 5 (or maybe 6?) Goldcrests working their way through the sheltered branches of a Black Pine.
Down in the ‘Dell’, a female Blackbird wrestles a 4” long earthworm from the ground, as a charm of Goldfinches work their way through the scrub south of the bridge.
Out at sea, lots of Gannets passing by, brilliant white against the steely sea, with sharp black wing bars, with Kittiwake and Shag also passing through.
A few Rock Pipits skitter along the windy clifftop, with a gang of Jackdaws chattering as they roll around in the gusts overhead.