Saturday, September 19, 2020

Busy...from Fungi to Buff breast!

 Although I have managed to get out and about this week after work, I have struggled to catch up with my notes, sketches, blog posts etc. I blame social media. It has to reduce. Is it any wonder it is only drugs and the internet that call their market 'users'!  

Last Sunday the weather was ok but with a clear night and a westerly wind, it didnt look good for birding so we took the opportunity to hunt for fungi a short way inland, still within our 10km square of course.

I find them incredibly difficult to id, but we managed a decent list and with the images, I got most identified from the field guide and some helped by the demon Facebook...

The list looks like this - 

Birch Polypore Piptoporus betulinus

Common Puffball Lycoperdon perlatum

Orange Grisette Amanita crocea

Suede Bolete Xerocomus subtomentus

Brown Birch Bolete Leccinum scabrum

Pearly Webcap Cortinarius alboviolaceus

Fly Agaric Amanita muscaria

The Blusher Amanita rubescens

Porcelain Fungus Oudemansiella mucida

Orange Peel Fungus Aleuria auranta

Yellow Stagshorn Calocera viscosa

Larch Bolete Suillus grevellei

Red cracked Bolete Xerocomellus chrysenteron

False Chanterelle Hygrophoropsis aurantiaca

Amethyst Deceiver Laccaria amethystina

Egghead Mottlegill Panaeolus semiovatus

Glistening Inkcap Coprinus micaceus

Primrose Brittlegill Russula sardonia

Ochre Brittlegill Russula ochroleuca

Beech Milkcap Lactarius blennius

Grisette Amanita vaginata

Cep Boletus edulis

A Webcap Cortinarius pseudosalor

23 species and good showing.

Amethyst Decievers with an unknown of which there were many.

Beech Milkcap

Larch Bolete

Orange Grisette

Pearly Webcap

  On Wednesday 16th, there was a window of opportunity to have a seawatch.

Two, 2 hours sessions from Cullernose Point had  - 

Manx Shearwater 48

Sooty Shearwater 4

Arctic Skua 6

Bonxie 14

Common Scoter 70

Velvet Scoter 2

Pochard 7, unprecendented. An absolute mega that would have been the highlight of the day had they not been overshadowed by a stunning, adult, summer plumaged Sabine's Gull that came past, quite close in, with 30 Kittiwakes on my last scan of the day!

Adult Sabine's Gull with Kittiwakes.


Knot 1

Shelduck 5

Wigeon 107

Teal 60

Red throated Diver 16 all S 

Bar tailed Godwit 2

Puffin 30

Tufted Duck 3

Scaup 1

Pintail 1

Pale bellied Brent Geese 54

Unless stated they all went north. Not a bad four hours on the patch.

And finally to end this scrambled post, Gary Woodburn found a Buff-breasted Sandpiper at Low Newton while we were seawatching. He went for his camera and when he came back it had gone. Later on, it reappeared 5 miles down the coast on the wader hotspot that is Boulmer beach. 

Having seen a few in the county over the years I didn't go for it the same day despite only being 3 miles away on me on my 2nd local patch. The next day was fine and sunny so after work I thought Id pay it a visit. It is new for Boulmer after all... 

What a lovely little American wader, no bigger than a Turnstone, feeding on the beach at high tide facing regular flushings by dog walkers. I managed a few pics and left it to its business ... 



Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Boulmer.

It seems Blogger has changed again, this time for the better? I click my 1200 pixel wide images to original size and blogger has fiited them in my column width without faffing with the HDML code? Mmm, nothing is that easy....

 


4 comments:

Ipin said...

Did you eat any of the shrooms? I’ve eaten a couple off your list.

Stewart said...

Nee chance! They are hard enough to identify without playing russian roulette too. Even the facebook id groups dont accept posts on edibility....

Gavin Haig said...

That Sabine's is absolutely mint! Terrific painting! 😍

Stewart said...

Cheers Gav, like the birders photos, I suppose its a birders painting!