Nature Watch.

IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
Went down to the river estuary by our house today and managed to get some surprisingly good pictures of birds using my phone and some binoculars. I think it's relatively easy with the wading birds cos they stay still for a while. Not photographed were loads of egrets and stilts. Also on the way down we say a bird of prey above, not sure what it is but it's the second time I've seen it there in this exact space so maybe will identify it eventually.

Heron.jpg
Heron obviously. This guy is here all the time lately, a real big fucker.

Spoonbill.jpg
These spoonbills (the most literally named birds ever) were not there last year but this last month I see 'em every time (not sure I'd ever seen before moving here though).

Flamingos.jpg
I'm glad to see flamingos in the estuary again, they appeared in May for a few days and then fucked off again but back today, must be the warmer weather. They're not on our side yet though. Hopefully soon.
 
luka

luka

Well-known member
Blackberries are starting to ripen. All the grass has gone yellow from the sunny spell.
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
I should have posted this a month ago when I picked them:

DSC_2068.jpg

Hoping today's rain will summon up some more goodies.
 
yyaldrin

yyaldrin

in je ogen waait de wind
it's been warm for such a long time. mosquitos, little fruit flies and tiny moths set the scene. this monday i had to put on a jacket riding my bike to work for the first time in months. temperature dropped from around 30 degrees to 20. all of the fruit flies have disappeared. instead the air is now buzzing from wasps. i guess they will soon be gone too?
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
yyaldrin said:
they look so clean, almost unrealistic.

what do you do with them?
Click to expand...

The most perfect ones usually get used in a recipe straight away - basis for a pasta sauce or put in a casserole or pie filling. The rest are sliced up and dried out, then stored in a jar.

This year has been nuts for mushrooms already and the autumn is only just starting. Picked these the w/e before last:

megaceps.JPG
 
Last edited:
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Mostly hedgehog mushrooms today (so called because they have little spines on the underside, rather than gills or pores) and some chanterelles:

hedgehogs.jpg

One of them had this beautiful tiny snail on it, with a conical shell like the ones you see in rock pools sometimes, but I've never seen one in a wood before.

hegdehog_snail.jpg
 
versh

versh

Well-known member
Badger cull in England extended to ‘unimaginable scale’ - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/11/badger-cull-england-extended

The controversial badger cull in England has been expanded to an “unimaginable scale”, according to a leading expert who warned the government is paying far too little attention to the transmission of tuberculosis between cattle when they are traded.

Ministers approved culling in 11 new areas on Wednesday, taking the total to 43. Up to 64,000 animals are likely to be killed this autumn, up from a maximum of 42,000 last year.
 
Turns out HMG was right!

Turns out HMG was right!

.
What are those blackberries that aren't blackberries, they have fewer, larger juice spheres. Boysenberries perhaps?
They're way better than blackberries than this year. I ate loads of them on a recent walk north of Lewes
Blackberries are terribly overrated really.

Saw a woodpecker today. Green and red, larger than expected.

Also a pod of dolphins following a fishing boat.
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
I didn't take it, but I love this photo of the sporulating structures of a slime mould* in a rotten leaf.

slime_mould.jpg

*not actually a fungus, despite resembling tiny mushrooms
 
Mr. Tea

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Gorgeous ice crystal halo around a perfectly full moon tonight. You can just about see it in this photo taken on my crummy phone camera.

moon_halo.jpg
 
IdleRich

IdleRich

IdleRich
Same where we are in fact. We just paused on a walk home to admire the moon with the clouds all around it. Reminded me of a sort of gothic horror or something.
 
versh

versh

Well-known member
I like how blue everything looks when the moon's really shining - reminds me of the scene with the cloud ship at the end of Peter Pan.

dd381fede5cd8433d04b87baf1abcff6.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top