Nuthatch
A Nuthatch has arrived at Daisy Nook. It’s hungry after a cold night. Just look at those claws. No wonder it can …
Yellow fingers grow from the short sward
There are apricot-yellow fingers of fungus growing in the short sward at Emsworthy Mire. Fabulous, aren’t they? They are the eerie fruiting …
Feral Pigeon
An incoming Feral Pigeon in beautiful light is a wonderful sight. It always gladdens the heart.
Deadly
Here’s a fungus you should learn to identify if you’re interested in foraging and eating wild fungi. It’s the Deadly Webcap, Cortinarius …
The Magpie and its nidopallium
Have you noticed how smart and aware Eurasian Magpies are? There appears to be a lot going on in their minds that …
Chicken of the Woods
There’s a young Chicken of the Woods, Laetiporus sulphureus, on an oak tree. Correction, there was young Chicken of the Woods, Laetiporus …
Orange Peel Fungus
Orange Peel Fungus, Aleuria aurantia, is unmistakable. Just look at it: I’ve written about it before, and posted beautiful illustrations of it …
Pine-cone Bonnet
The Pine-cone Bonnet, Mycena seynii, is a beautiful fairy-bonnet cap which grows on pine cones. It’s so beautiful I wish I’d brought …
Blackening Brittlegills
There are Blackening Brittlegills here on Dartmoor. They are fungi which live in broadleaved, mixed and coniferous woodland. They really do like …
As daft as a Coot
The commonest bird on the water in The Regent’s Park is the Coot, Fulica atra. That must be stressful for them, as …
Canada Goose
There’s a flock of Canada Geese, Branta canadensis, here in The Regent’s Park. They were introduced in the late 17th century as an …
Spectacular Rustgill
There’s a strange group of fungi on this dead tree stump in the grounds of Exeter University. I’m out again on a …
Ring Ouzels
It’s not very often that you can experience wilderness in England. Contrary to popular belief, we’re not lovers of wildlife and nature …
Spotted Toughshanks
There are fungi I don’t recognise in the woods. They look as if they’ve been given a little too much bicarbonate of …
A Fieldfare in my childhood nature notebooks
There’s a Fieldfare at Emsworthy Mire. It’s a thrill, as they’re truly wild and difficult to get close to. The ones which …
Black Bulgar Pontefract cakes
How many people know what Pontefract cakes are? Surely not just people who live in Yorkshire? Maybe some people who live in …
Scarlet Caterpillar Club
Here’s a thrill. It’s the pupa of a moth, which has been been infected with a fungus called Scarlet Caterpillar Club, Cordyceps …
A Shaggy Inkcap story
I’ve been enjoying looking through this 1947 copy of Edible and Poisonous Fungi from 1947. It has one of my favourite edible …
Fly Agarics and the Board of Agriculture
Here’s one of my recent purchases, Edible and Poisonous Fungi. What’s this? Bulletin No.23? The Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries? Published by …
Grey Heron
A trip to London for work, with an afternoon free, means I’m changing out of my suit in a toilet cubicle and …
Red Kite in the morning
As a teenager, I went on a biology field trip to Borth on the west Wales coast. We had a minibus trip …
An early morning
I’m not usually out early in the morning. You might have noticed that my blog contains many, many sunset photographs but precious …
Stumbling upon Short-Eared Owls
I volunteer for a children’s charity and we’re having a meeting of our trustees in Oxfordshire. I check a map and see …
Stare
Adult Starlings used to be known as Stares. It was the juveniles which were called Starlings. By the 16th Century, they were …
There, There, My Deer
There are Fallow Deer at Powderham Castle in South Devon. It’s not really a castle, with a motte and bailey, but more …
Egghead Mottlegill
There’s a beautiful domed fungus on this lump of poo on Dartmoor. Naturally I have to pick it up and have a …
Dog Stinkhorns
Dog Stinkhorns, Mutinus caninus, aren’t easy to find. It’s not just that they like growing in overgrown areas, it’s that they don’t …
Big Boletes
To find wild mushrooms at their peak you really need to visit a likely spot for them every three days. As they’re …
The oaks have tongues
We’re on an organised fungus foray with the Devon Fungus Group when our leader spots a Beefsteak Fungus, Fistulina hepatica, on a …
The Monks of Basle – a poem by Colonel John Hay
One of my favourite poets isn’t known today, and, when people do recognise his name, it’s not as a poet. Colonel John …