mpsphotography

Monday, 3 November 2008

Fungi

Is it just me or has this autumn been particularly good for fungi? In past years I have noticed the odd mushroom or toadstool, but only this year has there been quite such a profusion of different species. I must profess I am no great expert and honestly the vast majority of fungi I find don't do much for me, but there have been certain mushrooms this year that have really spawned a personal interest. My only regret was not photographing the giant puffball that kick started my fungi quest in August this year, and indeed if it hadn't been on private land I would have taken it home an eaten it, I later found out they are quite a delicacy, this one would have fed me for a whole week. Nevertheless, since that encounter I have had several others with different species, and below I include some of the photos.

The quintessential toadstool - the Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria). I found a whole colony of these growing in a damp birch woodland in the lee of a spoil heap at the old Desford colliery, now Bagworth Heath country park, Leics.

Yellow stagshorn fungus, more orange than yellow as it had matured with age, and this is probably accentuated by the use of a flash, making the fungus look almost luminous.

Orange stagshorn fungus (Calocera viscosa), Harlestone Firs, Northamptonshire

This was a real surprising find. I had only ever seen earthstars in books. They look the most unusual of fungi, when their outer layer splits open into segments they resemble (as their name suggests a star). This isn't perhaps the best photo to show this affect, but it does show the typical collar of this species of earthstar, formed when the segments of the outer layer break off to form a visible collar underneath the central orb. This family of fungi employs the same method of spore dispersal as puffballs.

Collared Earthstar (Geastrum triplex), Grace Dieu Wood, Thringstone, Leics.

Puffball, not sure which type, Lycoperdon sp. Charnwood Lodge, Leicestershire

Tuesday, 14 October 2008

Heathland

Common Heather/ Ling (as it is also known) is undeniably my favourite plant. Although it only has a short flowering season between august and september, ling is the most distinctive plant of heathlands and moorlands, carpeting most of the ground with woody gnarled stems and sprigs of fresh green shoots. It is the one plant that really characterises these landscapes, after all what would the mountains of Scotland be like without heather, what would the Yorkshire moors be like without it, and where would the New Forest Pony's graze without the plant as ground cover. It is just at home at sea level on the coast as it is 1000 metres up on a mountain, all it asks is for land to be grazed and there to be acidic soil.

In Leicestershire heathland has become incredibly rare. The only part of the county that harbours sufficient heathland is Charnwood. Guides to this part of the county refer to heathland alongside woodland as being characteristic of the area's landscape; the soil is certainly ideal for this habitat being largely acidic, but nowhere is it extensive enough to typify the landscape. Indeed heathland in Leicestershire is rather the 'Holy Grail' of the county's habitats. It exists, but finding it is the challenge as most is represented in just small pockets hidden amongst other dominant land forms. This year I have taken it on myself to visit all the heathland sites in the county.

BAGWORTH HEATH

Whats in a name? With many place names in the county containing the word heath, you would naturally assume there to be some sort of heathland associated with these places. However, this is not the case:

'Heather' has no heather,
'Ling hill' has no ling,
'No Man's Heath' has no heath,
'Coleorton Moor' has no moor,

The one exception is Bagworth Heath. The country park that now sits on this site used to be Desford Colliery before it closed in the early 1990's. The old workings having been flooded to form lakes, subsidence areas converted to grassland, and much of the rest of the reserve planted with saplings, but it is the spoil heap that is of most interest. The spoil has slowly been colonised by birch trees and grasses, and one section has been planted with heather. When I visited in september the heather was in full bloom and carpeted a substantial patch of land at the highest point on the heap. It is arguably the healthiest population I have seen, and the butterflies flittering around this area would surely be further testament to this.

Ling (Calluna vulgaris) in flower at the newly created heathland at Bagworth.

Common Blue butterfly (Polyommatus icarus) on its foodplant birds foot trefoil (Lotus sp.)

ULVERSCROFT SSSI.

Ulverscroft SSSI, run by Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust has possibly the largest expanse of heathland in the county. There is a greater density of mature heather plants than anywhere else I am familiar with. Cutting of the gorse and the grazing currently being undertaken on this reserve by the trust is sure to increase the amount of heathland. Bilberry is also present on the heath.

Other areas of heathland in the county:-
• Bardon Hill
• Charnwood Lodge - also contains bilberry and cross leaved heath
• Warren Hills

Tuesday, 23 September 2008

Fineshade Wood

Fineshade Wood in Northamptonshire is I think the largest remaining remnant of the once extensive royal hunting forest of Rockingham. It's certainly a vast woodland, with a mixture of deciduous and coniferous trees, and a great spot for wildlife. This wood is of importance to the RSPB because of the successful re-introduction of the Red Kites to the area. The RSPB now co-manage the wood with the Forestry commission, and since they have got on board the visitor facilities have been vastly improved, with a visitor centre, coffee shop, and few new forest trails (unfortunately though this has resulted in a car park charge). The wood is particularly good for sightings of deer. I have been there on two occasions where from the hide I have seen red and fallow deer, but on my last visit I only managed to photograph squirrels (the grey variety) and a pheasant. Nevertheless they were particularly entertaining.

Reed Bunting

One local site that I recently discovered this summer near the village of Frisby on the Wreake are the Frisby fishing lakes. These lakes are old gravel workings and have since become a great place for wildlife. The reed lined edges are particularly good for dragonflies and damselflies, which in turn attract reed warblers and reed buntings. The following photo's of a reed bunting were taken on my first visit.

Reed Bunting (Emberiza schoeniclus)

Saturday, 20 September 2008

Scotland 2008

In May this year I spent some time volunteering for the RSPB in Scotland, at the trust's Vane Farm reserve, near Kinross. It is in a beautiful setting on the south shore of Loch Leven (the largest lowland Loch in Scotland) and with good road links to Perth in the north and Edinburgh to the south, its also quite accessible. During my stay on the reserve and in between working, I found time to photograph both there and further afield.

Mute Swan on Loch Leven (Cygnus olor) with Bishop Hill and Scotlandwell in the distance

Taken on my final night at Vane Farm, looking out across one of the lagoons to a wind farm on the Ochill Hills

Loch Leven from the Heritage Trail.

Ploughed field at the eastern end of Loch Leven

Taken from the kitchen window at Vane Bothy... The bird feeders were well used, especially by Goldfinches, who seemed to top the hierarchy over the other birds at the feeder.

Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis)

Greenfinch (Carduelis chloris)

During my stay on the reserve, the courtyard at Vane was home to many nesting birds, all of which chose to nest in unusual places, but none more unusual than a pair of Great Tits that chose to nest in this cigarette bin. They even appeared on the local news and in the tabloid newspapers.... Maybe they were looking for their 5 minutes of fame.

View from the summit of East Lomond looking towards West Lomond. These are the Lomond Hills in Fife, not to be confused with mountains by the shore of Loch Lomond.

'Lady's Tower', Ellie, Fife.... This was built for Lady Jane Anstruther as a bathing house, where as a naturist she could bath in privacy away from the residents of Elie.... Incidently the village of Elie along with its neighbour Earlsferry form part of the East Neuk of Fife - a beautiful coastline containing a number of Scotland's Blue Flag beaches.

Male and Female Eider Ducks (Somateria mollissima), Ellie Harbour, Fife

The following photos were taken at Glen Turret, one of the southernmost tips of the Highlands in Perthshire. Glen Turret is famous for Loch Turret - the reservoir that supplies the water for the 'Famous Grouse' scotch whiskey distillery which lies further down in the valley near the town of Crieff.

Male Stonechat (Saxicola torquata)

Short Eared Owl (Asio flammeus)

At the other end of the Glen lies the mountain of Ben Chonzie, which at over 3000ft qualifies as a 'Monroe', and as I discovered is probably one of the best places to photograph mountain hares in this country.

Mountain Hare (Lepus timidus)

Ben Chonzie summit with Cairn

Thursday, 11 September 2008

Friendly Toad

I live in a suburban corner house surrounded by concrete paving and wooden fence panels. With just a small lawn and no pond, you'd be forgiven if you assumed our garden to not exactly be ideal habitat for amphibians. Certainly I would have thought so; but in fact the back yard regularly attracts toads like this individual that I photographed earlier in the year. Our garden might be quite small but we do have plenty of slugs and snails. I can only think that the toads therefore use it for fine dining on the abundant and no doubt nutritious "escargots". This particular individual was found hiding under my bin.

After a few minutes of coaxing, the toad finally played ball having his portrait taken on a plant pot. He looks especially relaxed in the final shot, resting his arm on a conveniently placed twig.