Keep an Eye Open for Fungi

The highlight this month has been the growth of some huge bracket fungi on a tree stump on the side of the road to Littleton. I’m expecting to see far more fungi appear in the next few weeks. Keep an eye open on the grass banks around Woodfields. For the last few years tens of spectacular fly agaric mushrooms have appeared here at this time of year. Fungi can appear anywhere, and a walk around the fields and hedgerows will provide good sightings, especially around old or dead trees.

Dragonflies seem to have been more prominent this last month, and I’ve recorded migrant hawkers at The Legion Meadow and at the Pit. There have also been good numbers of brown and southern hawkers which are the biggest of the species you are liable to see. I have also seen good numbers of common darters and a few black tailed skimmers. The warm sun, when it has appeared has brought a few more butterflies into our gardens, but it really has been a disastrous season with numbers 75% down. I did the Butterfly Conservation Societies Annual survey during July and August and had 4 negative returns. No butterflies sighted during fifteen minute observation sessions. The main butterflies recently have been large and small whites, a few peacock and red admirals with gatekeepers and speckled woods around field margins, as illustrated.

It has also been a disastrous season for swifts, swallows and house martins within the Parish. Up to ten swifts were seen and heard around the village centre. They were late coming, and so few in number this year. Their scream in flight used to be a great sound to hear in an evening when on the Primary School field. There have been a few house martins nesting around Church Walks, and these could be seen hawking for insects over the Pit. There has also been a small group at Walk Mill, but not in the number of previous years. Swallows have been few and far between, but we were delighted to see an event which has taken place regularly outside our house. Every year for at least the last 5 years, a large group of migrating swallows, (often with house martins, but not this year) would arrive during migration and sit and feed on the roofs and solar panels of 23 & 25. They would gather in big numbers on the telephone wires and would be frequently dispersed by moving traffic, before returning to their “twitter posts” and gathering food. They seem to find plenty on the ridged tiles and solar panels. Their numbers were halved this year, but we still recorded 50+ on two days. They then fly on to their distant destination, probably south Africa, before returning in mid April, breeding somewhere in the area, and wonderfully for us, return the following August. Picture 19 is this year, and 19a August 2023.

I’m also delighted to report that the kingfishers which bred earlier this year on the canal at Waverton, but who regularly fly up to Rowton Bridge, are being seen each day at present. They are probably much smaller than you think, but look out for the flash of metallic blue and green as they fly very low over the water along the canal. They will often fly off after being disturbed, but sit on a post twenty metres away, before repeating the action again and again, if you are really lucky.