Fungus Foray - 5th November 2006
Ashe Hill, Ashe
Mike Waterman was our expert mycologist on this afternoon foray in a large garden at Ashe Hill.
The location presented a variety of habitats, lawn, grassy areas, hedgerows, isolated trees, wooded area and as a result provided a great variety of mushrooms, even though light frost in the previous nights had definitely killed the less-hardy specimens.
All of the O.B.S. members present were novice in the practice of identifying mushrooms and learnt a lot. We discovered that fungus can be very small (watch your step!), come in a great variety of colours (including changing ones), can have unexpected smells (aniseed)...
In total we found 26 different species, of which Mike identified 21 positively:
Name | Notes |
|---|---|
| Collybia dryophila |  small, yellow, no cap |
| Bjerkandera adustra, bracket fungus | grey underneath |
| Daedaleopsis confragrosa, blushing bracket | |
| Laccaria laccata, the Deceiver |  change colour when wet/dry |
| Rickenella schwartzii |  quite uncommon, pale gills |
| Hypholoma fasciculae, sulphur tuft | found on any dead wood |
| Coriolus versicolor, bracket fungus | white underneath, found on any wood, has a white edge |
| Pseudotrametes gibbosa, bracket fungus | |
| Nectria cinnabarina | orange 'blobs' on twigs |
| Boletus chrysenteron | spongy, yellow pores   |
| Amanita vaginata | |
| Galerina hypnorum | brown gills, common |
| Clavaria helvola | |
| Mycena vitilis | strong stem |
| Lepiota aspera | |
| Hygrocybe ceracea, waxcap | |
| Lactarius pyrogalus |  no fibres in stem, milky 'sap' when cut,matt coloured |
| Clitocybe odora | aniseed smell |
| Laccaria amethystea |  |
| Cystoderma amianthinum |  scales on stem |
| Armillaria mellea, honey fungus |  |
| Psathyrella sp. |  |
| Panaeolus sp. | |
| Agaricus sp. |  |
| Clitocybe sp. | |
| Orange slime mould? | globular, waxy |
On an earlier 'reconnaissance' foray on the site, Mike also identified the following species
Callybia dryophila, Lepiota cristata, Schleroderma verrucosum (earthball), Marasmius rotula, Marasmius orcades, Hebeloma crustuliniforme, Mycena galopus, Marasmius orcades, Lepiota rhacodes ( shaggy parasol), Helvella crispa, Panellus stipticus, Callybria fusipes, Callybria fusipes, Agaricus xanthodermus, Boletus piperatus, Cortinarius purpurascens, Leucopaxillus giganteus, Agaricus arvensis (horse mushroom).
Meanwhile, Peter our bird expert managed to note all the following in that afternoon:
| Blackbird | One briefly seen, moving across the entrance track and one heard, near the feeders, after dark. |
|---|---|
| Black-headed Gull | Nine north-east at 13:55 and six south-west at 14:53. |
| Blue Tit | Several birds heard, and seen, particularly about the feeders. |
| Carrion Crow | A single bird west. |
| Chaffinch | A single bird in the hedgerows / trees by the feeders. |
| Coal Tit | At least two noted, including a vocal bird by the feeders. |
| Collared Dove | A bird heard about the roof area. |
| Common Gull | An adult bird, with Black-headed Gulls, north-east at 13:55. |
| Dunnock | At least one bird heard in the properties hedgerows. |
| Goldcrest | One in trees close to the entrance road / B3400 junction. |
| Goldfinch | One heard moving over. |
| Great Tit | Several birds heard, and seen, particularly about the feeders. |
| Green Woodpecker | One heard close to the northern edge of the property. |
| Jackdaw | Birds noted on adjacent pasture and then moving over to roost sites. |
| Kestrel | A vocal bird, heard only, close to the north-east of the property. |
| Lesser Black-backed Gull | One low west at 14:31. |
| Marsh Tit | At least one about the feeders. |
| Mistle Thrush | One heard in the larger trees in the south-east corner of the property. |
| Pied Wagtail | One heard moving over. |
| Redpoll sp. | Heard moving over at 14:14, presumed to be a Lesser Redpoll. |
| Robin | Several birds heard. |
| Rook | Birds particularly noted on adjacent pasture, and then moving over, in small numbers, to roost sites. |
| Starling | One north-east. |
| Woodpigeon | Several were disturbed from the more mature trees in the south-eastern corner of the property and several were seen to fly over the area. |
| Wren | At least one agitated bird heard. |
| and... | |
| Rabbit | Evidence of their previous presence noted in several areas of the property. |
| Green Lacewing | One on to the Bird Cherry on the eastern side of the garden. |
| Nursery-web Spider | At least half a dozen on rotting wood by the drive / B3400 junction with another seen within the garden. |
| Seven-spot Ladybird | One on the fencing of the composting area. |