Showing posts with label fly agaric. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fly agaric. Show all posts

Saturday, 14 October 2017

Annual Visit to Gondwanaland... at Marks Hall, Essex


This Gondwanaland sign always brings a wry smile to my face...
There were plenty of ladybirds about on Saturday, including this one who was tucked up in advance of over-wintering.

The shepeherd's hut is in a sorry state. We thought a colony of Hornets had moved in, but did not go too close to investigate!

Autumn colour... on a rather grey October afternoon.

Lots of ?duckweed: presumably not such a good feature...

A few Fox-and-Cubs strands added a burst of autumn colour to the bank of the stream...

... and a couple of peacocks added a bright burst of their own.

There were several ladybirds, largely Harlequin varieties, around the memorial site...




Most of the Fly agaric toadstools had been nibbled by wildlife.   N.B. It is *POISONOUS* for humans.

Autumn colour, the reason for our visit...

... and more seasonal splashes.

The croc by the stream reminded me of its more colourful 'rock' cousin on Great Cumbrae in Scotland - here.

Having walked past this hut before in the woods, it suddenly occurred to me yesterday that it is an air-raid shelter.





I'm more of a spring bunny than an autumn crocus, but I do love the bright colours of the season.

A dash of red (there were holly berries, too)

Speaking of Autumn crocus...
No spring bunnies here, but it seemed strange to see primroses in mid-October. We always looked for early daffodils in South Wales in late November.

Tuesday, 29 September 2015

A Minsmere Medley

7-spot Ladybird, a native species. I have logged it on the UK Ladybird Survey.
We spent a sunny afternoon at RSPB Minsmere on Saturday. We may not have seen many birds (and indeed we looked in vain for Bearded tits on this occasion), but there were some lovely insects out and about. Our visit gave me the chance to pick up a copy of the site leaflet (previous post) that contains my Minsmere soundbite.

A small Hoverfly


A Darter (?Common Darter) perching in the sunshine


Poisonous toadstool, Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria)


Another Common Darter (?female)

Emerald Damselfly


Migrant Hawker Dragonfly


Close-up, showing yellow 'golf tee' mark on S2

A magnificent Fox Moth caterpillar

The windswept beach that adjoins the Minsmere reserve

Monday, 22 October 2012

Seasonal Splash: Fungi and Fern

We wandered through a wood near Aldeburgh, and found this Fly Agaric ...

... in the trees. I did not know that the spots fall off as the toadstool ages.

This was (to me) a far less attractive fungus ...

... it was about the size of a football, and someone or some thing had prised it apart.

Just for a change ... a photo of the bracken.

I am finding this species of toadstool quite a bit in Suffolk ...

... but have yet to work out what it is!

Another unidentified species ... to date!

I wonder who had split these in half ... squirrels (we saw one nearby), slugs or fungus-gnats?
WARNING: these fungi may be poisonous or dangerous for humans.