Haysden Country Park

A small troop of Bonnets, Mycena, among moss on the bark of a Goat willow in Haysden Country Park just by Barden Lake.

There was a probable hybrid Canada x Greylag Goose, maybe with some Domestic Goose parentage, feeding with the mixed flock by the roosting area near the first bird feeding area.

Clowes Wood, The Blean

Lots of cars in the car park, and people along the paths. Frost-edged leaves and few birds to be seen.

The Grove, Teston

This smallish patch of woodland greatly repays a closer look, as it is a good mix of trees including at least two huge Sweet Chestnuts at the eastern edge.

It is nice to find a few fungi around, and today I was lucky enough to find two species of Stereum, in the group known as Crust Fungi.

The first species is Stereum hirsutum, the Hairy Curtain Crust, which is perhaps one of the commonest observed Basidiomycota in the UK. The highly tiered brackets are quietly colourful and easy to spot on branches and trunks on the forest floor.

The second species is Stereum gausapatum, the Bleeding Oak Crust, although I actually have no idea what branch it was on, on this occasion.

Exotic Gulls at RSPB Dungeness

Well, perhaps not that exotic, but very interesting to finally see these two relatives of Herring Gulls from warmer climates!

This is a Yellow-legged Gull, Larus michahellis, from Southern Europe, the Mediterranean and North Africa, which was on the board as present and visible from the Scott Hide, but I am still glad to say that I did find it without it being pointed out to me, or knowing that it was still there.

Here is a reasonable picture of the bird, but a little blurry due to camera shake - the light had gone down much faster than I imagined, and I lost exposure speed in comparison to the fixed ISO and aperture. I spotted the very white head and yellow legs fairly quickly when I first saw the bird, but there are other features that I think can be picked out, according to the books and websites. The back and mantle are a trifle darker grey than the normal blue grey of the Herring Gull, although this can often be a little misleading, even minute to minute as birds turn from one angle to another, or the light changes.

Looking at the photo, it does look quite a "neat" bird, full-chested, perhaps slightly leaning forward, with a long "fuscus"-like rear end. The legs do look quite long, and the bill looks quite large and parallel-sided. It is certainly quite a bright bill, with an extensive red gonys-spot. The eye is quite small and beady at this distance, which was out in the middle islands on Burrowes Pit.