If you go down to the woods today you are sure of a big surprise. Fungi at Brandon Park, Suffolk

If you go down to the woods today you are sure of a big  surprise.  If you go down in the woods today, you'd better go in disguise........

The club had a group outing to Brandon Park Suffolk in search of fungi and in line with what photographers do many were horizontal to get their images! 

The day started in fog and later rain stopped play but a good time was had by all.  Thank you to Ann who kept us intrigued by many of the specimens.  a big thank you to Paul too.

Lycoperdon sp.,  Gilled toadstool Agaricus sp. Puffball Lycoperdon sp, Chanterelle Cantherellus sp.

Dagger Moths

Acronicta psi, otherwise known as the Grey Dagger Moth, is a distinctive medium-sized insect found across the Northern hemisphere. They're called Dagger Moths after the black markings on the front wings.

The caterpillars are vividly coloured, covered in white and black hairs. Grey Dagger caterpillars feed on the leaves of deciduous trees, such as Birch, Apple, Blackthorn and Hawthorn. They're not considered serious garden pests.

Most often, Grey Dagger Moths are found in woodland or habitats containing abundant food. This means that sometimes they'll end up in gardens and hedgerows.  I found this caterpillar in the garden in Shrewsbury on a Beech leaf.  The flowers on the mint attracted many bees. 

Cambridge

I did not venture into town until midday to  source some oil to treat my deep burn to my wrist that I sustained a week ago.  Many people were enjoying the sunshine and a long trail of tourist were being led along the narrow streets.   The light was harsh and not the best for photographs.

Grantchester Cambridge

Tranquil Grantchester is a quaint village with many thatched cottages beside the River Cam and a popular place to visit.  It has medieval Church, and several pubs and the last time I counted I made it seven.  There is even a Gin distillery.

It’s known for the Orchard Tea Garden that is open all the year round, a place frequented by the 1900s Bloomsbury Group and former village resident, poet Rupert Brooke. I met some friends there and we decided the green deck-chairs in the orchard were not that comfortable. Currently the village is used as a film set for the British ITV detective drama called "Grantchester" set in the 1950s.  One of the houses next to the church has been named "the Vicarage" and is decorated in plastic wisteria and plastic hedge foliage, ot exactly in keeping with the village and the expensive houses.  The real vicarage is owned by Geoffrey and Mary Archer.

Summer Leys - Northamptonshire OS Map Reference SP 886 634

Summer Leys is a local nature reserve at Wollaston in the Upper Nene Valley, in Northamptonshire. It is owned by the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire.  The RSP Nature group met to enjoy what the reserve had to offer.

This large, ex-gravel pit is made up of a main lake with gently sloping banks, shallow areas of water and ponds, low lying islands, a large scrape and a fringe of reeds surrounded by grassland and wet woodland. This is ideal habitat for wintering birds: goosander, wigeon and gadwall reach nationally important numbers, joined by large numbers of roosting lapwing and golden plover. We saw many Bullfinches, BlueTits and Goldfinches.

Wading birds use the scrape and the shallow lake margins. Oystercatcher, ringed plover, little ringed plover and redshank stay to breed, while whimbrel, turnstone and common sandpiper often pass through during migration. Numerous pairs of common tern nest in a colony on the islands, the reserve management usually cut back vegetation each autumn to keep them safe, and every few years we re-profile the wader scrape.  

Otters are rare but regular visitors to the reserve, while the taller reeds and rushes around the lake may reveal the ball-shaped woven nests of harvest mice. We did no see any.  Sixteen species of dragonflies and damselflies have been recorded here and it is one of the best places to see the uncommon hairy dragonfly, which dances around the edges of Marigold Pond in May and June. It was a hot day and the dragon flies flew at speed round the water edge in the morning but were no where to be seen in the afternoon.   Late spring sees hobbies hunting insects over the reserve.

Kim’s Corner, a fragment of species-rich neutral grassland, is a good place to watch butterflies. In late summer, it comes alive with the songs of grasshoppers and crickets. In the summer the area is haycut, followed by sheep grazing. To maintain the open natures of the lake banks, the management teams coppice willow and cut back other vegetation and remove encroaching scrub.   

It was a splendid reserve with lots of insects.