The walk started off with a rarity close to the dam: a Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis), which had been on the reservoir since Wednesday and already attracted a lot of visitors.

Long-tailed duck (Clangula hyemalis)

The Long-tailed duck nests in pools and along coast in the Arctic tundra and is normally seen off the coast during the winter, so an inland bird that stayed in the same place for a few days was very welcome.

We walked anti-clockwise round the reservoir, and most of what we saw was birds, though we also spotted a number of flowering plants and some insects.

One of the pieces of colour that we found on an otherwise dull day was berries, in particular the berries of White Bryony (Bryonia dioica) and Bittersweet or Woody Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara). There were also plenty of Ivy (Hedrea helix) flowers with Common Wasps (Vespula vulgaris) on them: one of the few insects we saw during the afternoon.

White Bryony (Bryonia dioica), Fieldfare (Turdus pilaris), Redwings (Turdus iliacus) and Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago).

Winter thrushes were present in trees to the east of the reservoir, where we saw both Fieldfares (Turdus pilaris) and Redwings (Turdus iliacus) together with Goldfinches (Carduelis carduelis), White/Pied Wagtails (Motacilla alba) and a Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea).  At the north-east end of the reservoir we saw nine Common Snipe (Gallnago gallinago) on the edge of the reedbed, where a Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) also showed itself briefly.  In total we saw 37 species of birds.  A full report including a list of species of all taxon groups will be published in a forthcoming newsletter.

Lemon Disco (Bisporella citrina)

Hazel Graves writes:

Eight members of the Lit & Phil Natural History Section met with members of the Leicester Fungus Study Group at Brock’s Hill Country Park in Oadby on Saturday afternoon for a fungal exploration of the area.  This was organised by Irene Peat and led by Geoffrey Hall, and we visited by kind approval of the Park Ranger Eleanor Pratt. Our thanks to all involved. The protocol was to see and identify a range of fungi wherever possible without picking unless needed for identification under the microscope. Brock’s Hill is a newly planted woodland, about 25 years old and the Study Group are watching with interest to see when the woodland floor fungi start to appear in larger numbers and species diversity.

We set off anticlockwise around the Park. We stopped in the orchard and Geoffrey first pointed out Monilina fructigena a fungal pathogen which causes Brown Rot on apples.  The nearby bramble leaves yielded Violet Bramble Rust Phragmidium violaceum and the leaves of the pear trees had occasional patches of the fungal gall Pear Rust Gymnosporangium sabinae.

Further around the perimeter path we started to find some of the fungi which grow on dead wood.  There were several stands of Sulphur Tuft Hypholoma fasciculare. Also easily visible was Candlesnuff Fungus Xylaria hypoxylon, first noticed growing on a stump in the path. Hairy Curtain Crust Stereum hirsutum was also found on dead wood. Oysterlings started to appear on dead twigs, either Variable Oysterling Crepidotus variabilis orRoundspored Oysterling Crepidotus cesatii. These two species can only be separated by examining the appearance, size and shape of the spores – oval or round for example. We were all delighted to see Lemon Disco Bisporella citrina on a fallen log (photo above), plus Wrinkled Peach Rhodotus palmatus (photo below) and Scurfy Twiglet Tubaria furfuracea on the base of tree trunks. Later we found large lumps of Shaggy Bracket Inonotus hispidus which had fallen probably from Ash. This is an annual so completes its sizeable growth each year, in comparison with the King Alfred’s Cakes Daldinia concentrica which we also found.

Wrinkled peach (Rhodotus palmatus)

The jelly fungi, the brains, caused much interest.  We found the white jelly fungus named White Brain Fungus Exidia thuretiana.  When many fruiting bodies grow together this takes on the form of a brain. Crystal Brain Fungus Myxarium nucleatum which is similar was also found, but contains easily visible crystals of calcium oxalate, plus a possible Leafy Brain Tremella foliacea, a very pale fawn colour. 

Also of considerable interest was the discovery of the Slime Mould Wolf’s Milk Lycogala terrestre.  Slime moulds are not fungi but have traditionally been studied by mycologists.

We then found a few woodland floor species; these included The Deceiver Laccaria laccata, and Brown Rollrim Paxillus involutus. A beautiful pale purple mushroom was debated – was it Amethyst Deceiver Laccaria amethystina or Violet Webcap Cortinarius violaceus? A sample was taken home by the Study Group to identify and found to be Lilac Fibrecap Inocybe lilacina (photo below).

Lilac Fibrecap (Inocybe lilacina)

Later, under a small conifer plantation, extensive stands of Grey Knight Tricholoma terreum (photo below), a conifer specialist, were found, of enormous interest to the Section members as not often seen.

Grey Knight (Tricholoma terreum)

Moving into a small Beech plantation we noticed that many of the fallen and standing dead trees had abundant small warty pustules of Beech Woodwart Hypoxylon fragiforme on them.  With woodwarts it is important to identify the species of dead wood as others look similar.  We also found Birch Woodwart Jackrogersella multiformis. The final fungus discussed was Oak Powdery Mildew Erysiphe alphitoides which seems particularly common this year. It especially attacks young leaves and soft shoots and seems to respond to certain weather conditions.

It was thought that at least 50 species were collectively observed by the Study Group who would arrange for them all to be properly recorded and a list sent to the Section. A full report will be published in the newsletter, which is available to members.

(Photos: Hazel Graves and Alan Bevington)

Russell led us round the old Western Park Golf Course, which is on the edge of the city and crosses the boundary into the county. It is home to a number of exotic trees, but the highlight is the Turkey Oak (Quercus cerris), which our measurements of the girth indicated to be over 200 years old.

Measuring the girth of the Turkey Oak (Quercus cerris)

We found a wide variety of flowering plants, and Russell added 18 vascular plant records to his City flora database.

We expected to see more butterflies, but they were very few, though bugs and beetles were found on trees and other foliage.

Alder Leaf Beetle larva ( Agelastica alni) and  Cinnamon Bug (Corizus hyoscyami)

It was also a good site for leaf mines and plant galls, two of which are shown here.

(Photos: Simon Bennett and Peter Smith)

Peter Smith writes:

This 200-acre country park on the edge of Hinckley was formerly a golf course so it has a large pond and its fair share of exotic trees.  However, its real glory is the extensive area of meadows.  The grasses were in flower at the time of our visit so, as well as admiring them billow in the breeze, it was the perfect opportunity to test our ID skills.  The meadows also contained great drifts of Betony (Stachys officinalis) and we found a small patch of Sneezewort (Achillea ptarmica).

 

Betony (Stachys officinalis) and Sneezewort (Achillea ptarmica)

We found a good range of invertebrates, of which the highlight had to be the rather beautiful Coppery Longhorn moth (Nemophora cupriacella).  This was only the second record for Leicestershire, the first having been found just three days earlier! 

European Chinchbugs (Ischnodemus sabuleti)

Coppery Longhorn moth (Nemophora cupriacella)

(Photos: Peter Smith, David Nicholls and Pouran Khodabaksh)

Peter Smith writes: 

Thunderstorms and flash floods en route failed to deter our 13 members, who were rewarded with glorious weather for the afternoon's visit to one of the Leicestershire & Rutland Wildlife Trust's finest reserves.  The earlier rain probably did put off some of the more unusual butterflies but we recorded the first Marbled White (Melanargia galathea) of the season, as well as a selection of moths and other invertebrates. 

As a former limestone quarry, the site hosts an array of lime-loving plants that are less familiar to those of us living around Leicester, including Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare), Yellow-wort (Blackstonia perfoliata), Dwarf Thistle (Cirsium acaule) and Fairy Flax (Linum catharticum).  Orchids were also in full flower, namely, Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera), Common Twayblade (Neottia ovata) and hundreds of Common Spotted Orchids (Dactylorhiza fuchsii).

Viper's Bugloss (Echium vulgare) and Yellow Shell Moth (Camptogramma bilineata)

Bee Orchid (Ophrys apifera) and Common Spotted Orchids (Dactylorhiza fuchsii)

Quaking Grass (Briza media) and Cryptocephalus cf. aureolus (possibly C. hypochaeridis but it's much less common)

(All Photos - Peter Smith)

Five of us visited Barnack with a focus on botany. The key plant of the site is Pasque Flower (Pulsatilla vulgaris), which we found in many places across the reserve. Much of the reserve is fenced at this time of year to keep visitors from trampling the Pasque Flowers and three species of orchids: Man Orchid (Orchis anthropophora), Chalk Fragrant Orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea) and Pyramidal Orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis). We saw the first two of these as well as Early Purple Orchids (Orchis mascula). Other interesting species included Hound's Tongue (Cynoglossum officinale), Bladder Campion (Silene vulgaris) and Purple Milk Vetch (Astragalus danica).

Clockwise from top left. Pasque Flower (Pulsatilla vulgaris), Early Purple Orchid (Orchis mascula), Chalk Fragrant Orchid (Gymnadenia conopsea) and Man Orchid (Orchis anthropophora). (Photos - Simon Bennett)

We recorded 36 species of flowering plant and saw or heard a variety of bird species.  A full report will be published in the Autumn 2024 Newsltter.