A not so Mellow Yellow-legged Gull

A first encounter with a Yellow-legged Gull last week proved to be one of the sparse highights of late. I'd been hearing a lot about these recently, with a few poppng up in my area. I'm gradually getting into the gulls, but struggling a bit with all the juvy plumages. However there was little doubt in my mind when i squinted down the lens at this bird. Thanks to Simon Kidner for the initial spot, and drawing my attention to it, from the hide at Middlebere.

 At the weekend Chris and myself managed another brilliant haul of fungi, with a lot of interesting specimens to inspect. Below are some Coprinus micaceus 'Glistening Inkcaps", which i originally mis-identified in a pique of over-confidence. (Thanks Adrian).

This is just one of the three Suillus species found on the day. Suillus luteus or 'Slippery Jack'.

Under dark mixed woods at Bryantspuddle lurked this troop of Collybia butyracea v. asema, or 'Butter Caps'. So called, because they look as though they have a dob of melted butter on top.

I apologise for the sparse blog this time, maybe soon i'll get my act together,,, bye for now,,, Frank Gardiner (king of the inappropriate comment).. :-)

Mushroom scans from the Past

Well, its been a dreadful week of dull and wet weather, and when its been fine i've had other commitments. Luckily,, i have recently taken delivery of a new slide, and film scanner, and have spent much of the week scanning some of my old mushroom slides.
For my friends that have slides and film that they would want to convert to digital media, i reckon this is a great bit of kit. Its the Plustek Optic Film 8100, german built, so must be adequate. Anyway, these are a few of my mushroom shots from the last 20 plus years, all taken on slide film,,, some Kodachrome 64, some Velvia 50. These were the top slow ISO films of the day, but i don't think they stand up against the best of digital imaging.

Cortinarius mucosus

Suillus variegatus

Tylopilus felleus

Lepiota ignivolvata

Gyroporus castaneus

Cortinarius semisanguineus

Leccinum scabrum

Thanks for looking, as these lifeforms (not plants) gave me a lot of enjoyment for some years. Maybe the colour balance is off on some, but i'm working on that. I'm struggling to get images of fungi lately, as i can't get up and down easily because of the old joints. I might figure a way tho'.

Storms Bring Rarities

A week dominated by squalls and storms, with some fine sunny spells. I popped over to Portland with Chris, and Dennis on Friday. We had started at Loddy, but a bit lifeless,,,,, except for these two crows enjoying a duck dinner, well we've all done that,,, um,, well maybe not all. I'm probably upsetting my sister now, who is a bean farty vegan.

So,,, after Chris had persuaded Dennis and myself to go chasing a drab looking Starling on Portland, we all met at Reap Lane, where (and i say this modestly) my bird flushing skills proved to be a great asset:-), and if you believe that you'll believe anything..  In the end, using the fieldcraft that only comes with years of experience, all three of us managed to get very close to our subject, which for me resulted in the following shots, plus a couple on Flickr. A not very Rosy Starling,,,, but we were all chuffed to capture it on camera. My first life encounter with a Rose-coloured Starling juvenile.

Adie

Anyone who frequents the tracks and paths of Lodmoor regularly will at some point have bumped into Adie. A Loddy stalwart, he loved the place, and all its wildlife. A keen photographer of the birds, insects, and mammals that frequent that place, and with a great knowledge of the comings and goings of the many species there, and all the Weymouth area. Posessing a dry to wry sense of humour that i really liked, i never heard a bad word spoken of him. We all knew he had been fighting lots of health problems in recent years, and me with my friends were willing him through these. A guy i hadn't known long, but he had touched my life briefly through our common hobbies, and i was always glad to see him. Adie's problems overtook him this week, and i think i can say we were all 'gutted'. RIP Adie.

The Rock, and the Gloop

Just lately i've been splitting my time between the Rock (Portland), and the Gloop (Lodmoor). Both places were a bit quiet this week (for me,,,, maybe not for everybody). A trip to Portland turned up a few raptor shots, and Loddy turned up less,,,, well,, Godwits mostly. Portland has always been 'THE' place to get good shots of Kestrels, as they have a pretty thick population for the size of the place.
  At Loddy,, the west path has been the place to be,,, with the Black-tailed Godwits coming really close, and their squabbling can be very entertaining. There is also a chance of seeing Water Rail, Snipe, and Lapwings very close. The high reeds continue to hamper photography tho'. What an old grizzly pensioner i am (as of Friday). At the beginning of the week Dennis and myself were puzzled as to the specific ID of some wagtails on the west path, and i'm still not sure. Its easy to tell the adults apart, but at this time of year there are many juveniles around to confuse the observer.

The Godwits have been performing well in the last week at Lodmoor, with lots of altercations and some fights occuring. If you are tall enough you'll find it quite easy to capture these antics,,,, on a fine day.

Of course, when they are not squabbling, they have their noses in the mud, along with an occasional Snipe, a bird that is 'King of the Mud'.

Being right in the centre of an urban sprawl, Lodmoor is an amazing place. It has good access to a fantastic array of wading, and coastal birds. At the moment there is a huge population of Canada Geese on the reserve.

The Rock,, after my Wryneck encounter was a bit of an anti-climax (are pensioners allowed to say 'climax') with most of the action provided by the resident Kestrels.

This is one of the few 'flight,,,as opposed to hovering' shots i managed. Not the most exciting week, but i may have another go at those squabbling Godwits at Loddy when the light is good. A few Wheats around there too,,, this juvenile was a bit distant, but nice to see.