Stonechat, fungi and Little Egret at Cranford Park

I had another great visit to Cranford CP this afternoon.

 My target species were Fly Agaric, Little Egret and Kingfisher. 

Well, I saw all three but only managed photos of two of them. 

Whilst looking for the Fly Agaric, I re-found this little mass....

It is the old remains of a growth caused by a tiny gall wasp. Aptly named the Robins Pincushion, it is usually bright red and hairy, but this one is over two years old now - I took photos of it when it was fresh and young all those months ago but because I have since changed laptops I cannot post my old photos, so you'll have to take my word for it. It only grows on true wild roses and this specimen is in the corner of the cattle paddock. 

I belong to a great facebook group called Friends Of Cranford Park, and through that a lady called Meena kindly directed me to where a Fly Agaric had been found recently. 

Now, people who know me well know just how excited I can get over some species of fungi......there are several species on my bucket list which I'm still yet to see.... but I've been lucky that I have seen the wonderful Fly Agaric in the New Forest. I just never imagined I would ever see one at Cranford Park..... and there wasn't just one, not even two, but four of the great iconic mushroom species.....

I have always associated these beautiful toadstools with birch, larch or pine trees but this little group are growing beneath a fairly young oak. When I queried this on the British and Irish Fungi facebook page, I was told a few others had also found them near oak trees, so I learnt something new today too. 

Think of any fairy tale illustration of elves or goblins sitting on a toadstool and it will be the Fly Agaric fungi that you picture. It is the most widely recognised of all our fungi with its distinctive red shiny cap with white spots. As the name suggests, it was often used as an insecticide with pieces floating in milk to attract, intoxicate and kill flies. People are wary of its poisonous reputation, and it does have toxins that create some hallucinogenic and psychoactive effects. It is rumoured that the Vikings used to eat it to make them feel invincible when they were raping and pillaging. We don't want any raping or pillaging at Cranford Park so it's just best left to grow and look beautiful...…...haha :) 

Another nice surprise within the cattle paddock was this lovely male Stonechat. We often see them visiting Cranford Park during the winter months. It's a fairly small bird, about the size of a Great Tit, and loves open scrub land. I've often seen them in the same area of the park as I did today. They like to sit on top of things like fence posts and shrubs, and they get their name from their call which sounds like two small stones being knocked together. Hopefully this one will stick around for a while....

To see the Kingfisher I tend to go to the river where it goes under the M4 viaduct. I normally see one sitting on a grate across a pipe there, or on a little parapet above the viaduct itself. Twice today I saw it there but wasn't quick enough to lift my camera before it shot off in a flash of blue and green and orange. There's a fairly wide tree by the fence near the M4 so I stood behind that for a while but it didn't come back. 

Instead I managed to get a much better view of our shy Little Egret. It moved right out of the tunnel and gave me some great views.....

but it soon caught sight of my camera lens peeking behind the trunk and took off down the river. 

An hour later I re-found it by the Iron Bridge and was really chuffed to see it has a partner. Two Little Egrets at Cranford Park. Maybe next Spring they'll get together and nest nearby. 

When I visit Cranford Park I always make time to sit on the bench under the huge Yew in St Dunstans graveyard. I like to have a coffee there and the tree hides you from any birds that want to feed on the berries. I was watching a Goldcrest (and failing miserably in getting a photo) when I saw some more fungi that I hadn't seen there before.....

Sadly it's a species of Honey Fungus called Armillaria ostoyae, the Dark Honey Fungus, and even though you can see only a few of the fruiting bodies, the white thread like mycelia is probably widespread under the surface. 

Armillaria ostoyae

I'm not sure what can be done about this fungi, if anything at all. But I'll monitor it and report it to Jennifer Hedges. 

My three hour visit was full of great finds and sightings, and as always when I visit the park, my stress levels dropped and I had a great time.