A few fungi from the local forest

 

King Alfred's Cakes, not one we see very often

This is sickening.....pickers are in all our forests now stealing every bit of fungus which they no doubt sell at stupid prices. Piles of discarded mushrooms recently, all cut with a knife, selected and then discarded. I have informed the Woodland Trust who tell me it's a massive problem and is now starting to destroy the forest floor. Signs are up warning of fines but they take no notice, just sweep through the forest with their baskets and knives. Makes my blood boil.

It's that time of year again and the recent rain has helped tremendously. Lots of lovely fungus emerging on the forest floor. 

Slender-billed Nutcracker, Mundesley, Norfolk

After a night with little sleep due to gale force winds howling down the chimney we were grateful of the extra hour. But up and out early with a 3 hour drive into Norfolk to hopefully see the Nutcracker that arrived yesterday. We were not disappointed and were soon enjoying watching it feeding and flying around the paddocks and gardens. A new UK bird for us, that's two in less than a week ! Lots of locals were watching and good to see their children taking an interest. I told someone to get tea and bacon butties for sale......she thought that was an excellent idea ! Had fantastic views but the toggers were starting to chase the bird and it was flying further and further away so we beat a retreat knowing that we had that horrendous drive back to do. Glad we picked a Sunday when there was no farm machinery on the roads, that usually adds an hour ! A fantastic, but very tiring day !

When we first arrived it was the other side of the white house garden, but mobile. So glad it came closer

Common Tern, Toft Newton Reservoir

 

It stayed for quite a few days, feeding and resting

A few more Baird's Sandpiper pics

 

It was one of those perfect days for photography, just us two and a baird's sandpiper in excellent light.

Back to Spurn for the day .....and a Bluethroat

Still easterly wind but afraid no rain, but we headed back to Spurn to hopefully see the bluethroat that we didn't see yesterday. We were not disappointed. It was very close but was nearly always partly obscured by grasses or sculking amongst the thistles. Viewing with binoculars was easy but getting a pic was a whole new ball game and almost impossible. 

Spurn - what a day !!

With rain overnight and strong easterly winds we decided to head to Spurn and boy, did we make the right decision ! We didn't get any further than Sammy's Point where we had fleeting but unmistakable views of the Pallas's Warbler. Good to catch up with folk we hadn't seen recently and it's always good to have a catch up. Standing at the far end of the third paddock and Karen glances down the path.....there's a wheatear, look how pale it is, look at it ! Bingo.....an Isabelline Wheatear and it was instantly flushed by birders coming the other way. We re-found it down on the rocks for it to be flushed again. This time it went quite a way back towards the car park and sat on the barned wire fence only to be flushed again. By this time we were getting stressed.....we hadn't had a good look and hadn't got a photo. We eventually found it in the first paddock sitting on tyres and started to alert birders to it. But as the crowds began to grow, the wheatear got further away. What a brilliant day and a cracking find. 

Our first views down the main path

With a black redstart

and with one of the many hundreds of robins that had just arrived

and another robin to share the tyres with

Black Redstart