Falling leaves

                 There is a constant soft rustle in the wood these days of leaves drifting gently downwards. Its been a mild Autumn so far and without really strong winds the leaves have stayed on the trees for longer than usual. The colours have been really good as a result. The first flush of fungi is over now but a few are still at their best. Most years we get an impressive display of the red-capped Fly Agaric but not this year. I have only found two this Autumn, both chomped by passing slugs and snails. The species is pretty poisonous to us humans and is known as a hallucinogenic - I wonder what affect eating it might have on the woodland molluscs.

                Its been a quiet time for birds too. The mild weather has kept the usual flocks of Redwings and Fieldfares further north and our Holly berries have not, as yet, been plundered by these hungry thrushes. I have just set up my feeding station and as always Blue Tits are there within minutes. I think they now recognise my blue truck and know that it most likely means food arriving. At this time of the year they often form part of roving flocks made up of a mix of species - tits, Nuthatches and often the diminutive Goldcrest - moving through the canopy looking for invertebrate food. The high-pitched call of this tiny bird is sometimes the only indication of their presence high up in the birches and conifers. Most of my contemporaries have now lost the high frequencies and cannot hear them. I consider myself very lucky to still be able to pick out the tiny call of a Goldcrest foraging at the top of a tree.

Beech leaves

The golden needles of European Larch

Spectacular Blueberry leaves

The floor of the wood under Hornbeams

the hallucinogenic Fly Agaric........do slugs dream ?

The tiny Goldcrest, always on the hunt for food