Fungi Along Gill Beck. 2 Nov.

This was a walk along the Gill Beck Valley, up stream from the path by Premier Cru Wine Merchant in Tong Park Industrial Estate. You can see the route I took on the map at the bottom of this page.

I left my long lens at home because I was intending to get photos of fungi. The kit was Canon EOS R7, Sigma 105mm f:2.8 macro with EF-RF adapter, and Neewar ring flash.

These are only some of the photos I took, I also took photos of the underside and stem of most of the fungi with the intention of using those to help with getting an ID. Unfortunately I am still no good at using that information to progress to an ID. I will keep attending guided forays and flicking through the books in the hope that I will get better at it. The more I look the more possibilities there seem to be, and things do not seem to narrow down to a family or better.

I mention it at the end of every posting, and it is a serious request, if anyone has a better idea than my guesses, that you can read against each image, then please let me know.

The photos are in the order in which I took them except for the two in the chapter below. They were taken 5 minutes after the Purple Jellydisc.

I tried to get a better view of the dense cluster of bracket fungi on a massive felled tree, the 2nd photo, but there were too many big logs in the way.

There were several kinds of Bracket Fungi, mostly on felled tree trunks. Many of the trunks had saw cuts part way through them. I assume this is so that they will rot down quicker. One of the saw cuts had Turkeytail, Trametes versicolor, & Candlesnuff, Xylaria hypoxylon growing out of it.

I have yet to taste any of the fungi I find. Given that Strawberries can make the edges of my tongue swell and Salt & Vinegar crisps can make the skin on my lips peel I will take quite a bit of persuading to taste a wild fungus. Tasting the latex/milk from a Milkcap helps with ID apparently.

There’s one I have labelled Shaggy Parasol but I have read that its smell is quite pleasant whereas the one here smelled rank, like something was rotting. No way was I going to taste it.

In all the Oak leaf litter were lots of Acorns and many of them were sending out radicles and shoots.

A tiny fungus, with a very long stem, was being identified as a Liberty Cap on one of my attempts, though I have labelled it Bonnet from a previous attempt. In some facebook groups if anyone identifies one as a Liberty Cap people are saying Great, and Have Fun, and Can I come round? Count me out for that trip.

There were quite a few mushy clumps of Honey Fungus, well past their best and one of the trees they were on had missing bark where the Armillaria rhizomorphs could be seen.

This was when I wished I had my long lens with me. 800mm would have got me a lot closer than the 105mm macro lens.

During the walk I tend to look up and around hoping to see Deer, Red Kite, Buzzard etc. Where the path goes along by one of the fields I looked up and spotted a pair of pointy ears. Looking through the lens brought them a little closer. I was looking at the back of a head that then turned round and I was being watched. I made sure the flash was turned off and focused the best I could. It was small in the viewfinder and behind grass.

The Fox watched for a few seconds and then headed of to the trees.