David

Mushrooms growing in the undergrowth below the hedge along a canal footpath. I couldn’t bend down for a closer look to try to get an ID.

Some of the berries still green and unripe, but most had already turned red. Bittersweet nightshade, though not as poisonous as some of its relatives, is still to be avoided. These twigs were escaping through the fence of a front garden, at a handy height for me to get close-ups on my mobile.

Two of the greylag geese from the West Park flock, watching me carefully. I wasn’t sure whether the attention was because they thought I was a potential source of food, or of danger.

Charcoal burners, one of the commonest of the russula group of mushrooms, which have gills on the underside of the cap which are soft to touch. Normally found in woodland, especially beech woods. But these were on a front lawn of a block of flats.

They look like berries, but examine them more closely. The far end is always a small hole – not a sign of nibbling by some creature. The kernel, not quite visible through this hole, is a tiny cone: yews are conifers.

The fleshy cover looks tempting. So it is for some birds. Don’t try them unless you want a stomach upset.

Fly agaric, the go-to toadstool of fairy tale illustrations. This one must have emerged the previous night: the red of the cap is still bright, not washed out after rain. The white ‘warts’, remnants of a veil which protected the cap as it was forcing its way through the soil, are still intact. And the cap has not yet started to spread and flatten.

or the best chances of finding some, look where there’s birch trees around.