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David

Autumn fungi flush – this is not litter

Autumn fungi flush - this is not litter

This is not litter, orange peel which someone has casually dropped in the street. It’s orange peel fungus. Quite often it looks like litter at a casual glance. These gave the most convincing impressions I’ve ever seen – I had to look really closely to check it was the fungus.

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David

Colours of autumn – hoverfly on an ivy leaf

Colours of autumn - hoverfly on an ivy leaf

A hoverfly, or more precisely some species of drone fly, resting on an ivy leaf. It was constantly moving its mouth parts, perhaps cleaning them.

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David

Female tuftie on a fallen bough, West Park

Female tuftie on a fallen bough, West Park

A thing that never happens has happened again: a West Park tufted duck, out of the water. It’s a different tuftie this time, a female, but she’s resting on the same fallen bough.

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David

Autumn fungi flush – deceivers in short grass

Autumn fungi flush - deceivers in short grass

These deceivers were just starting to emerge, peeping through the short grass. Even when full grown, they look similar to several other small brownish mushrooms, hence their name.

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David

Autumn fungi flush – red and white: fly agarics, Bantock

Autumn fungi flush - red and white: fly agarics, Bantock

More pictures of fly agaric mushrooms from Bantock Park. It’s easy to see why this species is a favourite of illustrators.

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David

Autumn is spider season – climbing a thread

Autumn is spider season - climbing a thread

A spider climbing up a long single thread of silk. I think it’s a common garden spider, a female. It was rather smaller than I’d expect of this species at this time of year. The pattern on the back of its abdomen looked right for the species: they are also sometimes called cross spiders. The huge abdomen in proportion to the rest of the body is likely because it is swollen with eggs.