Dragonflies out in force in the Smestow Valley yesterday. These male common darters were resting on vegetation by both the two ponds and by the canal near Compton.
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Autumn fungi flush: Himley Plantation
This year’s autumn fungi flush is now well under way. Here a sample of the species I noticed on a fairly quick visit to the Woodland Trust property at Himley Plantation.
There were probably hundreds of charcoal burners standing, despite someone trying to stomp as many as possible. The other species were all in smaller numbers.
Orchard webweaver spider (Leucauge venusta) near the centre of its near-horizontal web.
Green shield bugs are the commonest of the shield bugs. Perhaps it’s the different routines of life in a pandemic, but I’ve seen many more than usual this year.
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Next year’s hazel catkins already
Summer’s just beginning to give way to autumn, but already the first growth of next year’s catkins are begining to grow on some hazel bushes. These will be pumping out their pollen come January.
Charcoal burner russulas, common autumn woodland mushrooms, growing in their hundreds in the Woodland Trust’s Himley Plantation.