Chat Moss - late am

A small cluster of slightly past their best Pestle Puffballs.

You're welcome, Steve. I had to have a good scour of Richard Phillips' tome myself to even take a guess. Luckily there are some examples of 'gone over' caps on someof the specimen plates!

You're right about Common Rustgill etc too

-- Edited by Mike Chorley on Sunday 6th of November 2022 07:10:55 PM

Little Woolden Moss NR this morning:

Fungi that I think Ive identified correctly:

Common Rustgill - photo
Ciollard Earthstar - photo
Common Earthball - photo
Shaggy Scalycap - photo
Fly Agaric
Sulphur Tuft
Coral spot
Candle Snuff


Ones Im not sure about - any help appreciated:
Gloeoporus dichrous? - photos 5 & 6
Mycena sp. ? - photo

One Ive no idea (white fungus in last 2 photos) - again any help appreciated.

-- Edited by Steven Nelson on Saturday 5th of November 2022 07:51:01 PM

Rufous Milkcap looks a good call. Many thanks Lez.

Little Woolden Moss NR - pm

Fungi:
Shaggy Scalycap - photo
Candle Snuff - photo
Fly Agaric
Deceiver
Yellow Russula
Blackish-purple Russula
Sulphur Tuft
Turkey Tail
Also one I cant identify - see 3rd photo. Any help with ID appreciated.


Dragonflies
2 Black Darter

Chat Moss - am

Fungi that I could identify:
Another patch of 6 Fly Agaric found
White Saddle
Blackish-Purple Russula
Brown Roll Rim
Brown Birch Bolete
Bolete eater
Common Earthball
Stinking dapperling?
Lactarius rufus
Tricholoma fulvum

Plants:
Orange hawkweed (Fox and cubs) in flower - very late

Dragonflies:
Common and Black Darters


-- Edited by Steven Nelson on Saturday 15th of October 2022 09:09:56 PM

River Glaze near Little Woolden Moss - a new sighting today which very much resembles a cooked egg - an  'Egg-Yolk Fieldcap' or 'Yellow Fieldcap'.  

Irlam and Chat Mosses this morning

Butterflies:
1 Small Copper
1 Green-viewed White

Dragonflies:
Black Darter
Common Darter
Southern Hawker

Plants:
Shaggy Soldier

Fungi (that I hope Ive identified properly!):
Brown Birch Bolete
Deceiver
Stubble Rosegill
Common Fieldcap
Birch Bracket
Lactarius rufus







-- Edited by Steven Nelson on Sunday 2nd of October 2022 07:56:02 PM

Little Woolden Moss NR (Morning visit)

Throughout my stay, along the footpath that borders most of the reserve I had an escort of Black and Common Darter dragonflies.

Also a Southern Hawker zoomed up and down the path at one point.

One large hawker though clearly broke the rules, Emperors according to information online are not recorded locally beyond early

September, but with an all green slightly swollen looking thorax, and blue abdomen, today's example could only be a male Emperor.

He patrolled a smallish but deep looking pool near the site of the former hide, that looked like it had been created recently with a JCB.

Quite frequently he paused to hover, but not long enough for me to get a photo, and he did not land and settle even for a second.

Just 2 butterflies were seen today, a Small Tortoiseshell and a Comma.

Little Woolden Moss NR - this evening

1 Common Toad on the path

Irlam Moss - afternoon

2 Purple Hairstreaks found in a new location. No doubt more still to be discovered.

Irlam & Barton Mosses this evening

At least 12 Purple Hairstreaks - easily my highest count here.

Irlam Moss - late am

2 Purple Hairstreaks

7th July 2022

Lots of Cinnabar Moth caterpillars on Ragwort in Little Woolden Moss NR

Little Woolden Moss NR

8 Large Skipper
9 Painted Lady

1 Banded Demoiselle
1 Azure Damselfly
2 Southern Hawker

1 Northern Marsh Orchid

Irlam and Chat Mosses

1 Banded Demoiselle - male
2 Broad-bodied Chaser

6 Northern Marsh Orchids
Round-leaved Sundew
Orange Hawkweed (Fox and cubs)

Irlam and Chat Mosses - am

Butterflies:
1 Small Copper
5 Orange Tip

Further large red damselfly sightings. Also 1 x emperor moth, 1 x common lizard, plenty of green tiger beetles

Barton Moss - very windy

Sad sight of a nest and colony of Honey Bees that was using an old bird nest box found on the ground after being blown out of its tree by Storm Franklin. Most bees were dead but a small number were still alive and gathered in a huddle to keep warm.

Mike Chorley wrote:

---

Hi Les.

Could be. Phillips describes it as having an "uneven, lumpy and wrinkled, suede-like" upper surface, "lemon-yellow or yellow-orange, drying pallid or straw-coloured, the lower surface more yellow". Also known as Sulphur Polypore. Looks quite an old specimen from what can be seen of upper surface. The other possibility would be Lumpy Bracket, which often has greenish algae growing among the hairs on the upper surface of older specimens. Chicken favours Oak, Lumpy Beech but both occur on a variety of other deciduous trees, including Willow

---

 Hi Mike, yes it did look like it had been there for quite a while & 'Lumpy Bracket' does appear to be a much better match for

shape & colour apart from the underside which on this is lumpy but smooth compared to a stippled underside texture on the

'Lumpy Bracket' - looks like it could be another one of those anomalies!

Large bracket fungus seen on a tree stump off Moss Lane today which I believe could be a 'Sulphur Shelf (Chicken of The Woods)'

Chat Moss
2 small dragonflies still active in the late morning sunshine today which I thought was quite incredible given the time of year. Either Black Darter or Common Darter but too high to confirm identification.

Steven Nelson wrote:

---

Chat & Barton Mosses this morning

2 Black Darter dragonflies- no doubt still active due to the very mild weather

Fungi (that I could identify).
16 Fly Agaric - a patch of 14 plus 2 singles
Birch Bracket
Penny Bun
Yellow Russula
Common Earthball

Still lots I cant, including a couple of the attached photos (the pure white one and the white one with the yellow in the centre of its cap). Open to suggestions.

-- Edited by Steven Nelson on Wednesday 27th of October 2021 02:20:35 PM

---

 Hi Steve, I'm not that good at identifying birds & Fungi is definitely way out of my league but the nearest matches

I can find are 'Destroying Angel Mushroom' for the pure white one & 'Yellow Fieldcap Mushroom' for the yellow tipped one.

Lez.