Tuesday 1st January 2019

So here it is, a New Year and for me it represents a continuation of my wildlife recording project on Hartlebury Common and it's resulting blogging escapades.  I must admit, after what was an indifferent year both personally and in terms of my blogging output I am now returning to it with a renewed passion and can't wait to see what flora and fauna Hartlebury Common and Hillditch Pool/Coppice may hold in 2019.  So without any further ado here is today's post....

Lower Poolands
For my first visit of the year to the Common I decided to spend my time on the Lower Poolands side and started by undertaking a walk through the Oak woodland.  This is perhaps one of the best places to see woodland birds there during the winter months and on my arrival I was immediately greeted by a Song Thrush in full song.  Other birds of note in the woodland were Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay, Treecreeper, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Dunnock, Wren, Blackbird, Robin and Magpie.  Walking around the heathland I added Woodpigeon to the list and also 2 Redwings that flew over heading east.

Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris)

During my visit I also spent a fair bit of time mooching along the electricity pylon ride that cuts through part of the Oak wood. The decaying log piles and tree stumps in that area are an ideal place to look for fungi (especially the gelatinous ones that are still prevalent during the winter months).  This paid of as I recorded Leafy Brain, Purple Jelly Disc, Witches' Butter and Yellow Brain along the ride.  Leafy Brain is particularly interesting as its a parasitic fungi feeds on dead wood already inhabited by the yellow/orange coloured Hairy Curtain Crust fungi.

Leafy Brain (Tremella foliacea) & Hairy Curtain Crust (Stereum hirsutum)

Witches' Butter (Exidia glandulosa)

Purple Jellydisc (Ascocoryne sarcoides)

Yellow Brain (Tremella mesenterica)