Late October 2021
I took the opportunity to make a couple of short visits to Whitlingham near the end of the month. They were unremarkable in terms of birds (I still failed to see or hear the Ring-necked Parakeet that periodically visits from Thorpe St Andrew, but bizarrely did find a Guineafowl feather in the main car park!) but saw lots of fungi and a few invertebrates. Some pictures from the first visit below: Fleecy Shield (Pluteus hispidulus), Velvet Shield (Pluteus umbrosus), Shaggy Scalycap (Pholiota squarrosa) and a new barkfly for me, Stenopsocus immaculatus.
On my second visit of the week it was raining so I focused my attentions on the woods. I checked out the fallen leaves under a small patch of Aspens in the hope of finding the Ectoedemia that mines the leaves, without success. I did however find the equivalent species from Hybrid Black Poplar leaves, Ectoedemia hannerovella, which was new to TG20. Flame Shield (Pluteus aurantiorugosus) was a new site shield fungus for me (although there are a couple of previous records here) and I also saw a new springtail, the bristly Orchesella villosa.
