Time to Start Recording

It seems as though summer has only just arrived, and yet already we are seeing signs of early autumn, with a scattering of ripe blackberries, a few trees just starting to change colour and increasing numbers of fungi showing themselves. Brian and Chris decided that the time was right to start on this autumn’s fungi recording – they think they may have already found another new species for the reserve…

Elsewhere today included the tasks of mowing the lawn, replacing signs on some gates and filling the bird feeding hoppers. Coming back along the boardwalk through the Scrapes I spotted a great diving beetle and stopped the wheelbarrow.

An unusual place to see one, but yes – she (the longitudinal striations on her wing cases tell us she is female – on a male the wing cases would be smooth) really was walking along the boardwalk!

I carefully moved her to vegetation in a nearby pond where she won’t be accidentally trodden on.