Paxton Miscellany

A mix of images from an enjoyable day at Paxton looking for fungi (Mycena species and Winter Stalkball) in the morning and walk with friends looking at birds etc in the afternoon 

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Fiery Sunset at Paxton Pits after a Rainy Day

After a very wet morning and early afternoon, the clouds cleared to give a fiery sunset over Heronry Lake at Paxton. 

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Mini Fungi etc at Paxton

Looking on wet logs etc revealed quite a few small fungi species at Paxton today, lots of Collembolids scurrying around and one possible slime mould of a leaf stem (very very small subject!!) plus a yellow slime mould mycelium on a wet log.

 

Paxton's Small Fungi and Slime Moulds

 Very enjoyable walk with Ann and Mike at Paxton on a Slime mould hunt, which proved successful with one definite species and possibly a second one. Ann found an extensive colony of the green Elf Cup. Amazing how many small creatures also lived on rotting logs including Collembolids as on the first image, the appropriately named Winter Moth and Centipedes. When we looked hard at the mossy areas ther were small toadstools still present. Light was poor and images handheld so not great quality!

Change of Fungi Species at Paxton

Not quite as many fungi as 3 weeks ago but several different species now showing like the White Saddle and the Jelly Rot, Phlebia tremellosa. I was using my Fuji compact camera with the Raynox  auxilliary lens which isn't ideal for the smaller objects such as the Flies  but does a good job on the wider views. A couple of large patches of the shaggy Pholiota squarrosa and several other species!!

UV Reflectance in Fungi

I own a cheap full spectrum camera which I use without extra filters so it will be recording all the light around including UV ('normal' cameras have a UV filter that cuts out these wavelengths). I also have a UV torch (mainly sold for revealing rodents etc by their uv-fluorescent urine!). Yesterday I photographed fungi with extra illumination from the UV torch with the full spectrum camera (this renders foliage, fungi a greenish brown colour under daylight). The Sulphur Tufts are the most dramatic with the stems and caps reflecting different wavelengths. On other toadstools the effect is more subtle! One Clitocybe was fairly well advanced and it appears that the released spores and the gills themselves reflect different wavelengths when illuminated. (There are some fungi that actually emit UV light but I think these are mainly  foreign and would require a special and very expensive filter for the camera to block all wavelengths except ultraviolet).