More Garden Minibeasts

Quite a few more sessions clearing the paths in the garden and recording any minibeasts taking shelter there. Not sure how many are new species for the list (IDs at end) but I haven't recorded the striking striped Hemipteran nymph (Nysius spp) before. Mainly small spiders but also one large beautifully marked snail.

 

Early Fungi at RSPB Sandy

 The fungi season has started but with limited species (presumably due to dry conditions) - Amanita species, Cracked Boletus, Sulphur tufts and Parasols predominate and looked great in yesterdays warm autumn sunshine. Good to bump into several friends also on the lookout for attractive clumps!

Paxton Kingfishers etc

I spent an hour at Paxton Pits today after a morning work party and was rewarded with views of at least two Kingfishers - neither of them the same as last weeks which was a female. Lovely light and reflections for the water birds - Coot, Dabchick, Shoveller, GC Grebe, Mallard, Gadwall, Teal, Raven and Heron

Start of the Fungi Season at Paxton

It was good to see that some Fungi are starting to emerge at Paxton Pits though not in usual numbers due to the dry conditions. Yesterday and last night's heavy rain may well stimulate the emergence of fruiting bodies. Here what we discovered on a foray on Thursday with very tentative identifications. 

 

Some More of My Garden Minilife

Before I cut down vegetation in the garden, I run a net through the standing plants and then bang the cut plants on the storage bins to release any small creatures before putting in the green bin. Here are some of the creatures - ID sheet at end. The net gauge is around a mm.