Looking Up, Looking Down

So I took the chance of the last day of sunshine and easterly winds to do a little skywatching. I freely admit to hoping for a White Stork of any provenance - it has been 20-plus years since I've seen one, after all! - or maybe some sort of nice raptor maybe even in photo range..

Ho ho ho.

Looking up doesn't help? Well, you also do well to look down now and again. Never know what might be right in the car park...

Humpback Brittlegill
[This definitely one; lovely hump! :) ]

It was blowing a hoolie at my first site; Mamhead. Yes, winds onto ridge is usually good for soaring things, but not when they're this strong.. Drat.

[Work prevented earlier trip, btw]

So I tried anyway, with the view I could find [they need to do some trimming there, as well as at Fernworthy..]

If you stand right back, you can see a bit of the Exe valley

Even the Big Scope [yes, I lugged it along] could find nothing more than a few cruising Herring Gulls and the odd corvid [some very odd, but that's Rooks for you.. ;) ]

However, there were a few things to see once I gave up on looking up and tried looking down;

Common Darter

Ochre Brittlegill

Powdery Brittlegill

R. fragilis

Leopard Earthball

Old Common Puffball

Collybia sp.

Old amanita sp.

I think this is Grey-spotted

Entoloma conferendum?

A Knight sp., I think
Doesn't look right for Soapy,
Yellowing or even Deceiving??

Toughshank sp., I think

Brown spores maybe???? :)

Southern Bracket

Willow Bracket

Well, I wasn't about to give up on my primary mission, so I tried Site B, aka;

Somewhere Else

As you can see from the foreground, someone's been doing some clearing of the field of view [maybe they can go to Mamhead when they're done?]. Not a full job, but much better than it was.

So, looking more with than into the wind, what can I report?

3 Buzzards and a Sprawk. Not so incredible, but considering, not so bad. Also a light passage of passing hirundines, using the ridge line as a windbreak.

Despite the wind, it was rather hazy

No pics of anything flying, so here's something that did pose;

Long-stalked Cranesbill

Closest I've got to a Stork... [Bah-dum tsch!]


So, did some watching, saw some things. Definitely worth a try.
Not awesome, not awful.


Be Seeing You...