street tree that was a Norway Maple. At first, I did not spot there were two different
kinds growing almost together, but when I stooped down to see them properly the
differences were very obvious. The Orange-peel Fungus looks just like tiny curved
pieces of peel, but, unlike real peel, the inside is the bright orange area and the outside,
which curves up so you can see it, is a little paler. The sizes varied from about the size
of a 5p coin up to that of a 1 Op coin. But the Orange Cup is completely flattened
against the soil, not at all cup-shaped, even slightly uneven where tiny stones were
below (and under a few loose stones on top as you can see in the picture), and more of
a light scarlet than just orange in colour. Each was about the size of a 5p coin. Both
these are quite common, but 1 have not seen either of them for some years, so I was
surprised to find them here so close to my home. Also December is not the usual time
of year for them; I think they really belong in late summer.
On 15th December we woke to a white frost and a temperature of -1°C. Nothing venture,
nothing gain, we went out to Pilgims Hall, just NW of Brentwood, to study the late
fungi on their main lawn. My husband had been there the day before and was asked to
bring me to inspect the pretty colours and identify some. There were indeed at least 6
kinds of Waxcaps, all common, and some other grassland fungi, but picking them in
the frost was very cold on the fingers, and when I got them home they were all mushy
and soggy as they thawed. And I kick myself for not taking the camera, as the sight of
all those brightly-coloured fungi on the grass in the white frost was truly delightful.
Then a few days later we woke up to a white world and it got whiter (depth about 3cm)
as the day continued. It stayed cold and white almost up to Christmas, then it all
thawed on Christmas Eve; no white Christmas here!
If we thought it was cold just before Christmas, it got much worse around New Year
and continued for much of the month. Our lowest temperature here in Upminster was
-4.9°C in the early morning shortly before dawn on 7 January. But I learnt that although
many birds die every winter from the sheer cold, many more die as they cannot find
food, and a related problem is that the days are so short that it limits the time available
for hunting for food. Of course it does, if you think about it, but it had not struck me
before that this is a double whammy for the birds. And is why garden birdfeeders are
so very successful at saving them.
In the ice and snow we walked into Hornchurch Country Park for a leg-stretch, well
away from slippery pavements. We saw a group of about a dozen birds fly overhead
and across the river to the other bank. The birds were a good size, with a lot of white
underneath. My husband, who knows slightly more about birds than I do (which is
not saying much, as many of you already know), thought they might be Lapwings and
when we got home we checked in a bird book and they definitely were! That rung bells
with me, as a few years ago I was botanising on the far side of the Ingrebourne and I
met a charming farmer who was very keen on wildlife and was more than happy for
me to roam where I wished, except among the crops and down in the rough field by
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Essex Field Club Newsletter No. 62, May 2010