Crested duck, mallard

13 Nov 2011 1 Comment

by A Roberts in Wild about Wales Tags: , , , , ,

Getting quite tame this crested duck,  The   Crested Duck is a breed descended from the mallard . It has its appearance because it is heterozygous  for a genetic mutation  causing a deformity of the skull. As a result, when a pair of crested ducks breed, the young sort out in the usual 1-2-1 ratio:-does this mean the duck is quackers:-

Mushrooms ,Toadstools,Fungus

05 Nov 2011 1 Comment

by A Roberts in fungus Tags: , , , , , , ,

Shaggy ink cap (Coprinus comatus) or lawyers wig fungus

Honey fungus (armillaria mellea)

Clustered toughshank (Collybia confluens)

A lone mushroom. these are one day only seems they grow at night by dusk they turn into a slime.
toadstool under the pine trees.

Even the fungus is not safe from the vandals, ah well at least they will grow again.


as you can see I really did look for the elusive Fly agaric.

Sheathed woodtuft (kuehneromyces mutabilis)

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the other six fungi on this dead silver birch are the Birch (riptiporus betulinus )

there is seven fungi on this dead silver birch
lots of these fairy villages about this one is just outside my front gate some nice person has put his foot in it.

friday photo.

sunday the village has almost doubled in hight and size

another fairy village by the river

Southern bracket (ganoderma australe)

forming a new   tinder fungus (Fomes formentarius) growth.

strange fungi growing on this willow by the river I think its a very old tinder fungi,
fungi is sprouting up everywhere.hygrophoropsis aurantiaca,
fungi on the trunk of the oak tree

trametes hirsuta

  tinder fungus (Fomes formentarius)

there are three of this type of fungi on this willow tree by the river. tinder fungus (Fomes formentarius)
FUNGI GROWING ON THE STUMP OF A CUT DOWN TREE.

My thanks go to the land owner  and his grandson Rhys  for giving me permission to roam on the land freely’ this post will be spread over the coming week.

The cattle grid on the lane to Brimmon hill farm. The only reason I went over the grid was I saw some mushrooms and Today I had set my mind on looking and photographing mushrooms hopefully colourful toadstools!

click on the pic  you will see the white spots. one on the first hill and the other bellow the pole.

on leaving the house I shot these puff fungi that had shot up through the drive tarmacadam .
Now I have the book I may as well go look for some fungi.

this big one is edible and there was lots of them in the field not all like this some flat ones small button type there was also a few poisenous fungi.

One hedge hill .

some had already been picked at,, I wonder what kind of bug eats poison fungi.

hard to id this fungi
another mushroom this what i was looking for so you may as well see the ones i did shoot, and looking at the mushroom its a damn good shot not excactly centre but, just kidding! its been eaten by a very articulate bug .
a puff ball the one next to it was ripe and it let out this dark coloured powder.
the ripe puff ball

Pair of toadstools

Pair of puff fungi

A fairy village is a clustered fairy settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from tens to a few hundred and we have a few villages here in Newtown.
just across the road to the village I saw the butler who was quite amuzed watching me taking photos of the village,

and this must be a hamlet
this fairy village is just outside our front gate

Starlings in Aberystwyth

03 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment

by A Roberts in starlings in Aberystwyth Tags: ,

The starling and the house sparrow at the feeder

coming in pairs to the feeder.

starlings roosting in the telephone mast near the Station in Newtown
The Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) trying their wings befire heading off out in the fields for the day
Now we know where the wood pigeons roost at night in Newtown
Dovey estuary rail bridge just after Dovey junction station where the rail splits for the North Wales coast line.
Canadian geese on the Unis hir rspb wildfowl trust on Dovey estuary
rspb unis hir
unis hir rspb nature reserve photos taken from Ariva train travelling at about 80 mph.
End of the journey or the start . Aberystwyth Station. go to my newtownpowys.wordpress.com blog to see the photos of the station and Aberystwyth
the capstan on the sea front in Aberystwyth .
the sea front in Aberystwyth looking towards the north of Wales coast line.
Juvenile Herring Gull.
Give us a chip.
Feral pigeons and the gulls share the beach.
Red kite being harrased by the crow shot taken on the Rheidol valley steam train heading towards devils bridge
Grey wagtail lots of these flighty birds around devils bridge getting a good shot was impossible.
wagtail scurrying around chasing grubs

House sparrow and one of the easiest of birds to photograph

Not only birds flying about around Devils Bridhe a few RAF tornados on manouvers.

and an uncut photo shows how far away they are even for the 100×400 with 1.4 extender lens.
Magpie in full flight getting away from the guy with a camera
Adult herring gull
Cormorants and a The Great Black-backed Gull (Larus marinus)on the rocks off the castle point Aberystwyth
Cormorants juvenile and adult Herring gulls, Great Black-backed Gull off the castle point.

Starling Sturnus vulgarus

The Rock Pipit, Anthus petrosus,an the stones of the south shore jetty Aberystwyth

flighty little birds these pipits

Herring gulls and a cormorant. off the west shore jetty

Mute swans near the lifeboat station Aberystwyth

Captain herring gull with its young

The Chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs)

Kittywake juvenile

Starlings bathing in the fresh water outlet Aberystwyth

Starlings on the roofs of the houses near the old college.

starlings on the Church tower next to the old college building

5.jpg”>the common staerling,

Carion crow and raven

starlings in Aberystwyth

the moon at dusk 1.11.11

they say there are about 12000 birds most land on the Old university roof before going to roost under the pier

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the College roof go to my web page newtownpowys.wordpress.com to see the proximity of all the roofs to the pier .

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starlings in the thousands around the old college building . just before the sun goes down they go to roost under the pier

Kittiwakes on the rocks with Aberystwth promenade shot taken from the cenetaph point

the kittywakes leaving to roost for the night.

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