We took advantage of a dry but cloudy afternoon earlier this week to walk through the woods at Minsmere. To those of you who don’t know, Minsmere is an RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) wildlife reserve situated on the coast in Suffolk. We didn’t see many birds, though as the afternoon wore on and the crowds of visitors began to leave we began to hear more birdsong.
The cliff behind the visitor centre with Sand Martin (Delichon urbica) burrows. I’m not sure what the larger holes are – probably rabbit burrows.
We went first to the ponds behind the visitor centre to see if there was any sign of the Bird’s-nest fungus that was discovered there last year. I looked but didn’t see any though that doesn’t mean it wasn’t there! I did see some lichen on the decking.
One of the Cladonia lichens
More lichen was growing on the ground amongst the sparse grass and moss.
We saw lots of fungi on our walk but because of the low light many of my photographs didn’t come out very well and had to be erased.
Fungus
Reeds in the pond near the visitor centre – mainly Great Reedmace/ Bulrush (Typha latifolia)
A bright Sweet Chestnut tree (Castanea sativa)
A little pale sunshine filtered down through the trees
I believe the section they have roped off here is where the Adders (Vipera berus) live.
We saw plenty of Bramble flowers (Rubus fruticosus agg.)
There was dead wood everywhere
Richard and Elinor watching the rabbits on Warren Hill
Lots of rabbits live here. The birds of prey appreciate this!
We saw more of the sun as we neared sunset
Sun on the reeds and rushes
Minsmere at sunset
Edge of the wood
Sunset
I think this may be Lesser Water-parsnip (Berula erecta) but I am probably wrong.
Here it is again showing its leaves
One of the many ponds
A fern
Holm or Evergreen Oak (Quercus ilex)
The bracken has turned such a rich colour
More dead wood
More colourful bracken
The last fungus we saw – in the carpark!
Thanks for visiting!
A Suffolk Lane 