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 
Clare, you really do have a wonderful eye (okay, two) – I always feel like I am right there with you on your outings. Must be a great time to walk by the ponds — the mosquitoes are gone, right? Just make sure the water parsnip isn’t that very dangerous similar plant that burns skin – it too, tends to grow by the water.
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Thank-you Cynthia. I am almost sure it isn’t Hogweed/Giant Hogweed but as many of that family are either very poisonous or cause burns I don’t touch without gloves. We haven’t had much of a problem with mosquitoes this year – a few have got into the house in the last couple of weeks as the outside temperature has dipped but I haven’t seen many in the garden and we are surrounded by water.
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You are lucky to not be bothered by mosquitoes.
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Some years are better than others.
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Such beautiful photos, Clare. I love the shot of Richard and Elinor sitting on the bench. Have a great weekend!
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Thank-you Jill! I hope you have a lovely weekend too.
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The colourful bracken is lovely.
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It is! Thank-you.
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I really enjoyed your walk Clare, we haven’t managed to get to Minsmere this year and you have brought back some lovely memories. I know you said you erased some photos but the ones you have shown us are lovely especially the ones with sunlight filtering through the trees. Its interesting how the sun makes a last hurrah just before sunset.
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Thank-you Julie! The late appearance of the sun is lovely after a day of cloud. Just wish it had been sunny for a bit longer!
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It may have been a cloudy day, but by using your flash, you captured quite a few of the fungi well in the slide shows. It’s too bad that you didn’t see more birds, but I’ve never had much luck birding in the afternoon, I think that all the birds take a siesta until just before sunset.
Up until I began following your bog, when I thought of England, I thought only of London, and the old Robin Hood movies that we saw over here. I had no idea that there was so much undeveloped land, or so many beautiful things to see in nature there. It’s always interesting to see the flora and fauna in other parts of the world, so thank you very much for taking us on this walk.
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It’s my pleasure Jerry and thank-you for your kind comment as always. I don’t like using the flash on my point and shoot camera as it is too bright and changes the colour of the things I am trying to photograph. But without it I wouldn’t have been able to shoot anything in the woods. I know what you mean about the old films and TV programmes of our youth. I grew up thinking the states was just lots of cities with desert in-between!
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You can get cheap rechargeable cycle lights that have three levels of brightness and if you have someone handy to hold them, they can be better than using the flash.
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I might have added that you can put a handkerchief over them if you want to diffuse the light a bit.
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Thank-you!
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Thank-you! This sounds like a good idea – I will look into this.
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I don’t know how I missed this post but I’m glad I finally caught it.
I’m always surprised to hear that you have poisonous snakes there. I hope you were all wearing boots!
The evergreen oak is interesting. I’ve never seen one.
I’m not sure about the lesser water parsnip but if it is it’s a good plant to stay away from.
You certainly have more fungi fruiting than we do right now!
Thanks for a great walk!
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Thank-you Allen. I only posted this one last night so you hadn’t missed it for long!
We only have one poisonous snake, the Adder, and it is very shy and retiring. I have never seen one and would love to.
I am not at all sure about the ID of the plant. The leaves weren’t like any of the leaves in my ID guide. I don’t touch any plant in the Apiaceae family nless I really know what it is.
We have had a lot of rain this autumn so there are fungi everywhere!
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Absolutely lovely, Clare. I feel as though I have had a refreshing walk too. Thanks for taking us along with you!
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Thank-you Sheri!
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Thank you for the wonderful fungi pictures, Clare! I will forever be a fungi fan. This looks like a lovely walk. I would have enjoyed sharing it with you. 🙂
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Thank-you Jane! It is one of my favourite walks. It would have been good to have had you with me. 🙂
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That looks like a lovely walk on a beautiful day. Sometimes I think the sun at evening after a day of clouds is the most beautiful end to a day.
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Thank-you Lavinia! Yes I think so too.
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Clare, This looks like a really lovely spot to visit. I’m sorry you didn’t see too many birds but to be honest it looks like such a lovely place to walk that maybe it did not matter too much. How lovely the light was through all the beautiful trees. Just wonderful.
– Kate
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Thank-you Kate. It is a good place to walk at any time of the year and we didn’t miss not seeing many birds. When we arrived it was busy with lots of families taking part in half-term activities. It’s no wonder the birds were making themselves scarce!
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Do you ever pick the wild mushrooms Clare?
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No I never do. I wouldn’t be at all sure that the mushroom was safe to touch let alone eat. I don’t particularly like mushrooms anyway! If I cook with them I get them from the supermarket 😀
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My partner and I adore reading your site. Do you guys offer the skill to write guest posts?
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Thank-you very much for your kind comment. Unfortunately I don’t have guest posts.
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