Yesterday, I walked through the Dells alongside the Water of Leith, carrying out my regular river patrol, recording wildlife and picking litter.
As soon as I got into the Dells, I heard the sound of a Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming. This is always a wonderful early sign that Spring is on its way!
Though Spring is on its way, I saw several fungi species today. Many people think of fungi as primarily a feature of autumn, but there are fungi around all year. This time of year is a good time to see Scarlet Elf Caps and a few years ago I discovered a nice little colony of this lovely fungus along the walkway in the Dells. So, I had a look today and this is what I found:
There were other fungi around too, including Witches' Butter
and this, which I think is Crystal Brain Fungus
I also found this beautiful twig, which had fallen from a tree in recent winds, showing a lovely selection of lichens (including the khaki coloured camouflage lichen) and mosses (including a Bristle Moss)
2 comments:
Nice photos. I hope to lead Edinburgh Natural History Society through the Dells en route to Balerno on Saturday and expect that the Scarlet Elf Cup would be worth a look. Is it still near the walkway from the Canal just before it meets the path up from Bogs Bridge? Thanks, David
Hi David, sorry I didn't reply to your comment earlier, but yes, if we're thinking of the same path, that's where it is and there's a lot of it at the moment.
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