Uploads from Dorsetdunk, tagged wildlife

witches broom

nobody@flickr.com (Dorsetdunk) — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 15:55:33 -0800

Dorsetdunk posted a photo:

it seems to have lost its bristles the gall is formed when the silver birches buds are invaded by a parasite or fungus
knowle hill purbeck dorset england uk

willow polypore

nobody@flickr.com (Dorsetdunk) — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 15:56:00 -0800

Dorsetdunk posted a photo:

discovered this fungi on news years day growing on a willow tree in the snags middlebere heath purbecks dorset uk

forest glow

nobody@flickr.com (Dorsetdunk) — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 08:38:29 -0800

Dorsetdunk posted a photo:

spotted these two trees glowing in the distance in the last of the brief sunshine I charged across a scrubland leaping small streams squelched through a bog and finally fought my way through several exceedingly prickly gorse bushes before i was able to set up the tripod and just managed to get a few shots off before i lost the light, I was rather dissapointed when reviewing in camera as the orange of the lichen clad trees looked all wrong no matter what i tried ,seems the 7d does not like that paticular shade though managed to bring the lovely glow back in processing

blackwater new forest hampshire uk

skeletal

nobody@flickr.com (Dorsetdunk) — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 02:28:10 -0700

Dorsetdunk posted a photo:

the ancient yew revisited
never will get bored of trying to portray this tree ,due to ever changing light qualities throughout the seasons

.woodlands dorset uk

into the light

nobody@flickr.com (Dorsetdunk) — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 02:28:19 -0700

Dorsetdunk posted a photo:

it was very very dark in the spruce forest, the only indication that the blue skies now were graced by an armada of rolling clouds was the shifting light that was able to penetrate its boundaries

.woodlands dorset uk

giant funnel fungi , giant fairy ring

nobody@flickr.com (Dorsetdunk) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 16:26:20 -0700

Dorsetdunk posted a photo:

well half a giant fairy ring
this is just part of the half circle, difficult to compose an image to portray it in full

woodlands dorset uk

green staining coral Ramaria abietina

nobody@flickr.com (Dorsetdunk) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 16:25:11 -0700

Dorsetdunk posted a photo:

there was just one small area beneath the spruces where
clumps forced their way up from among the needles.
woodlands dorset uk

yellow stag horn fungi

nobody@flickr.com (Dorsetdunk) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 16:25:28 -0700

Dorsetdunk posted a photo:

the was great carpets of this gorgeous green moss spanning the forest floor

.woodlands dorset uk

giant funnel:Leucopaxillus giganteus

nobody@flickr.com (Dorsetdunk) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 16:25:58 -0700

Dorsetdunk posted a photo:

woodlands dorset uk

The “Royal” Remedy Oak

nobody@flickr.com (Dorsetdunk) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 16:26:57 -0700

Dorsetdunk posted a photo:

King Edward VI
1537-1553
arrived on the throne aged 9 and was said to have sat beneath it and "touched for kings evil"
a medieval custom whereby the kings of England and France who were direct descendants of Edward the Confessor received the healing touch and was able to cure their subjects of diseases

woodlands Dorset uk

upright coral fungus :Ramaria stricta

nobody@flickr.com (Dorsetdunk) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 05:34:57 -0700

Dorsetdunk posted a photo:

Great Wood east creech isle of purbeck Dorset uk

dead mans fingers:Xylaria polymorpha,

nobody@flickr.com (Dorsetdunk) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 05:35:28 -0700

Dorsetdunk posted a photo:

loads of these trooping across piles of ash logs
now wondering if there was dead molls fingers there too

Great Wood east creech isle of purbeck Dorset uk

troop of inkcaps on beech tree

nobody@flickr.com (Dorsetdunk) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 05:35:43 -0700

Dorsetdunk posted a photo:

Great Wood east creech isle of purbeck Dorset uk

the clatter of wood pigeon wings

nobody@flickr.com (Dorsetdunk) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 12:41:20 -0800

Dorsetdunk posted a photo:

flocks of wood pigs use the covert to roost between raids on the farmers fields, I spent a while googling for words describing these types of woods planted for shooting I am sure there were different names other than covert,stands and hangers to describe them manswood dorset england

the clay pits : reflections of autumn

nobody@flickr.com (Dorsetdunk) — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 07:27:10 -0800

Dorsetdunk posted a photo:

the claypits here and the heathland nature reserve are managed by the herpetological
conservation trust in partnership with Natural England creech heath the purbecks dorset uk

corfe river :haunt of the jack snipe ?

nobody@flickr.com (Dorsetdunk) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 14:04:18 -0800

Dorsetdunk posted a photo:

down stream from Sharford the ancient two arched pack horse bridge the river is tidal,it has a wild and woolly look with the trees festooned with lichens

as i was about to set up the tripod a wader exploded from right beneath my feet directly upward and over the hedge ,nothing but a blur of greys, with cross hatched black and browns

it was classic jack snipe behaviour sitting tight to the very last second before flying sharply upward without calling unlike the common snipe who is vocal when disturbed and zigzags off low

there was also a chiffchaff flitting along the bank side foraging at my feet totally unconcerned by my presence as i wandered along the river

not exactly sure what this area is called although i think it comes under Hartland Moor there are three separate reserves on the map that cover parts of the water meadows

isle of Purbeck Dorset UK

creech barrow from creech heath nature reserve

nobody@flickr.com (Dorsetdunk) — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 13:38:16 -0800

Dorsetdunk posted a photo:

this hill dominates the horizon on my local heathland walks.

Here seen from creech heath nature reserve, the old clay workings can be seen in the foreground ,hidden in the woodland beyond is a large clay pit where in the spring large wild carp can been seen hoovering up toad tadpoles
beyond that a vast scar of an open pit still worked for china clay

creech barrow is 637 feet preserved by a cap of limestone covering
Bagshot Beds (sand and clay)
there was also a Bronze Age burial mound discovered and dated 1700 to 1000 BC.

a hunting lodge was shown on maps in 1586- 1615,
and was ‘the principal lodge of the isle and forest of Purbeck
in which the king reserved the hunting rights., Purbeck was granted the status by King John who hunted here during his stays at nearby Corfe Castle.

there has been centuries of clay extraction in this area ,Ball Clay from Creech Barrow up to 1970s
a mine existed at the foot and bulldozed in 1981

its a difficult trek to this part of the nature reserve as, even the high ground remains waterlogged due to the clay

The “Royal” Remedy Oak

nobody@flickr.com (Dorsetdunk) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 16:26:40 -0700

Dorsetdunk posted a photo:

common puffball:Lycoperdon perlatum

nobody@flickr.com (Dorsetdunk) — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 16:25:44 -0700

Dorsetdunk posted a photo:

imagined some forest dweller tucked up in there.

woodlands dorset uk

coral spot fungus: Nectria cinnabarina

nobody@flickr.com (Dorsetdunk) — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 05:36:08 -0700

Dorsetdunk posted a photo:

3:1 macro crop , these are really tiny growths but still easily spotted on branches though these did seem unusually bright

Autumn seemed to kick in while we were wandering the damp and murky woods today, the swish of wet leaves underfoot and the vibrant colours of the fallen brought down by chilly little gusts from grey overcast skies created that true autumnal feel,
it made for a great days fungi hunting on the lower slopes of the great woods which are wet and slippery with chalk and loose flints so it pretty tough going, but there is endless photographic opportunities there using the wide angle lens, but will have to return with the macro another day as there was a great deal that i did not get round to photographing

Great Wood east creech isle of purbeck Dorset uk