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Hazel CatkinsOnly eleven people came on today's trip, a local walk starting at Rodley.Several people came by car.  One participant had withdrawn due to snow in Queensbury and unfortunately Enid, today's walk leader, had to withdraw from this event due to family commitments. Responsibility for leading then fell to a trio of ladies who had recently recced this walk with Enid.

Happily, although cold, Rodley was snow free. Dark clouds did linger, but thankfully the sun shone throughout the day. We set off from Bridge Road, Rodley, crossing the swing bridge to walk alongside the canal towards Calverley. Several swans and cygnets were seen, along with some mallards, canada geese and moorhens. Soon after passing Rodley visitor moorings we turned off the canal path to cross the Packhorse Bridge over the River Aire, where we saw a pair of goosanders. On the far side of the river we took the riverside path heading  towards Newlay. We had to watch our footing in the very muddy conditions.Little fungi was evident, but Veronica shared her growing interest in lichens with the group. We saw some snowdrops in flower.We also saw a couple of male bullfinches. Our path headed away from the river towards the Newlay housing estate. Having walked at an unusually steady pace, we reached our lunchstop near the Abbey Inn quite early before the pub had opened. We ate our packed lunch outside and then had an unhurried drink in the Abbey Inn before heading back along the canal towpath towrds Rodley.We took time to look at the buds, catkins and cones on the trees, including alder and hazel.A flock of long-tailed tits were seen. A tufted duck was spotted on the canal. We arrived back at the starting point around 2pm. Having seen little sun of late, this turned out to be a very pleasant walk. 

Sue

 

 

 

AconitesOnly 8 people were on the minibus for today's trip to Ripley Castle grounds, where we met up with 4 ladies who had travelled by car. When we arrived in Ripley, it was very cold, grey and raining and some people had to be virtually prised out of the minibus. After paying our entrance fees, we set off on the walk around the lake. The groups enthusiasm did grow as we got moving, and there was more to see than we had anticipated. We saw a lot of snowdrops and also a small patch of aconites over the old Ice House. Unfortunately visibility was not good, but the views would be splendid in better weather. Light but steady rain continued throughout much of the morning, and turned sleety for a short time. There were some very interesting,ancient trees including the self-perpetuating beech tree (see the gallery). Some of the oak trees are a thousand years old and are very knarled. On the far side of the lake the path skirted the deer park, where numerous fallow deer could be seen.We probably saw about 10 species of fungi incuding stereum hirsutum, turkeytail and jelly ear. Several species were sited on a single large tree stump which was quite spectacular. On completing the path right round the lake, we stopped for lunch. The clever ones ate in the hothouses. The others didn't discover the hothouses until after they'd eaten. After lunch, we explored the hothouses,walled garden and kitchen garden by which time it was snowing.Only 18 birds were recorded, the highlight being a greater spotted woodpecker on a nut feeder in the kitchen garden.Most people headed for a hot drink in the tearoom before heading back.It had been a good day but bitterly cold and we were all keen to get home and get warm.  

Sue

20 Bees members gathered for the New Year social, a welcome break from the confinement imposed by the severe the winter weather of 2010. The spread was magnificent but seemed to disappear in a flash. One of our founder members Dorothy Jones  was able to be with us. Dorothy went onto be a very worthy joint winner of Alice's cryptic quiz. Margaret presented the review of 2009 together with a new version of the Bees Diary 2009 based on the Bees blog.There was agreement that it had been a successful year with 26 outings, we visited a variety of habitats and sites, also a new minibus had been made available to the group and the Bees blog had been established.Thankyou cards were presented to Joan and the two drivers. Joan outlined sites for possible visits in 2010 and welcomed suggestions from the group. Concerns were raised by some members that due to the popularity of Bees activities it was not possible to join the group in the mini bus. Various suggestions were made but no firm changes agreed. The meeting concluded with two quizes and the group departed around 3 30pm. Margaret

Our Xmas event started at 10 am at the YMCA. Sue showed us some of the superb photos of wild life and scenery she had taken since becoming involved with Bees, a real credit to her and the group.There were insects , butterflies and dragonflies , reptiles lizards and newts, flora , birds to enjoy as well as reminders of the superb scenery and good weather we had experienced on our outings.

Sue's "piece de resistance"which we all admired was her slide show to musical accompaniment - a truly professional presentation.

30 of us then departed in the direction of Queensbury for a festive meal.

Margaret    

We gathered at the YMCA for two superb slide shows. Stuart showed us the slides of the antipodean journey he and Gillian had completed in Feb 2009 visiting Hong Kong , Australia- Sydney and Melbourne then New Zealand both North and South Island and a final call at Singapore on the return journey. For some it was a reminder of destinations visited, for others it was an opportunity to enjoy  their holiday.

Annie showed us slides of the spectacular and colourful people and scenery of Vietnam . There is more to come we have been told, watch this space!

Margaret

BitternStuart and Joan led today's trip to Potteric Carr nature reserve, attended by 17 participants. On arrival, maps of the site were obtained from the visitor centre and distributed amongst the group. Two general camps were then formed - the Birdwatchers and the Fungal Foragers. What a choice! I fell in with the Birdwatchers, eager to see a bittern. The birdwatchers headed to the hides overlooking Decoy Marsh, where we saw teal and shovelers, and we were then afforded good views of two snipe foraging on the edge of an island. We continued on, passing a reedbed, where we heard the distinctive call of a Cetti's warbler. Three of us waited patiently for a sighting of this elusive little bird, but to no avail, and we headed on towards the visitor centre. Our leader had told us it was impossible to get lost here, but we managed the impossible quite easily, and took several wrong turnings. Anyway, it was worth it as we sighted a redwing and we saw some unusual fungi along the way.Arrival at the visitor centre heralded lunch - some had hot food in the cafe, with Shepherds pie being a firm favourite. Others had packed lunches in the hide, where we observed several birds on and around the feeders including reed bunting and jay. After lunch we proceeded to the Piper Marsh hide. We didn't have to wait very long, before a bittern emerged from the reeds on the edge of the island, stalking through the reeds but sometimes coming right out into the open, enabling us to get really good views. This was the highlight of our birding day, which saw us record 43 species.

The Fungal Foragers had intended to explore a certain part of the reserve which was thought to be particularly good for fungi, but they never arrived there as there was so much to see alongside all the paths. Right outside the visitor centre, a destroying angel was seen. Then there were the alien-like earth stars and the golden spindles, and so it continued.... Particular highlights were the panther cap, amanita pantherina and the caterpillar fungus, cordyceps militaris, which parasitises insects.32 flowering plants and ferns were recorded. 

It was a cold and dull day, but it had stayed dry and both the Bird Watchers and the Fungal Foragers returned home with smiles on their faces, even though we had only explored a fraction of this wonderful nature reserve. 

Sue

 

Spot Fungus?Pennine mist greeted the 15 members of our group today when we arrived at Hardcastle Crags to enjoy a mild autumnal fungi foray in millstone grit country.  The mist evaporated as the day progressed and we had fine cloudy weather for our visit.  The identification of the variety of fungi and ferns distracted us to the extent that it took two hours to meander the 1.5 miles to Gibson Mill, the National Trust's flagship sustainable property, where we enjoyed our lunch and a look round the mill.  An almost equally slow return to the minibus completed our day during which we recorded 35 species of fungi, 11 ferns and not a great number of birds.  Number 1 in the fungi hit parade was Grisette (Amarita vaginata) which was followed in second place for most of the day by Jelly Babies (Leotica lubrica) but this species was relegated to number 3 late in the day by White Saddle (Helvella crispa) - a first sighting for Joan, in itself a remarkable occurrance!  The diversity of habitat - oak/beech/pine - was matched by the diversity in the knowledge of the members of our group as the experts discussed the finer points of identification whilst the novices tried to get to grips with the difference between the various species of fern. It wasn't a good day for the birders, but we did manage to record nuthatch, goldcrest, dipper and redwing in our total during another enjoyable day which was very ably led by Joan, Veronica and Eric. 

Stuart

Robin14 of us participated in today's trip, led by Joan, to the Waters Edge Country Park, situated to the north of Barton-on-Humber on the edge of the Humber estuary. On arrival we headed for the futuristic looking, eco-friendly visitor centre where the toilets are flushed using rainwater. We picked up leaflets with maps of various walks around this extensive country park with various wetland habitats. Most of us set out to follow the wetland and woodland trails. The path started on the banks of the Humber with spectacular views of the Humber Bridge. The sun was shining and there was barely a breeze. We saw occasional redshanks, then a few more. As we ventured further we saw more and more waders - blacktailed godwit, dunlin, turnstones and ringed plovers. A solitary heron stood on the waters edge.We were fortunate to have John and Carol with us. Without them we would have struggled to identify the numerous waders. We stopped for lunch on the banks of the Humber beside a rusted shell of a boat lodged in the mudflats. To the right of us were numerous lapwing. Following lunch we continued on our way, but the map was proving useless. It was so basic with no landmarks that we couldn't navigate the trail. Even though we couldn't find the route, we still had an enjoyable walk. The paths took us alongside little lakes and ponds. We saw an occasional butterfly and dragonfly. Over 50 bird species were recorded including ruddy duck, shoveller, bullfinch, siskin, willow tit and coal tit. A greater spotted woodpecker was seen on a peanut feeder, and a whooper swan was seen in flight. We recorded 44 plants in flower, including creeping thistle, purple toadflax and bristly ox-tongue.That seems quite amazing for the middle of October! Before heading back for home, most of us got a hot drink in the cafe. Whilst sat outside looking over the pond, we saw a kestrel fly low overhead. This was a gorgeous day out in a beautiful place, much of it still unexplored. Maybe we need to come back sometime......

Sue

Veronica Entrances Her AudienceIn the absence of Joan, nursing a sick husband (and we all wish Barrie a speedy recovery), Annie assumed full responsibility for today's trip back to Leeds and she was able to use her local knowledge of the site for our benefit.  17 members and one guest from Portugal, Rachel, who is doing a 10 month voluntary placement with BEES, enjoyed a varied day out in cloudy but dry weather with autumn tints adding to our enjoyment of this quite extensive area.

There was some early discussion regarding whether we were looking at a swamp cypress (taxodium distichum) or a dawn redwood (metasequoia glyptostoboides). The discussion was instigated by Amanda who likes the sound of the latin name for the redwood but wasn't really necessary as we found a label on the tree confirming that it was indeed a swamp cypress - Donald 1 Amanda 0!

Veronica then led part of the group on a fungi foray and indentified 25 species for us which included dead man's fingers, artist's fungus, horse's hoof fungus, beefsteak fungus and blushing bracket.  Alice did a flower list which contained the surprising number of 46 plants in flower.  We didn't see a great variety of birds, but we did record great spotted woodpecker, heron, nuthatch, jay, long-taied tit and red kite along with the resident water birds on the lake and ponds. Back in the environs of the cafe we were delighted to see red admiral, comma and painted lady(?) butterflies.  Some members made the additional trip to nearby Breary Marsh but did not record anything out of the ordinary.

Another very pleasant BEES outing which once again visited a local site and thus maintained our very small carbon footprint!

Stuart

 

 

 

Blushing Bracket FungusToday's trip took us to the far flung destination of Roundhay Park, Leeds. Several participants came in their own cars and met up with the minibus for this outing organised by Margaret and Joan. It was lovely to see Margaret on her first BEES day out for several months. Having been pointed in the direction of the visitor centre where we could get maps of the park, and purchase information about various trails, we were left to explore the park as we wished. A group of us chose to follow the ecology trail. The route commenced by skirting the smaller upper lake, and continued on woodland paths passing through the ravine and the castle ruins. Our initial frequent reference to the ecology trail leaflet tailed off and the walk became more of a fungal foray. We found numerous delightful specimens including deer cap, king alfreds cakes, fairys bonnets, dryads saddle, birch polypor, turkey tail, oyster mushrooms and hairy bracket, but the most striking fungi were the blushing brackets. Several branches were strewn on the woodland floor, and the brackets were laid on top of these branches like plates on a table. (See the gallery.) The beefsteak fungus was also quite impressive. The path continued around the large Waterloo lake, where we saw coots, canada geese, tufted duck, great crested grebe and black headed gulls. There was no formal recording of plants or birds. Four species of butterfly were sighted. We stopped for lunch near the waterside cafe. Early cloud was increasingly giving way to sunshine, but there was a definite autumnal feel to the day, and we felt its chill, so we called in to the cafe for a hot drink.  After lunch the group became more dispersed, but most of us ventured down to the monet, alhambra and canal gardens. Unfortunately the fountains in the alhambra garden were out of action due to maintenance. Although late in the season, the gardens were still very colourful and there was much to enjoy. Although this park is very familiar, it was still a joy to visit it, and after the minibus departed I took another stroll around both lakes and was rewarded with cracking views of a nuthatch. Even local, familiar places can yield fresh treasures.

Sue