We parked in our favourite place at Littleferry this morning, with the main basin of Loch Fleet away to the right of this picture and Ferry Woods, through which we walk to reach the beach, to the left - and immediately noticed the profusion of fungi along the grass verge. A quick walk around produced a total of thirteen different fungi species and one orange mould within 25 metres of the car, the most prolific of the fungi being....
....the chanterelles - or are they. false chanterelles? - of which we could have picked enough for a feast for six in a few minutes. I just wish we could be certain of the identification: we were fairly sure these were true chanterelles but not sufficiently so to try them.
At the end of the walk Mrs MW described it a 'fungus walk' - which it was, because everywhere we looked there were masses of fungi, including these ones in the forestry - I think they're pinewood ginger tails - and these in....
....an adjoining field.
This was probably the day's most interesting find as it's the first time we've seen anything like it. While it could be the snowy ink cap, I think it's more likely to be the shaggy inkcap, Coprinus comatus, which commonly grows on meadow grassland.
By the time we'd fought our way through the fungi and reached the beach the day, which had been forecast to be bright and reasonably dry, had turned miserable and the wind had risen to force four or so - quite positive in some ways as we had the beach to ourselves with not a human in sight but, sadly, also very little in the way of bird life.
The entrance to Loch Fleet was almost equally deserted of birds, just a few eider, a cormorant or two, some oystercatchers and a selection of gulls and crows, and when we reurned to the car and looked at the....
....inner basin of Loch Fleet it was almost deserted of wildlife. Anyone visiting the reserve's bird hide - at right in the picture - would have had the pleasure of watching a few crows and gulls.
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