Clumber Park, Nottinghamshire 15/01/2011.
Members of the Rochdale Field Naturalists’ Society recently travelled to Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire to explore the local wildlife. The park, now owned by the National Trust, was once the seat of the Dukes of Newcastle but the mansion was demolished before the last war (but thankfully leaving some outbuildings which now house an excellent Trust cafe.)
The group started its bird watching in the Pleasure Grounds, an area of magnificent native and exotic trees planted over the last few centuries. It was soon rewarded by the appearance of the star of the show – a Hawfinch, high up in the tree canopy. Its enormous bill, stocky build and white wing-bars made it unmistakable.
As the group moved around the grand Clumber Lake, many other more common woodland birds were spotted, such as Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Longtailed Tit, Goldfinch and Siskin. The bitterly cold weather of early January had left its mark and parts of the lake were still frozen. The expected and usual waterfowl slipped and pottered about, but it was also good to see some Goosander, Shoveler, Ruddy Duck and Pochard. Winter visitors such as Redwing and Fieldfare were about, but search as we could, no Waxwings were spotted. Overhead a hunting Buzzard and Kestrel quartered the wintry fields in search of prey.
Many of the trees within the park are of considerable antiquity, and unsurprisingly a number of these huge giants had fallen. Their majestic remains hosted many species of fungi, and even at this low ebb of the year members found 23 species, as well as two colourful slime moulds. One standing beech held a magnificent crop of Velvet Shank, although most of the fungi found were of the bracket-type which tend to be long-lived throughout the winter, such as Turkey Tail, Smoky Bracket and the lilac-toned Silverleaf fungus. There were also Wrinkled Crust in shades of pink and grey and Jelly Rot which, despite its name, is a rather lovely specimen with a delicate furry cap and salmon-pink pores.
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| Church in Clumber Park | Lunch stop | Mycena arcangelina |
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| Velvet shank (Flammulina velutipes) | Velvet shank (Flammulina velutipes) |
Photographs by Peter Stevens and Steve Pinnington
