Waxwing

Waxwing
"To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour."

From "Auguries of Innocence"

by William Blake

Wednesday 24 November 2010

Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens in Autumn Sunshine

I popped along to Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens yesterday for an hour. Although it was very cold it was a beautiful sunny day with clear blue skies.

I was hoping that

Windfall apples/pears + berries = winter thrushes (possible) + waxwings (remote possibility!)

Well, there were certainly plenty of apples



and berries



and something had been feeding on the apples



but sadly I didn't see any redwings or fieldfares and, of course, there was not a waxwing in sight!

I'm always surprised not to see more bird species here. Today's sightings were wood pigeons, carrion crows, magpies, dunnocks, blackbirds, great and blue tits and robins.

I found a few species of fungi in the small copse that contains a pond and a "stumpery".

I haven't tried to identify the white fungi but, looking at a fungi id guide, I think the very pretty toadstools in the third photo below may be Clustered Bonnet (Mycena inclinata). Please correct me if I'm wrong.







Most of the deciduous trees have lost their leaves





but there are still a few shrubs and trees with some autumn colour.





And I found a few flowers still lingering on.







It was a lovely walk in these tranquil, peaceful gardens and there's a few more photos below from my visit.















4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Lovely photos again, Caroline. Sorry, but can`t help with the fungi identities.

Ragged Robin said...

Thanks for the kind comment re: the photos,Dean. Not to worry about the fungi id - I will try and take the id guide next time I visit!

The Quacks of Life said...

nice pics. very different today

waxwings in sollihull today!!

Ragged Robin said...

Thanks Pete. Yes, there's a sprinkling of snow here today.
Waxwings in Solihull - eek!!! Just checked a bird forum and there's a report near the town centre - I've just volunteered to give son a lift to work in Solihull on Monday :D