On Wednesday Tony Leech, Norfolk's fungi county recorder, spent a few hours on the Point with us. We recorded a variety of different species of varying size, shape and colour...
Dune Waxcap - there are a number of these on the Point, including some near the boardwalk. The bright red cap stands out amongst surrounding vegetation.
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We found a small number of Dune Stinkhorns - the caps are initially covered with a smelly coating that attracts insects, which distribute its spores. Dune Stinkhorn is however not as stinky as other stinkhorns.
Amongst the sand there were a number of Agaricus devoniensis, the 'sand dune mushroom'.
One of the most abundant species we encountered was the False Chanterelle.
Whilst looking at fungi, we stumbled across a very late Red Admiral butterfly near the Plantation, and also a Goldcrest.
Goldcrest in the pine
On Monday there was a big arrival of thrushes. It was wonderful to witness migration in action. Throughout the day a total of 2740 Blackbirds flew in off the sea, most of them didn't land but continued flying onto the mainland, by midday Blakeney's bushes were buzzing with Blackbirds. Some 520 Fieldfares, 226 Song Thrushes and 380 Redwings were also recorded on the Point as well as 500 Starlings and 262 Lapwings. Monday also saw the arrival of three Goldeneyes, the first record for this winter.
Throughout the course of the week, Grey Seal pup numbers more than trebled:
Date
|
Number of pups
|
Monday 11th of
November
|
109
|
Tuesday 12th of
November
|
126
|
Wednesday 13th of
November
|
202
|
Thursday 14th of
November
|
236
|
Friday 15th of
November
|
282
|
Saturday 16th of
November
|
331
|
Sunday 17th of
November
|
370
|
The seals have spread much further east and so have our access restrictions. Please respect all signage and fencelines. The best place for walkers to see seals is the end of the boardwalk, but please do not cross the fenceline to prevent disturbing the seals and putting yourself at risk.
Thank you,
Ajay and Paul
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