
It was a beautiful wintry morning today with the warm sunshine sparkling over the frost that had covered the vegetation in crystals. The heavy rains meant the footbridge and Weir bridge were impassable with the water levels way over the river banks, and the flow of water over the Waterfall was impressive.

The Waterfall
6 Goldcrests were calling and singing along Laurel Walk, a Treecreeper was in the Holm Oak by the Old Burning Yard, 4 Great Spotted Woodpeckers were heard calling, 2 Skylark were seen flying over, several Siskin could be heard calling from along the Len Valley and in the wood at the foot of Jenner’s Bank, a party of Jackdaw were feeding on the grass bank north of the River Len, 5 Bullfinch were noted during the morning – with 3 birds giving great views in Ivy by the Waterfall – at least 16 Redwing passed through the park, 2 Jay were seen by the Pond opposite the Waterfall, and is nice to hear Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush and Nuthatch singing.
A Grey Wagtail flew over the River Len, and a Cormorant was perched on the island next to the Weir Bridge. The Lake was very quiet bird-wise; however the diving duck numbers continue to increase, with 10 Pochards and 14 Tufted Duck rafting together on the centre of the Lake, 3 Little Grebes were seen, and 2 Mute Swans were present. The gull flock consisted of at least 40 Black-headed Gulls, 11 Common Gulls, and 1 winter-plumaged Mediterranean Gull.

Mediterranean Gull
(Black-headed Gull behind)
A Shrew was heard by the Marsh area, and on Jenner’s Bank the below fungi were seen:
Otidia alutacea
Pholiota squarrosa

A closer view - to me, this fungus always looks as if it has had grated cheese melted on top.