Water voles 2013

A recent report by the Environment Agency and the Wildlife Trusts have indicated that the UK water vole population has decline by 20% this year:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-23975749

It certain matches what has been happening on the Ock, having done six water vole surveys this year (three on the Ock in Abingdon and three on Nor Brook to the west of Marcham Mill) there have been no positive signs of water voles -  latrines or sightings.

Also, with regular trips down to the river there have been significantly fewer sightings in 2013 when compared to previous years - as illustrated in the chart below.

.
When in 2011 & 2012 there were multiple sightings during 2011 & 2012, I have only had 5 sightings this year and most of those were on the Lower Ock, such as this one taken back in April:
.

.
There are several possible explanations for this:

• Small mammal populations fluctuate and this could just be part of the natural population cycle (and 2011 could have been a population boom).
• The bad winter and the poor spring could have hindered the breeding season, possibly unlikely as other water vole populations in the area are doing very well.
• Despite control up stream a breeding population of mink could have established itself along the Ock.
• Or just plain bad luck, maybe the population of the Ock has not changed, but I have just been unfortunate with sightings this year (and this is far from a scientific study).

It is difficult to draw any conclusion from just one year, but as water voles (like most small mammals) are prolific breeders hopefully the population will re-establish itself next year.
If not, then there could be something seriously wrong with the river, especially as Abingdon and the Ock are important locations for an animal which has had a torrid time in recent years.

UK Fungus Day

Sunday (13th October) was the first UK Fungus Day.  An idea by British Mycological Society and other groups,  the idea being to raise the profile of fungal related research in the UK and to highlight the importance of fungi within the UK environment.

Unfortunately, Sunday was too wet to get out and investigate the local fungus, however the excellent (so far) autumn has given the opportunity to explore two of UK's most important and interesting fungal sites:

Previously mentioned in this blog, Burnham Beeches is a 500 acre beech woodland just north of Slough and the quantity and rarity of it's fungus has made it an Special Area of Conservation and a National Nature Reserve.

There are over 250 different species of fungus found at the beeches including:

The pale oyster mushroom - Pleurotus ostreatus:

.

The Bitter Beech Bolete – Boletus calopus:

.

.
The elegant Porcelain Fungus - Oudemansiella mucida
.

.

And the very impressive Giant Polypore – Merupilus giganteus  

.

.

The New Forest has a staggering 2,500 different species of fungi and within a few square metres there is an impressive variety, including what is probably the most easy to identify UK fungus, the Fly Agaric (Amanita muscaria):

.

.
However, the less distinctively coloured fungus are a lot harder to identify - this could be a Grey Spotted Amanita (Aminita excelasa):
.

.

Whilst this one might also be another Grey Spotted Amanita, a Blusher (Amanita rubescens) or perhaps a faded Fly Algaric.

.

.
Now foraging has become evermore popular, large scale harvesting fungus has become a real problem, the Corporation of London (the authority who manage Burnham Beeches) has a complete non-fungus picking policy:
http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/things-to-do/green-spaces/burnham-beeches-and-stoke-common/Documents/Burnham-beeches-fungi-policy.pdf

Whilst the Forestry Commission (who manage the New Forest) permit collecting of up to 1.5Kg of fungus, commercial harvesting is not permitted and in several locations it is banned altogether:
http://www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-6e3gaz

In order to comply with the by-laws and not wishing to disturb the fruiting bodies, none has been picked  and all identification has been done via photography and  using the field guides: Roger Phillips Mushrooms & Collins Complete Guide to British Mushrooms and Toadstools 
As identifying fungus is hard, these identifications maybe incorrect - so comments and corrections are always welcome.