I visited the new part of this estate on 19th and 20th July. This visit covered the older part of the woodland.
Dull with a few heavy showers.
Nipplewort is found just at the edge of the woodland. Flowers about 12mm across.
The woodland has stacks of logs left lying in various parts of the wood. This is excellent habitat for beetles and fungi. A few flies basked in the sunlight where it filtered through the canopy.
This fly has a remarkably large thorax for its size.
The Enchanters Nightshade has now mostly gone to seed. Magnification shows that the seeds are covered in tiny hooks which aid dispersal via clothes and animals.
A little cluster of Mycena pura drew me into a very dark glade in the wood, revealing.....
The killing post of some bird of prey. All of the victims appear to be birds, and some of the feathers are quite large. Maybe a Sparrowhawk. The place was buzzing with flies and the branch is covered in bones and other debris. That looks like a beak in the centre.
As I was taking the shots of the killing post, I looked down to see an enormous hoard of nuts and seeds. Hazels, Cherry stones and Acorns are obvious. This was only a very small part of the hoard that was tucked in under the killing post. The feeding signs are those of a smaller mammal, such as a mouse or vole. Research ongoing.
Lycoperdon perlatum was frequent along the edge of the path.
This specimen of Ganoderma was high over my head on an old Beech.