There be Dragons !

One of the tree stumps left by the Woodsmen has been turned into a dragon.

The Sculptor, Steve Iredale, has made an excellent small dragon that has proved a great hit with everyone I've talked to down at the Dell.
It has been such a talking point that the dog walkers from the Dell Park have been coming down to the beck walks to view it.

There was a very hard frost this morning which left the top lake frozen.

A Great Spotted Woodpecker could be heard hammering very loud over on the west side of the lower lake, a scan of the beech trees found it at the top of a well holed thick branch.

These Beeches are a favourite for our woodpeckers in the Dell and are where you are most likely to see them, this one was a male ( red on back of head )

There are a lot of buds on the trees and the catkins are well developed on the Hazel and Alder and lots of birds are singing, is spring here ? is it earlier this year ?

Friday 20th January

More work going on down at the Dell. The Woodsmen are back, this time with two horses to help. The new horse is Painter and along with Tyne they set to work clearing out more logs and brush.

It seems like the birds are getting ready for spring, there are lots of Great Tits and Robins singing and they all look very clean and bright coloured.

Earlier this week we invited the Fieldfare Trust to come along to the Dell and compile a report to help us with our declared aim of access to the Dell for everyone. He is looking at paths, bridges and steps with a view to increase accessibility.

You can see what they are all about at :- www.fieldfare.org.uk

Fungi

Well, I've been so busy I've not been down to Fairy Dell until today. Others in the group had met there some days ago and had done another litter pick, clearing the other parts we missed on the first pick.

The kingfisher was at it's usual spot behind the bottom lake island. Plenty of birds singing, Blue Tits and Great Tits in the main.

Noticed an unusual fungus on a branch near the lake side, looking in my reference book, it is a Yellow Brain !


Another fungus that is about a lot at this time of year is the Velvet Shank. Here is another picture I took in the Dell of this type.