What a magnificent slime mould

Rectory Wood and Field - Wednesday 13th July

The words of the title are not words that I could have imagined being associated with each other. You will have to wait to see if they are justified!

Nine of us gathered in the sunshine at the car park off Cunnery Road in Church Stretton at the southern end of Rectory Field. Our host for the day explained that Shropshire County Council had handed over the land to Church Stretton Town Council to look after. An "interest" group had been formed to produce a management plan for the site. This had now been prepared and presented. The group welcomed any records we could make during the day.

I had visited the field for bioblitzes in the past but never made it past the edge of the wood so my initial interest was to walk through the wood, then, time permitting, look at the field.

However to get to the wood you have to pass through a bit of the field, so it was a little while before we entered the wood as members of the group split off to pursue their interests as we meandered along. An early find was an adult Red-legged shieldbug.

My interest was taken by the fairly steep climb to the wood entrance in the "top" corner of the field. Thankfully there was a seat where I could pause, take in the view and get my heart rate back to normal whilst waiting for others to catch up.



One of the group arrived clasping a Volucella pellucens which did not fly away immediately, so I was able to get a snapshot.



I mentioned earlier that we met in sunshine. Mmm...

You will note, no doubt, the lack of blue sky in the photograph of the view above.

Yes, grey then black clouds had rolled in and it started to rain!!!!!!!!



We moved rapidly into the woods to seek shelter. 

Over the past few weeks I have begun to learn which trees to seek out to act as an umbrella. The Horse chestnut at Preston Montford was magnificent. The trees in this part of Rectory Wood were rather porous in comparison, but they were better than nothing.

After a while it seemed to ease off so I moved on and was checking out an elm when the rainfall increased. I am not sure which tree I was under this time but it was better than the first, but still not in the Horse chestnut league.

Blue sky was spotted. It must be a clearing-up shower. And the rain stopped. We moved on. Well, some did, others decided to take a coffee break.

Being in a wood various techniques were used to find things of interest. 

My standard techniques are sweeping or beating the branches to see what I can dislodge. 

Others are content to find low branches and turn over the leaves to see what is there. If you are searching an oak you may find the "sputnik" shaped egg sack of the spider Paidiscura pallens. If you are really lucky you will find two egg sacks and the spider.



Some like to make an intensive close up inspection



Whilst others prefer the more laid back approach of a seat and binoculars

 

Yet others go rooting in the ground and unearth such delights as a "Witch's egg" - the initial stage of a Stinkhorn fungus.



And it was using one of these techniques that one of our fungi hunters returned holding a small piece of wood and declared "What a magnificent slime mould". You can be the judge thanks to some excellent camera work (not by me).



I cannot attempt to explain the workings of slime moulds here but it is well worth ferreting around the internet or in books as they are fascinating organisms.

Exhausted by all this activity we lunched.

It rained briefly, the sun returned, we moved on. A large cranefly was spotted sunbathing on some braken - Tipula maxima.



As we approached the end of the wood and the vegetation was opening out a Southern hawker dragonfly appeared.



We reached the end of the wood and paused for a group photograph.



A hoverfly was spotted going about its business on bramble - Xylota segnis, then a second rather more spectacularly marked hoverfly appeared. And posed, so we had to photograph it.



The golden tip to its abdomen is actually hair. This was Xylota sylvarum.

You will note that the sun was shining at this time, but five minutes later it was pouring down. Again we tried various trees for protection but somehow all ended up under an Ash which was a bit like using a sieve for an umbrella.

The rain stopped eventually and we squelched our way back to the car park and headed home.

My thanks to Church Stretton Town Council for giving us permission to do what we enjoy doing and to Bob Kemp for the use of his photographs to supplement my efforts.