Local wander

A superbly clear and sharp morning was too good to miss, so I was out before 8.30. A common buzzard and 2 little owls were seen within 100 yards of the house. A good start. Later 2 goldcrests were found along a footpath along with greenfinch, nuthatch, fieldfare and redwing. A check of some conifers for a possible firecrest didn't give up anything but another half mile or so found me going through a large flock of small warblers. Sadly, all were goldcrests. A kestrel was seen over the golf course and then, as I was listening to skylarks, I heard a meadow pipit call. Photo 1 and 2. A seldom seen bird for the parish. Almost immediately, my eyes were drawn to 3 gulls sitting on the fairway. Common gulls, again, an irregular Little Hadham visitor. (Photos 3 and 4.) A great spotted woodpecker was found in a small coppice (photo 5 and 6.) A male, diagnostic feature being the red on the back of the neck. Photo 7 is a view looking south west from the highpoint of the golf course.
A few fungi were found. Photo 8 could be orange scale head. This is a hallucinagenic mushroom, called big laughing gym in Japan. However, it could be Marginate pixy cap, a deadly poisonous mushroom! The other fungi is an unidentified bracket fungus.
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