highlights of another slow wildlife weekend

A single chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita heard calling, then seen in the tamarisk Tamarix aphylla at Southsea Rock Gardens pm

In the garden a scarlet pimpernel Anagallis arvensis displaying both a single withered flower and an optimistic new bud.

The fungi which reached a peak count of 18 by mid week, continues to defy positiive ID confirmation due to a severe lack of fungi field skills (poss. Galerina mycenopsis). Some individual fruit bodies have reached widths of up to 20mm, but most have remained below 5mm in width - these smaller caps are now shrivelled - although new fruiting bodies are still appearing at the soil surface.

Time for real wildlife experience seems meagre at the start of this college term.