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A Fungal Foray led by Dr Eirene Williams
Despite having been postponed twice due to bad weather we had a very good turnout for our Fungal Foray on Sunday afternoon, led by Dr Eirene Williams. Despite the weather being very damp and misty when we arrived, the sun came out about halfway round and it turned into a beautiful, warm autumn afternoon.
We set off from the car park at St Nectan’s Church in Stoke, armed with trays to collect examples of the fungi we encountered on our walk. We covered several different types of habitat including the Churchyard, an old lane between steep banks, a grassy field and deciduous woodland before heading back up alongside another grassy field. Perhaps not surprisingly the sunken lane and particularly the woodland yielded the greatest number and variety of fungi. There were a lot fewer in the field and other open areas, probably down to the dry spell of weather we had had over the previous couple of weeks.
We proceeded in a slightly disorderly fashion, with some people intrepidly exploring at a distance from the main group, climbing up and down steep slopes to reach particularly interesting-looking fungi while others kept fairly close together. Eirene was kept very busy both searching for and pointing out fungi as we walked and also identifying the various specimens that other people had found. Fortunately, we all managed to get back to the churchyard at the end with our finds, and Eirene did not need to blow her whistle once!
We then proceeded to lay out all the samples we had collected on a couple of tables, divided into 2 main groups of gilled and non-gilled fungi and then into various subgroups according to similarity. Eirene named most of them, although there were a few that she took home to investigate further before she could accurately identify them.
Eirene has provided a complete list of all the species we found this time
Clare has added this information to the list from the previous fungal foray in 2023.
These are included below
Bat Detector
**Bat Detector available to loan – Please contact David – admin@hartlandnaturesociety.org.uk**
This Bat Detector converts inaudible high frequency of bats vocal calls to audible lower frequencies in the range of human hearing. The Detector can be set to pick up individual frequencies used by certain species of bats. See Photo.
Easy to use. We will guide you when you borrow the detector
Contact David admin@hartlandnaturesociety.org.uk
SeaWatch 2025
Now you see it, Now you don’t! by Lorna Swan
Wildlife watching can be a fickle experience: you wait patiently for hours and never see the anticipated species of choice, yet other delights do catch the eye, and this has been the case with HNS SeaWatch 2025 – we saw gannets, oystercatchers, herons, red kites… but no cetaceans.
The HNS SeaWatch group that was set up last year has for various reasons been unable to reconvene this year, but still several of us settled into our perches atop various cliffs, monoculars in hand to scour the seascape for sightings. And despite weeks of calm waters and endless horizons, nothing of note breached the surface. However, this information – nothing to report – is as useful to SeaWatch as a sighting of a pod of dolphins heading north-easterly up the Bristol Channel; because it allows them to create a map of what is seen and not seen, where and when. Not seeing any porpoises at Hartland Quay might be because they’re having a feeding frenzy at Spekes Mill Mouth.
At long last, we had one exciting sighting this summer, on 29th September at Eldern Point near Shipload Bay. We’d walked up there to see the fascinating work The National Trust are doing to recreate wetland and meadow habitats – a recommended walk for anyone who has not yet seen what is taking place there. The moment we reached the bench at Eldern Point, we saw a grey seal bobbing around very near to the shore. Result! Then, off in the distance towards Hartland Point we saw a fin breach the surface followed by a shiny black body, and next to it another fin came into view. By the way these creatures swam – not leaping out of the water like a dolphin, but just breaching the surface enough to show their lighter-coloured bellies, we deduced that they were harbour porpoises heading south-westerly.
As we made notes of our sightings, three more fins variously popped out of the water heading north-easterly past Eldern Point towards Beckland Bay, and in their wake, gannets – at least a dozen – diving and wheeling, their black wingtips making them unmistakable. It felt like a blessing to see these creatures.
When we got home, we filled in a form to register our sightings. It’s really easy to do and quite interesting too, as you’re asked various questions such as the sea state, the wind direction, whether there are shipping vessels in the vicinity, whether there’s a glare on the water – and they give plenty of guidance about how to deduce this information. And then you email or post your findings to The SeaWatch Foundation. It’s great to participate in a bit of citizen science and what’s better than sitting on a cliff scanning the sea and hoping it will reveal its mysteries?
To request blank forms, or to send in completed forms, email: formsswf@gmail.com
Our chairperson, Clare Gurton talks to Andrew Cotton about the Hartland Nature Society and how they work with the National Landscape Team.
“When I first decided to set up the Hartland Nature Society, I thought we might perhaps get about 20 people interested to join, but at the launch meeting in January 2023, over 50 people attended, and we now have a membership of around 80 people. Such is the interest in nature in this small Parish.
We were lucky to be able to dovetail with a North Devon Coast National Landscapes project, and they have supported us over the last years. We have grown in numbers and slowly we are having an impact. This video tells the story and shows that a small group of dedicated people can make important changes for nature. I am proud of our members and of our achievements.”
More Information here ->https://hartlandnaturesociety.org.uk/pondnet/
About Us
- The Hartland Nature Society is a small group of like-minded individuals living in the parish of Hartland in Devon
- We are interested in sharing and developing our knowledge of wildlife and the natural environment in the Hartland Peninsula
- We are keen to protect our wildlife and to develop methods to enhance and encourage more wildlife
- We have a full calendar of activities from talks to surveys and regular nature walks.
For more upcoming events click here ~Events
HNS now has a trail camera available to borrow
This can be placed in your garden to capture videos and photos of anything that moves, day or night, so you can see what passes through – foxes, badgers, hedgehogs etc..
An instruction manual and additional notes on usage will be provided.
If you are interested in borrowing it please contact David Warnes at admin@hartlandnaturesociety.org.uk
The importance of hedgehog monitoring
Sadly, hedgehog numbers have declined drastically over the past 20 years, and we’ve lost a third of our hedgehogs in the UK. By monitoring hedgehogs, you can contribute to their conservation, gather data for scientific research, and gain a deeper appreciation for these remarkable creatures.
If you want to find out more, or join us, please email
