Ash dieback work in the woods...

On a visit to Comfort's Wood today it was obvious that Woodland Trust have been busy felling trees affected by Ash dieback (Hymenoscyphus fraxineus)...

If you'd like some information on this disease, there's plenty on the WOODLAND TRUST website.

Despite the devastation caused to the woods by the disease and associated  work, there are now signs of spring too..

It's really sad to see the woods looking like this but the trust plan to replant native species in time...

Finally, I found some less troublesome fungi...

The woods are still very wet at this time of year and the recent increase in footfall  has contributed to the muddy areas, especially at the Swattenden Lane entrance.

One final note: I have been seeing an ever increasing amount of litter in the woods, again, mainly from the Swattenden Lane entrance. Drinks bottles and cartons, tissues, empty pill bottles and even discarded tents! 

Another spring is here...

Every year is different in Comfort's Wood. This selection of wild flowers that I photographed on May 1st this year, is remarkably similar to those I pictured in 2017; but those were shot on 27th March. It's hard to say for certain whether spring is later this year, but some of the insect finds I have made are definitely later than most other years.

Interestingly, I noticed this plant (pictured below) on my walk and in all my years of walking these woods, I don't think I have seen it before. Perhaps I have but just overlooked it. I think this is Portugal Laurel: possibly originally planted as hedging? 

Even though the oak leaves are only just appearing, there are already lots of galls...

I'm not sure if these are oak apples or artichoke galls...

A day later I walked the woods again; this time looking for bugs and insects. Here are just a few of the subjects I found...

Erannis defoliaria-A Mottled Umber larva (Geometridae)

Misumena-vatia- A Crab Spider (Araneae)

I think this female spider may be about to lay eggs; she looks pretty gravid in this next photograph...

Unknown moth larva

Curculio glandium (An Acorn Weevil) female

A Cream-spot Ladybird (Calvia quattuordecimguttata)

The Beast from The East inhabits the woods...

2018 has got off to an interesting start regards the weather. Here we are just into March and we have been told that we have just had the coldest recorded March day.....EVER!

Right across the press and media were reports of The Beast from The East...

On Wednesday February 27th I decided to pay a visit to Comfort's Wood to see how things were looking, and sure enough, the beast was inhabiting these woods too...

I apologise for the amount of snow photographs that follow, but it doesn't happen too often and I wanted to record it as best I could...

As I write it is now March 3rd and we have had quite a thaw locally today. I am hopeful that winter has had its last hoorah and we can now move on to springtime in the woods...

The first sunrise of a new year in Comfort's Wood

After the coldest night of the year, when temperatures across the UK fell to minus 13 degrees, these few snaps are how Comfort's Wood looked the following afternoon...