Salisbury - New Forest walk - Nov 23rd 2011

We went in search of Great Grey Shrike around the Pitt's Wood / Godshill area of the New Forest and found none! We did see Great-spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Long-tailed Tit flocks and some beautiful Bullfinches.

We aslo found this 'Fairy Ring'



A fairy ring, also known as fairy circle, elf circle, elf ring or pixie ring, is a naturally occurring ring or arc of mushrooms. The rings may grow to over 10 metres (33 ft) in diameter, and they become stable over time as the fungus grows and seeks food underground. They are found mainly in forested areas, but also appear in grasslands or rangelands. Fairy rings are detectable by sporocarps in rings or arcs, as well as by a necrotic zone (dead grass), or a ring of dark green grass. If these manifestations are visible a fairy fungus mycelium is likely to be present in the ring or arc underneath.

Fairy rings also occupy a prominent place in European folklore as the location of gateways into elfin kingdoms, or places where elves gather and dance. According to the folklore, a fairy ring appears when a fairy, pixie, or elf appears. It will disappear without trace in less than five days, but if an observer waits for the elf to return to the ring, he may be able to capture it.

There are two theories regarding the process involved in creating fairy rings. One states that the fairy ring is begun by a spore from the sporocarpus. The underground presence of the fungus can also cause withering or varying colour or growth of the grass above. Mushrooms, the fruiting bodies of fungi that poke their heads up out of the soil after rainstorms, tell only part of the fungi's story. Hidden in the soil is a huge network of threadlike mycelia. Mushrooms are not individual organisms. Rather, they are just one part of the mycelia lurking beneath the ground.[2]

The second theory, which is presented in the investigations of Japanese scientists on the Tricholoma matsutake species, shows that fairy rings could be established by connecting neighbouring oval genets of these mushrooms. If they make an arc or a ring, they continuously grow about the centre of this object.


WE ARE STAYING WITH FRIENDS, DEBBIE AND NICK, NEAR SALISBURY,THIS MORNING I OPENED THE CURTAINS TO VIEW THE GARDEN AND SAW TWO ROE DEER JUST BELOW ME, HOW COOL IS THAT?


TOMORROW (25TH) WE ARE OFF TO HEATHROW - THEN NEW YORK FOR 7 DAYS.