As I said yesterday, there wasn't really a great deal of wildlife to see at RSPB Fairburn Ings, certainly not without a telescope, even though I enjoyed the walk and the general views. There was some neon yellow lichen on some of the little shrubs. They do say lichen is a sign of healthy air and, if so, that does indicate quite graphically how far this former industrial area has come in the last 50 years or so.
Lichens are a lot more interesting than they look. They are actually two organisms living together - a fungus and an alga existing in symbiosis. This yellow one seems to be a form of Xanthoria. That's as much as I know. I once had a learned friend who was a lichen expert and even had a few named after him. (He went on to become a vicar, which was a sad loss for the lichen world and a great gain for the CofE!)
As for birds, there were numbers of ducks - tufted, pochard, shelduck and probably others; moorhens and coots; cormorants; mute swans; geese; lapwings; some waders (too far away to identify); black-headed and herring gulls; magpies; crows; and a red kite. I also saw a little egret and a little grebe, on the dyke beyond the 'kingfisher screen'... though no kingfisher apparent. On my way out the little egret was hiding, but was a little more visible on my way back.
Lichens are fascinating, as are mosses and many more of the often overlooked organisms around us.
ReplyDeleteThe egret looks cold.
I thought that was Forsythia at first.
ReplyDeleteGreat to see a colorful lichen...busy doing whatever they do! Happy international bird day...you showed a good one!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the contemplative egret!
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