Cemetery Wildlife – November 2023

November was very wet and windy, with so much rain that the footpaths throughout the cemetery have remained muddy all month.  A lot of the time it was quite mild, but the month ended with two cold, sub-zero frosty days.  One of those might have included a light dusting of snow overnight, but the next morning it just looked like a very heavy frost. On the final day of the month there were some light falls of hail and snow.  The ground didn’t freeze though, so the cemetery wildlife had no trouble finding food and water.

Birds

There were decent numbers of the regular small birds around.  It seems to have been a good year for them, especially the chaffinches, great tits and blue tits.

A great tit looking for insects on the bark of a tree branch
Great tit looking for insects behind the bark. Note the jelly fungi towards the bottom of the branch.

I also started seeing a pair of coal tits almost every day.  It’s great to see them back in the cemetery.  They’re just slightly smaller than blue tits.

Two photos, one showing a blue tit and the other showing a coal tit
Blue tit (left) and coal tit

I’ve also seen Goldfinches regularly too.  This is a bird than can occur in large flocks, but the most I’ve seen together in the cemetery has been four or five.

A goldfinch perched on a branch in the cemetery
Goldfinch. The males and females are difficult to tell apart – the difference lies in the amount of red above the eye. As the red extends a way back, this is probably a male. 

I’ve also seen quite a few wrens in the cemetery.  These tiny birds move so quickly, and usually disappear into the ivy on the trees, that they can be quite a challenge to photograph.  And sometimes I only hear them, as they have quite a loud and distinctive call.

A wren on a log
Wren in the Quaker Burial Ground

An even louder bird is the carrion crow.  But they’re usually very easy to spot!

A carrion crow high up in the branches
Carrion Crow

Whilst I don’t have anything rare or unusual to report, I did catch a very brief glimpse of a pair of bullfinches.  I also caught a quick glimpse of a goldcrest.

Plants

There were very few plants in flower this month. The most distinctive of those in flower was the musk mallow, growing on the grass verge alongside Spring Bank West.  New flowers were still opening late in the month, although the frost might now have finished them off.

Two photos showing the pink flowers of the musk mallow - one before the frost and the other after it
Musk mallow before and after a heavy frost

A few dandelions were in flower but they might fare a bit better in the frost.

A frost-covered partially opened dandelion
Dandelion after a heavy frost

Trees

It has been quite windy this month and a number of branches, some of them quite large, have fallen from the trees.  But no significant trees were damaged.  Most of the deciduous trees are starting to look very bare now.  However, the leaves that have managed to cling on despite those high winds have now turned to lovely autumnal shades of yellow and orange.

The autumn colours of a beech sapling in the cemetery
Beech sapling (above)
The bright autumn colours of an ash tree in the cemetery
Ash

Fungi

I didn’t find much in the way of mushrooms and other fungi this month which was a bit surprising when I look back on what I saw in the November of previous years.  I didn’t see any of the velvet shank I normally see growing on a particular fallen log. But I saw some candlesnuff and some coral spot, both growing on rotting wood.

Candlesnuff fungus growing on a rotting log
Candlesnuff fungus (above)
Coral spot fungus on a fallen branch in the cemetery
Coral spot

Insects

The smallest branch of the cemetery wildlife has been very quiet this month.  I’ve seen a few flies, hoverflies and ladybirds, but no butterflies.

Conclusion

The last full month of autumn has been a very wet one.  As we head into winter there is still plenty of autumnal colour left, but plenty of greenery too.  We are hoping the Council will give the grass verge alongside Spring Bank West one last cut for the season. This is because lots of new thistles have already started to grow there and these could stifle the growth of the spring flowers that are essential sources of nectar for early insects such as butterflies, some of which can appear as early as February.

A squirrel in a tree, looking directly at the camera
Your squirrel of the month. See you next time!