A last look at the Oak and Ash trees in front of the 3rd tee Green before they are felled next week..
Quite a lot of different fungi around the course at the moment. These rather odd looking things are Spiny Puffballs - growing to the left of the 4th green on the Red.
Spiny Puffball Lycoperdon echinatum [4th Red]
There are some very large mushrooms to the left of the 14th on the Red, which I think are Horse Mushrooms.
Horse Mushroom Agaricus arvensis [14th Red]
On the 5th Red I found these, which I think are Common Inkcaps:
Common Inkcaps Coprinopsis atramentaria [5th Red]
There are three species of comfrey in flower on the courses at the moment. Common Comfrey is found on the 3rd and 4th of the Blue. It's flowers vary in colour, but the leaves have broad wings where they meet the stem.
Common Comfrey Symphytum officinale [4th Blue]
The other 2 species on Boundary Fen, to the left of the 13th/14th on the Red. White Comfrey has pure white flowers and has a few patches here. Russian Comfrey grows just behind the 14th tee, is more roughly hairy and typically has pink or purplish flowers.
Had a walk around the Blue and Red first thing. The Gadwalls had temporarily moved from the reservoir to the pond on the 3rd of the Blue - this is the male.
Gadwall [3rd Blue]
There were plenty of Mallards about on the 4th and 5th fairways. I often see this male, which is a Mallard, but with rather aberrant plumage, although it doesn't look to have stopped him finding a mate:
Mallards [5th Blue]
There were plenty of Blackcaps singing. This one was behind the 6th tee on the Blue:
Around the reservoir, the Common Sandpiper seems to be a fixture now:
Common Sandpiper [Reservoir]
There were also some House Martins along with the Swallows. These are the first that I have seen this year - notice the shorter tail and White Rump.
House Martins (Reservoir)
I walked around Boundary Fen, which is the marshy area to the left of the 13th on the Red which has been worked on by Abingdon Green Gym over lockdown. I couldn't see too many new flowers there, but there was some White Comfrey behind the 14th tee.
White Comfrey Symphytum orientale [14th Red]
The small wood to the left of the 13th tee is full of Yellow Archangel, a rather attractive flower with variegated leaves, as well as Stinging Nettles - so don't go in wearing shorts.
Finally I called in at the Doghouse range to scan the short grass for anything unusual. I managed to spot Subterranean Clover, which is quite rare, particularly away from the sea and one of the specialty of the estate. It gets its name from the way that it's fruits bury themselves underground, planting themselves. It is a tiny plant - I put a tee in the picture to give an idea of scale:
