Sunday book review: Pan-species Listing by @graemelyons.bsky.social Publisher: @pelagic.bsky.social Review: markavery.info/2026/01/04/s... "Hardly anyone has the knowledge to write this book & even fewer could write it so well!"

#Lichen Rhizoplaca subdisrepens. NWT, Canada. The lichen is about 4cm left to right. #fungi #fungifriends

Out near Haweswater today, an ash tree still has existing Lobaria pulmonaria thalli, much the same size as 2020, but the Peltigera hortizontalis lichen has expanded greatly since then. Unfortunately the ash won't survive forever. #LichenGBI

It was actually a bit warmer on the coast today than it was a few miles inland, but still gloriously harsh with a penetrating wind. Cley beach was superb, a single confiding snow bunting was appropriate.

Passing time on NYE mapping Suffolk churchyards with known or potential #lichen interest. Over 450 churchyards have records, thanks mainly to decades of work by Chris Hitch, my predecessor as County Lichen Recorder. Hope to have even fraction of his success with ~130 churchyards yet to be surveyed!

What a way to start the year on my local patch. Landed on the beach for a few minutes then flew off west.

The post immediately before yours on my timeline made me think "oooh, interesting cocktail glass Rob has there" 😆

2025 was a dry year at Yaxley Acres, with a total of 561mm rain, compared with the 30yr average of 660mm, and totals of 886mm in 2024 and 850mm in 2023. Wettest single day was this one on 15th November. #fact

Some of the 2025 lichen highlights for me. Lichenomphalia hudsoniana, Roydon Common (1st VC28); Placynthiella oligotropha, Roydon Common (1st VC28); Usnea esperantiana, Ling Common (1st Norfolk); and Bacidina caerulea, Hull Wood (1st Norfolk).

Please lichen subscribe

Holkham NNR was pleasant today.

Details have been confirmed for our next outdoor event - a walk at Holkham looking at lichens led by county recorder @robyaxley.bsky.social on Sat 10th Jan 2026, at 10:30. The meeting point is at maps.app.goo.gl/3PE3QESACzm9... Anyone with an interest in lichens is welcome (free, no booking needed).

Another beautiful Cladonia #lichen. #Newfoundland, Canada. #fungi #fungifriends #moss

A trio of lichens from Marsham Heath - Cladonia polydactyla with tiny red fruits; concentric circles of Rhizocarpon reductum discs on a flint; and what I think is Bacidina delicata on a rabbit bone.

Whereas Cawston Heath is all about Cladonia, the adjacent Marsham Heath has large patches with abundant Baeomyces rufus. The higher amount of bare sand at Marsham may be a factor.

GEEEEEEEEETTTTTTT DRESSED, you merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay! For it is Christmas Christmas Christmas Christmas Christmas Day! IIIITTTTT’S Christmas Christmas Christmas Christmas Christmas Christmas Day! It is Chriiii-i-i-i-i-istmas Day Christmas Day! It is Chri-HI-HI-HI-HI-HI-HISTMAS DAY!

Two reasonably distinctive Cladonias from Cawston Heath yesterday, both scarce in the East of England. Cladonia crispata (dark brown colour, open axils distinctive) and Cladonia cornuta (half corticate - half sorediate unbranched podetia, P+ red, neat basal squamules)

The wildlife pond is thriving on rainwater runoff from the garden office; Chara sp, broad-leaved pondweed, hornwort and water soldier all doing well.

These black dots on a small twig from Cawston Heath appear to be the anamorphic form of green elf cup. I could see the staining on the wood, so I thought it would be interesting to section one of the structures. Bright green inside, with tiny bacilliform conidia coming out.

Cladonia gardens at Cawston Heath. Several species can grow in a very small area. So amazing!

Cladonia floerkeana - you say they’re the Devil’s Matchsticks, I say they’re Santa’s. Cawston Heath today.

Spotted sea hare - found on the beach at Playa del Janubio yesterday. Sort of thing @scottinscilly.bsky.social and @robyaxley.bsky.social would be keen on. ♠️ #SeaSlug #Lanzarote

Close up photo of lichen, Rhizoplaca subdisrepens. This one is chock full of apothecia (makes for tons of little cartoon faces:). Photo covers an area of approx. 4cm x 3cm. The full lichen is in the comments. #lichen #fungi #fungifriends

Good to catch up with the Black-bellied Dipper at Bintree Mill this misty morning. BM was my first ever birding patch, but this is the rarest thing I have seen there in 40+ years!

Best of 2025:19. Dotted Border Wave (Idaea sylvestraria) — Sidestrand record in 2024 by M. Townsend, confirmed 2025 (P. Hall) new for Norfolk! #teammoth #norfolkmoths norfolkmoths.co.uk?bf=17010

The silk 'stockings' (AKA 'dirty socks!) of Britain's only (mini & benign) tarantula relative, the Purseweb Spider Atypus affinis trail on the ground and descend to line a burrow to 5cm deep. The spiders grab prey through the stocking wall and emerge only as adult males seeking mates in autumn.

The amazing story of an erratic pebble from east Germany found in Norfolk. * Yonan Y. et al. A unique, far-travelled graptolite-bearing erratic pebble from the Lowestoft Till (Quaternary: Anglian Stage) of North Lopham, Norfolk. Proc Yorks Geol Soc, 65, 2025: pp1-12 nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/53...

Today’s lichen puzzle. A species of Physcia growing on a vertical headstone. It has the blueish and white appearance of P. caesia, but the soralia are marginal and not blue. A very odd P. caesia is my (unsatisfactory) conclusion.

Curious, I googled. And on discovering that it's edible, I was immediately reminded of Swift's "He was a bold man that first ate an oyster".

Any burning questions for @nomadbirder.bsky.social ? Ever wondered what it's like to be a Secretary? Who even is the BBRC? Comment with your questions and we'll put then to the man himself this eve... ♠️ #TheTwoJonnies #Serious #Podcast

Some of the thickest, gloopiest looking Nostoc I have seen, dominating a wall in Fakenham. 🧌

#footitunlimited2026 Rules Count the number of species you see at home or whilst on foot from your home during the month of January. No distance limit. Walk as far as you want. You just need to make it home by the 31st Jan Have fun and post it on Bluesky #footit @suffolkseawatcher.bsky.social

The Landscape Partnership #EcologyVacancies We are looking for a graduate ecologist in Bedford and experienced ecologists in any of our locations, including London and Woodbridge (Suffolk), to start in the New Year - DM me if of interest.

I think this is the slime mould Didymium squamulosum from yesterday’s Thetford Forest foray.

Phaeographis smithii is a script lichen found on bark which has a very western distribution in the UK, but has turned up in west Norfolk before, this being the second record: from Bawsey CP. K+ yellow - orange, P+ yellow, not carbonised below the hymenium.

Interested in moth trapping? Wondering which trap to use? Or if different bulbs collect different species? Using 100k samples from @gardenmothscheme.bsky.social our new paper looks at these questions and more! With with Bill Kunin and @katatrepsis.bsky.social #mothsmatter #teammoth

Brains, slimes and jellies at Thetford Warren today with Norfolk Fungus Study Group. Conifer Leafy Brain, a slime mould (maybe Arcyria sp), and Jelly Tooth. Lovely stuff.

Best of 2025:13. Ground Lackey (Malacosoma castrensis) at Wells, 17/07/2025 by Ben Sale & Leslie Gardiner and 30/07/2025 by Mike Hodgson — new VC28! #teammoth #norfolkmoths norfolkmoths.co.uk?bf=16350

Lichen Psora globifera, wet (green) and dry (brown). I’ve always been amazed at the dramatic colour change in lichens as they transition between wet and dry. #lichen #fungi #fungifriends

Bovine Bolete and Moor Club were new for me at Bawsey today. Fantastic pores on the Bolete.

Some lichens look great when they are wet, and this Flavoplaca (Caloplaca) ruderum is no exception.

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Christmas jigsaw idea. You’re welcome.

With @aspenecology.com

A group of sandstone headstones at Geldeston churchyard had a considerable covering of the lichen Gyrographa gyrocarpa, a new location for this mainly western species.

Lichen collage. On lakeside rock, Northwest Territories, Canada. #lichen #fungi #fungifriends

I get that the news cycle is packed right now, but I just heard from a colleague at the Smithsonian that this is fully a GIANT SQUID BEING EATEN BY A SPERM WHALE and it’s possibly the first ever confirmed video according to a friend at NOAA 10 YEAR OLD ME IS LOSING HER MIND (a thread 🧵)

📣Please share: We are looking for a field assistant to join our team in studying #ruffs on coastal meadows at Botnian Bay in Finland. The job will provide fantastic insights into lekking behaviour and provide essential skills in field ornithology. Details here www.bi.mpg.de/2790786/2512...

Many of the alkaline headstones, cornerstones and window ledges etc in East Anglian churches are made from oolitic limestone. Made up of ooids, which are grains of sand etc surrounded by layers of calcite deposition. Popular with stonemasons as it can be cut in any direction.