Manky Snowdrops

Thanks to Andy Musgrove's Covid19 Lockdown Listing Blog, I was recently alerted to a lifer that was in all likelihood growing right here in the hotel grounds, literally right beneath my nose whenever I shortcut across the lawns on my way to the garage. 

It took me a couple of days to remember to check but, almost as soon as I looked down, there it was in all of its er...glory. Behold!

It's pretty mega, right?

I've no idea how I've never clocked this stunning fungal display before (lol...), but that pale brownish patch at the leaf tip is Ramularia septata, a fungus that infects the leaf blades of snowdrops. But it gets even better, difficult to believe though that may be.

Corr...look at the tips on that!

I have to admit, I've seen this before and stupidly thought nothing more of it than damaged tips and the onset of natural decay. Which, in a way, I guess it is. I see a very similar thing on Ramsons leaves, which I know to be fungal, so no excuses for not realising what was happening here. 

Anyway, if you're at all into microfungi on plants, you might want to check your nearest clump of snowdrops for Ramularia septata. I may whack some under the compound and see if I can find any spores. Stay tuned. Or not. 

In other news, my Lockdown Birding List is coming along slowly. Additions today began with a calling Lapwing, very unexpected indeed! I've only seen them here a couple of times in the middle of hard weather, hunkered down in a field or on the shore. Hopefully it's a pair, there's certainly plenty of suitable habitat on the hillsides above the hotel, though cattle and sheep could cause trampling pressures for the nest/chicks. Great and Coal Tits and a fly through Collared Dove were also new to the Lockdown List, bringing me up to a whopping 26 species. Hey ho, this is only Day 5, lots of time for improvement (hopefully not too much time though...)   #BWKM0