Persistance

Despite the damp and gloomy weather, we decided a touch of fresh air was in order. We did a walk from the door, long overdue, along the valley to the North of where we now live - actually, the upper part of Sheffield's main river, the Don. I've walked along this stretch before, but some time ago. We were delighted to see several dippers as well as lots of grey wagtails, but no decent images. on the last leg, as we approached home we saw what we thought was a large flock of winter thrushes feeding on some rowan berries. On closer inspection, they appeared to be song thrushes. They were in a small cemetery were I also spotted these fungi - and took a quick shot, which turned out to be probably the best shot of the day. They are wax caps, probably Hygrocybe acutoconica, the Persistent Waxcap. Waxcaps are a grassland fungus, and often come in bright colours. Most are described as edible but not worthwhile. The Meadow Waxcap or Butter Mushroom is the only one I usually bother with if there are plenty around.