Author Archives: adelwoods

Here is a list of the species of fungi which we found on today’s fungal foray with Steve Joul.

Steve Joul giving an introduction to the world of fungi

Yellow Stagshorn (Calocera viscosa)

One of the things that makes life so interesting is that there is always more to learn and there are always more fascinating things to discover about the world we live in.  This afternoon, Steve Joul led a group of explorers on a journey of discovery around Adel Woods, and all of the photographs you will find on this post were, believe it or not, taken in Adel Woods this afternoon.

Steve began our Fungal Foray by giving us a general introduction to the life cycle of mushrooms and toadstools.  One of our number had brought with him a selection of specimens collected in Wetherby this morning, and Steve handed these round for examination, while pointing out some of the features which help us to identify the differing species.

We then set off on a walk around the woods – starting off in Alwoodley Plantation, and then heading down to the cricket pitches.  We found many interesting species, some of which you can see in the following photographs which were all taken by our member Cathy.

Beefsteak Fungus  (Fistula hepatica)

Lumpy Bracket (Trametes gibbosa)

The iconic Fly Agaric  (Amanita mascara) found in the grass verge of the track down to the cricket pavilion.

Believed to be the Stump Puffball (Lycoperdon pyriforma)

In all we recorded 28 species.  If you would like a complete list, please see our next blog entry.

Another fine day in the woods. A good turn out of about a dozen Friends.  Three of us went litter picking while the rest of us went path clearing.

It was our first path clearing session for some time because the committee decided that this year we would focus on bashing and pulling bracken on the moor.

The path clearers made their way along Crag Lane from the Rugby Club to Stairfoot Lane car park.  We then worked on the path up to the hospice woodland, chatted to someone chilling out to dance music in a clearing, and finally cleared the path leading into the wood from Stairfoot Lane.  The stone monument marking the entrance to the wood was overgrown and we cleared it and the first twenty to thirty yards of the path.

We are looking forward to seeing the daffodils coming up around the monument and along the  side of the path in only three or four months.

In the meantime, the litter pickers did a fantastic job, clearing bagfuls of rubbish.

This This evening FOAW had a special event – our first ever Moth and Bat watch led by Steve Joul.  Steve has led bat watches for FOAW before – the last time 85 people came on it! – but this was the very first time that we combined it with a Moth watch.

We met in the car park of Old Leo’s at 8.10 pm and we had an excellent turn out of about 25 adults and children.

By the time your correspondent arrived, the event was already underway.  His neighbour, Paul Morris, a well known ornithologist, and now a keen lepidopterist, brought some (living) specimens he had trapped in his garden, and they were being passed around with great interest.

Steve gave an interesting introduction to the evening and showed us the two moth traps he had brought with him.  One was brand new and Steve and assistants had to work out how to put it together!  This was the one we used this evening.  Basically, a moth trap is an ultra violet light which attracts moths to crawl or fall down a funnel from which they can’t get back out.  Steve packed the trap with old egg boxes because moths like to snuggle down in them!

Old Leo’s bar had kindly given us permission to plug the moth trap into their power supply, and as dusk fell, we set off in pursuit of bats, leaving the moth trap switched on and under the care of our treasurer Judith.

Steve had brought plenty of bat detectors with him for us all to share, and we headed off into Crag Lane and the field which used to be the juniors rugby pitch. We did a circuit of that field before heading to the picnic area, and then Stairfoot Lane car park.

It was an enjoyable walk and we had a few sightings and soundings of bats, but they must have been playing away this evening.

After an hour or so of bat hunting, we returned to Old Leo’s to find that Judith was frozen and ready to go home.  However, the moth trap was safe and sound.

Large Yellow Underwing – photo courtesy of website of ukmoths.org.uk

Steve opened up the moth trap to much excitement and we found a number of moths inside.

There were three specimens of the large yellow underwing, which is one of the most abundant of our larger moths.  There were other moths but they flew off before we had the chance to see them – the younger members of our party were very excited to explore what was in the trap!

Overall, we enjoyed a very interesting and fun evening,  and we must express our gratitude to Steve for suggesting this event, leading us on it and bringing the moth traps and bat detectors, to Paul Morris for bringing moths for us to see, to Tony at Old Leo’s for letting us plug into Old Leo’s power supply, to Judith for protecting the moth trap, and to all who attended and made the evening a great success.

As a post script, Michael, one of our longstanding Friends, went home and found an exciting caterpillar in his garden.  Here is his email and photographs.

Feel free to pass on to Steve. Got home and went down the garden to find this beauty on the rosebay willowherb on my overgrown veg plot. I think it might have to stay overgrown from now on. Won’t be pulling it up this year. To think I nearly cleared it last week!! My first ever hawk moth caterpillar. Elephant Hawk moth I think. Humongous caterpillar. Thank you both for organising tonight.

A fine day and a good turn out.  Two of us went off litter picking, while the rest of us went off to Adel Moor to bash and pull bracken.

The committee decided that we would make a determined effort to get on top of the bracken on the moor and this was our third outing this Summer.

The first thing we found, was that an area which we cleared of bracken earlier this year had sprouted lots of new growth – as shown in this photograph.

This demonstrated just how persistent bracken is.  Undaunted, the Friends quickly set to work and removed all this new growth.

Equally positively, it is possible to make a big inroad into the bracken in the space of two hours.

Here are before and after pictures of the same spot taken about an hour and a half apart – and this is only a small part of the total achievement of the morning.

It was gratifying to find that under the bracken, there is still – at the moment – quite a lot of healthy looking heather.

The weather was fine until a few minutes before 12 noon when – out of nowhere – a torrential rain shower soaked us all.

Still this is what we are striving to achieve – the preservation of a wonderful heath with associated flora and fauna.

Another beautiful day.

A small but enthusiastic group met in Buckstone Road and separated into the litter pickers and the bracken bashers.  The litter pickers set off into the woods.  The bracken bashers set off to Adel Moor where we bashed or pulled bracken, and pulled up tree saplings.

We are successfully restoring Adel Moor as a small but viable piece of heathland with a resident population of lizards.  Unfortunately, we didn’t see any today.

The problem with bracken is that it suppresses other plants which we want to have on Adel Moor – like heather.  The good news is that in certain areas of the bracken, there is still a healthy growth of heather beneath the bracken – as shown in the picture above.

Four of the Adel Woods Bracken Bashers

A big thank you to Alan and Diane Yarker who welcomed Friends of Adel Woods onto their smallholding for the third year running to mark National Meadows Day.

We were blessed with wonderful weather, and Alan gave a very interesting and informative talk about the local environment and looking after a meadow.  He and Steve Joul then took us for a walk around the meadow, pointing out the many plants of interest.

Where were you when you dropped your contact lens?

Another  morning with Steve Joul, bracken bashing a pulling, and pulling up saplings.

Taking a well earned breather!

Man against Nature!

After a strenuous morning on Adel Moor, we went to have a look at the refurbished Slabbering Baby – now a wonderful place to sit and enjoy a sandwich!

Then to have a look at the wild flowers and orchids in the orchid meadow.

Here is a video I have published on youtube showing the refurbished Slabbering Baby in action!

The Slabbering Baby is a drinking fountain in Adel Woods.  Have a look at our blog entry for 24 May 2017 for information about its history and location.  In recent years, it has fallen into disrepair, and the stream of water reduced to a feeble trickle,  and many have dreamed that it can be restored.  This picture shows the Slabbering Baby in its heyday – and the lady in the picture is believed to be Francis Verity of Verity’s Tea Rooms.

In November 2016, Councillors Barry Anderson and Caroline Anderson provided £200 to enable the Slabbering Baby to be refurbished.

The work has now been completed.  It included:

• excavating behind the structure to ascertain where the water came from
• unblocking the pipes and replacing damaged ones
• removing the damaged bowl and creating a new one
• building a new wall on each side of the Slabbering Baby

The work has been co-ordinated by Douglas Louis of Leeds City Council and has been done by LCC Restorations Ltd, Remaking Leeds, Heritage Construction Skills and Skill Mill (Leeds Youth Offending Service).

The new bowl has been carved by Teresa Dybisz, an apprentice stone mason with York Minster, and she has done a super job.

The wall on each side of the new structure has also been built and it provides a wonderful place for weary travellers on the Meanwood Valley Trail to sit and enjoy a sandwich or take in the peaceful atmosphere of the woods.  The craftsmen who have built the wall have done an excellent job.

The Refurbished Slabbering Baby water fountain, 26 May 2017

The Slabbering Baby is situated near Adel Pond – sitting on the wall, follow the path to the right down to the stream, and then climb the steps up to the pond.

Adel Pond, the evening of Friday 26 May 2017