stevelucocq

Hi, I think I am getting abit carried away with the macro on my camera!

Hi. here is a large turkey oak that I have watched over the years fight to stay upright. Everytime I visit this tree it appears to have moved a little more. Pholiota squarrosa around the base.

Pholiota squarrosa and Ganoderma on a beech stump

a few pictures of this interesting beauty

interesting thread! these pics again!

great, thanks for all the replies!

Hi, Just wondering what people’s thoughts are on this large lower branch (11metres). I have slight concerns about the car parking spaces directly under this large branch (I feel there are signs of minor structural weakness and keen to minimise the risk). Consideration was made to remove the wire, carry out a minor reduction on this branch to reduce further horizontal growth and remove the 2 or 3 car parking spaces. Interested in everyone thoughts and any other suggestions. Also the car park was installed on the tree roots 20 years ago and the tree is in good health. The car park gets moderate use and rarely gets full. Thanks for any ideas! Steve

Also I managed to get a better picture of this

Got personal with it and unless I am missing something its a huge burr?

hi dean, spotted this: Hakki Pilke 2x S+ Carry

here is a zoom of the image....i cant get to it today but I will take a closer look mid week and post pics. Also any time Tony et al!

Interesting stuff, i will take a closer look....what is the main ID features I am looking for? ...also everything I have found has been close ...just need to make sure I always take the camera

Sorry offline last night and missed the replies.....here are a few more images

Just did a google search on this...very interesting:thumbup1:....i will try and have a closer look soon.

....any takers on this one?..I have a very rough idea about Inonotus hispidus but as it was found on a dead stump maybe not.

End of last year I part ex my old camera for the G10...it’s a very good camera but I still have to work through the entire manual!...dont u have a G11?

Hi spotted this today in Craig y nos country park.

Thanks...loving my Cannon G10 just got to remember to take it everwhere!

Hi, Spotted this Large Burr on a Beech with interesting helical growth.

Hi, I thought this was interesting.

Hi, I think its Heterobasidion annosum on some Beech roots?

BS 3998:1989 - 8.) Season - has this recommendation hope this helps.

The Sooty Albatrosses were amazing...they would make the sound of a screaming baby but only louder....this will stay with me for a long time!....also the Atlantic yellow nosed albatrosses where stunning (see picture below). Getting involved with this sort of work involves a fair bit of luck. Things such as volunteering with wildlife groups, attending courses/talks and being available to leave at short notice all help.

Ha, I had never noticed Sagina before, only to come back home and find it everwhere. I even found a patch on my front door step! Thanks for the link, very interesting. The place was unreal and was like something from Lord of the rings. The main system we used was the standard IRATA rope access. This involves always working from two independent ropes. One is your working line for descending (Petzel Stop) or ascending (jumar and chest ascender). The other line is your safety back up (Petzel shunt). It does work well and some days the equipment got covered in mud and all continued to function well. I can see why such techniques are used in caving. Tree wise there are only Phylica trees that are similar to a large bush. These trees are covered in bearded lichen, also there are many stunning bog ferns. I did visit the botanical gardens in Cape Town which was superb. One of the highlights of the work was seeing the northern rock hopper penguins. Thanks, Steve

Not really tree related but I thought people might be interested to hear about the rope work I have been involved with. I have just returned from 6 weeks work on Gough Island situated in the South Atlantic. The work consisted of working from rope and harness to survey and remove a non-native invasive plant called Sagina (commonly found between road side kerb stones in the UK). The work consisted of using IRATA rope access to make abseil drops on some of the 50 metre sea cliffs on the island. The plant as shown in the picture is very small but had a green colour that slightly stood out from the other vegetation on the cliffs. The work anchors were mainly two metal scaffolding tubes hammered into the ground but on occasions we rigged off Phylica arborea (Island Tree) which is a fern bush found through out the island. This work allowed us to get into some amazing places and we worked fairly closely to sooty albatrosses(See Picture below). Also there were Atlantic yellow nosed albatrosses and tristan albatrosses which were great to see. These birds are being studied by the RSPB as there numbers are in decline. There is evidence to show that part of the decline is due to the introduction of mice to the island. These introduced mice are causing the decline by feeding on the ground nesting chicks. When I have been through the rest of the pictures I will post a few more. The trip was a blur of adventure and challenges, the main challenge being spending 18 days in total on an icebreaker ship! Steve