In winter the wildlife responds to clear, sunny, not too cold weather by being more active, vocal and generally more noticeable. During a 14-day period at the end of October into November the area around Basingstoke recorded just 21 minutes of sunshine! 

The most noticeable wildlife was the influx of redwings from 11th October, this is usually followed by the arrival of fieldfares in the next few weeks but this year I have not seen any, maybe they will come in the new year. 

On 18th October Hampshire Fungus Group had a foray in the reserve and produced some interesting records. But it was on 29th October that the best discovery was made. Whilst cutting ride edge scrub including some holly, I found holly parachute fungus (Marasmius hudsonii).

This is a rare fungus that I have searched for in the past without success. It is a tiny mushroom that grows on dead holly leaves, we found it under dense holly groves throughout the reserve, essentially wherever we looked under holly, and it appears that the very damp conditions have led to an exceptional year for it. 

On the 18th  December a brief mild and sunny brought things to life with a brimstone butterfly on the wing and a chiffchaff singing. 

Finally on New Years eve I heard some crows mobbing something and through the trees emerged a male goshawk, the second record this year! 

Despite the challenging weather the volunteers put in some splendid work, achieving 150 work days during the three months. Most of this was spent cutting coppice along the ride edges or inside fenced coupes. Thank you to the volunteers, without whom our work would be a lot harder!