Many thanks Dee, it would be nice to see other images appearing in this thread.
It has not been the best year for fungi but there is still time.
cheers J.P.
deunydd dirgelwch - mystery material.
If only i had a motion sensitive camera to have left at this site, just maybe a conclusive answer to the question what is this star jelly, every day we just don’t know what we will see, i have seen this once before and know there is still debate about what it is, i think it was even discussed on Galwad cynnar last Saturday morning.
Hwyaden bengoch - Pochard.
Gwylan benddu (ifanc) - (young) black headed gull.
Cheers J.P.
J.P. that star jelly looks quite similar (in shape, not colour to a black-ear fungus (which is quite tasty, btw)
Love all the photos. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a star jelly before. Wish I had something to share, but all I see outside is my chatty neighbor who tends to ignore me when I say, “'Dw i’n trio mynd!” So I think I’ll stay inside and admire all y’all’s photos instead. (I’m obviously new here as you can probably tell by my limited vocabulary!)
Firstly, thanks for the interest folks, Australia and Texas seems like what’s outside international.
Limited vocabulary, that’s my problem as well.
for anyone who is not aware of the star jelly mystery (apparently hundreds of years old) just google star jelly and get a whole lot of information. The jelly in the photo was not there yesterday and is just laying on top of the moss.
Louis; excellent comments, ear fungus (ffwng clust) will photo some as soon as i see it. prefers elder here but can be found on other hardwoods.
There is a fungus that looks very similar to the jelly. Exidia thuretiana, this is much smaller and grows on bare dead wood (by bare i mean no bark).
I’m not sure i will be able to get back to that woodland tomorrow so it maybe Thursday before i see what has changed, as this has appeared on the tree where i have been putting food to hopefully attract wild birds for photo’s i know which theory about the jelly i think is probably correct but the mystery continues until conclusive proof is filmed, the chances of that are remote.
Cheers J.P.
Rain changed this mornings plans so a little video of the star jellies progress.
Ffwng melog - honey fungus.
Terrible quality image of tatty old honey fungus with tiny new ones emerging (my finger used for scale).
The little ones look better in close up, given some reasonable weather these may develop into a pretty display of what is considered a destructive species.
Cheers J.P.
Here’s a link to the Llennatur Bulletin issue 11 from the Cymdeithas Edward Llwyd.
Page two has a photo and a paragraph or two about star jelly, including a few names in Welsh -
“Ceir amrywiaeth o enwau Cymraeg arno: chwyd awyr, chwydredd sêr, godro’r sêr, llwtrach yr awyr, pydredd y sêr (pwdre sêr/wtre’r sêr), syrth (y) sêr, yn ôl T.H.Parry Williams, a tripa’r sêr [tripe?] gan rai o bobl Morgannwg.”
Weird stuff!
And thanks for filming the “poke it with a stick” method of investigation! Really gives an idea of it’s substance.
Many thanks for the above, (people like a mystery).
Today ffwng a gwlithen- heddiw, fungus and slug.
Exidia thuretiana i spoke of a few days ago.
Slugs often seen on fungi, and just to confound me this time the fungus appears to be growing through/on bark in places (yes i have much to learn in many fields of life).
Cheers J.P.
Cyrn gwyn (cymraeg)
Candle snuff (saesneg) because it looks like a part burnt candle wick!
Xylaria hypoxylon (latin).
very common on old wood of many species.
Cheers J.P.
This is a fantastic, informative and valuable collection, J.P. Are the photos all taken by you? If so, I think you should be looking for a publisher.
hewrop, you are far to kind sir, and yes the photo’s posted by me were taken by me (i use very basic equipment).
sometimes i feel maybe i post to much as i am using this as a way to work with Welsh to try and creep forward with the language, (substitute for anyone to practice with). (and thanks go to those who tolerate me on skype).
I hope the thread will develop into something much better in time, for now winter approaches but there is still something to see, next spring could be more colourful and i just hope i have the time that i would like to spend on moths and butterflies when they start to appear. (they can be remarkably variable and i have a much longer list of welsh names for them than fungi).
Cheers J.P.
Definitely NOT too much. You are helping people appreciate nature and develop their vocab.
Dal ati, ychan
A while back you showed us a coot. The word in Cymraeg clearly has the same root. I heard recently that 'coot; is the only English water bird name that has never changed. Are they, in fact, native to Britain so the invading germanic tribes and Normans simply adopted the British word?
That’s an interesting question and one i can’t give an authoritative or conclusive answer.
When we talk about native species that is probably yes since the last ice age which isn’t a particularly long time.
I would assume this bird with many other species spread north as and when the climate allowed.
I’m always wary of standard names (not that there is anything wrong with them), as i would not be surprised if this bird had many different names across Britain but when books started to be produced with an accepted name this became the standard.
It maybe worth noting that with the advent of ringing birds it has become evident that this and many other species from northern Europe swell the British colony numbers during the winter.
Thanks for your interest and maybe someone with more knowledge of language than me will have something more helpful to add.
Cheers J.P.
A quick Google didn’t bring up anything for coot, but it did yield these bird names
Starling = Shep
Mistle Thrush = Stormcock
Whitethroat = Nettle Creeper
Dunnock = Cuddy
Little Grebe = Dabchick
Yellowhammer = Scribblelark
Fun eh? I particularly like Scribblelark!
Hwyl,
Sty
Stu, you are so helpful on here i have lost count of how many people owe you a coffee.
The only one from your list i am familiar with is the Dabchick which still gets used.
in Norfolk when i was young (a long time ago) the Dunnock was a hedge betty.
Tonight on Skype the question of what is ‘bird hide’ in Welsh, it seems to be ‘Cuddfan adar’ unless anyone knows better.
Cheers J.P.
As Rambling John says, the names for birds are many! The Geiriadur yr Academi gives -
cwtiar(cwtieir), cotiar(cotieir), iâr (f) y gors(ieir y gors), iâr ddŵr foel(ieir dŵr moel), dobi benwyn, corsiar(corsieir), dyfriar(dyfrieir)
The Geiriadur Prifysgol agrees, says that “cwtiar” it is first recorded in the 16th century. (it also considers it to be a borrowing from the English.)
However, In William Salesbury’s dictionary of 1547 “dwfyriar” is given for coot, (.whether others a given as well I don’t know) whilst variations of that are apparently recorded back to 1400 or so.v
Titw’r helyg - willow tit.
Well, i set up a little feeding station for birds in a quiet part of the woods with the hope of getting some visitors. I’m amazed at how well the willow tits have taken to accepting my presence as long as i keep fairly still, now with patience i will try to get a bit closer for a better image and over time see what else may arrive.
Cheers J.P.
Not sure this was the best of idea’s but here it is warts and all.
Cheers J.P.
The Dutch for cwt/coot is (meer)koet, so unlikely that it is a Brythonic word originally.
In German, Wasserhuhn, which is literally dyfriar/waterhen.