Fungi - Dairy Farm Nature Park

Today is a week since we visited this park to photograph fungi.The wet and dampness last Sunday has, over the week, given way to dryer weather. As expected, the same fungi we saw have withered. Those that are still holding out are not as fresh as before. The pink ones we encountered last Sunday have disappeared and this time the fungi we found were mostly those with stalks. We saw some that were new to us - those that were more jelly-like and looked almost edible but DON'T eat them just because they look harmless! Last week we did not venture into the Wallace Trail as it was in the later afternoon when we started our walk. This morning we walked the full length of the trail. Most of the fungi was found along this walk.

This time, I used the Canon 400D, initially experimenting with the macro lens 50 - 100mm and subsequently using the zoom 250 lens which I like because it is lighter and much more responsive. I did not use the flash even in low lighting conditions. Instead, I tried the various settings that allowed me to control either the aperture or the shutter speed. My greatest problem is the focusing. I used the autofocus all the time and some of the photos had subject that was sharp only at the edges. I think I should try playing around with the manual focus the next time. Overall, I enjoyed using the DSLR and the Canon IXUS is now my husband's toy.

Stamps with Fungi pictures

These are just some of the stamps that my husband and son surprised me with one day many years ago. These paintings show fungi from the artists' viewpoint that are of course different from what you see in real life. Art takes the beauty of fungi out of their natural habitat enabling us to be aware of their existence and to appreciate that nature comes in many forms, some truly remarkable.

Dairy Farm Nature Park - Fungi destruction

It was the first day that the Dairy Farm Nature Park was publicised in the papers. We found quite a few variety of fungi and were happy that our fungi-hunting trip was so fruitful. What marred our walk was finding evidence of ignorance among those who went to the park. A short distance from the entrance, we came upon this tree stump supporting several black fungi. They looked like they must have been there for a long time. After taking several photos we realised that two of the fungi about the size of a small palm, have been broken at the neck by someone whom I would just classify as a moron. Openness is always a double-edged sword. While we are given the opportunity to access nature's wonders, we cannot prevent destruction like this...

and this...

and these...

People need to be educated on how they should behave when they take walks in nature parks. It is great to see some three-generation families enjoying an outing at our nature parks but I also so a lady who was holding on to a plant that she had plucked thinking that it was okay to just take a small token from the park for cultivation in her garden. I also overhead an old man telling his grandson that one of the orange fungus they saw was a Lingzhi fungus saying that it was good for health. I hope people don't go around mistaking some of these fungi as those having medicinal value and take them home for consumption. It is best to consider any fungi in the park as poisonous and leave them alone.

Fungi Hunting - How to look for fungi

When you walk along nature trails such as this one at the Dairy Farm Nature Park, look closely at the vegetation around especially at tree stumps, logs, fallen trees and dead leaves. Some fungi grow on the soil but most that I found were on decaying wood. There were times when I spotted fungi growing on truncated tree trunks high above the ground. This is when you need a zoom lens to get the photo that you want.

Fungi at the entrance to the Dairy Farm Park.

Fungi like these camouflaged themselves by blending in with the texture of the wood.

A tree stump that supported rich fungi growth.

You will not be able to see anything unless you take a closer look.

Surprise! A nice colony of dainty fungi.

See if you can spot them here.

Some fungi like to hide beneath fallen tree trunks.

I almost missed seeing them.

These are quite close to the trek but many people missed them.

Sometimes, you have to walk away from the beaten track to see these.

Lots of potential here!

Colours that blend. Easy to walk past them if you do not consciously seek them out.

The colours call out for attention - the right kind please.

A most interesting type of fungi. No one noticed. We missed it on the way into the park but saw it on the way out.

Fungi Hunting

Sunday was fungi-hunting day seeing that we did two trails - a short one along the exercise stations starting at the far end of the carpark in front of the Visitor centre of the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve in the morning and a longer one at the new Dairy Farm Nature Park in the late afternoon. This post will feature the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve walk. The next few days could perhaps be the best time to look for fungi because of the cool weather brought about by the rains in the last two days. The wet and dampness in the parks and nature reserves are excellent conditions for fungi growth and the variety we encountered was amazing! The colours and textures were fascinating. We saw pink and orange mushrooms other than the usual white and brown ones and even found one with a slug feeding on it. There was also a black and yellow insect on a pretty pink mushroom. I guess it was also having lunch when we saw it. As long as the weather maintains its coolness for the next few days, fungi-hunting activities would be rewarding.

At the end of our walk, we saw a mushroom that has been broken off from the log it was growing on. Later in the day, there were even more such evidence of idiotic behaviour at the Dairy Farm Nature Walk. It is such a pity that when the National Parks Board opened up a prime piece of nature to the public, people could not have the decency to just leave nature alone. They had to poke and probe fungi that looked like they had survived many years in the wild and destroy what nature meant for them to appreciate and admire.

West Coast Park fungi

After a long spell of not seeing any fungi, I spotted these beneath some shrubs in West Coast Park. So where can you find fungi in our parks? There are no designated lots for fungi to bloom. I never consciously went fungi hunting because you may not always find fungi even if you make an effort to look out for them. I just keep my eyes open especially when the weather is wet and things around are damp in the park. I pay attention to fallen tree trunks, decaying logs, tree stumps, tree trunks and branches as I walk along a trail or strolling along the garden paths looking for flowers. If conditions are right and you look at places that are dark, shaded and damp, you might be rewarded with the less common type of fungi. Everytime I come across a fungi that I do not see very often or have not seen before, I count it as one of my blessings.