Thursday's Guardian Country Diary is about this male common darter dragonfly - surely the last of the year - that we saw a few days ago on the banks of the river Tyne near Wylam. 

It settled amongst the fallen autumn leaves and seemed very reluctant to move away from the large patch of flowering ivy that still attracted flies that it was probably feeding on.

Since then we've had some hard frosts. It will be eight months before we see the next generation hatching out.

Life on a beech

Four different fungi, all on the same decaying beech tree trunk at Bowlees in Teesdale. Dead trees are a wonderful resource for fungi, mosses and many small invertebrates.

I think this is yellow curtain crust Stereum hirsutum , growing on the cut end of the trunk.

This is the young stage of the porcelaine fungus Oudemansiella mucida

... and here it is with the slimy caps fully expanded

... and this is another Stereum species, although I'm not sure which. This is a young stage .....

.... and this is the same at a more mature stage.

And finally, I think this is the many-zoned polypore aka turkey-tail fungus Trametes versicolor

Boletus

I found this beautiful bolete amongst the old oaks in Backstone Bank wood, near Wolsingham in Weardale, this morning. Think it might be an oldish specimen of the cep or penny bun Boletus edulis, judging by the whitish edge to the cap - but not sure.