Thu 2011-11-17 
From 2 years ago: a male soldier fly, probably a Beris chalybata (Diptera: Stratiomyidae). The females of this species have a metallic green thorax, smaller eyes, and lack the swollen first tarsi on the hind legs.
Photo taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2009-04-26.
Tue 2011-11-15 
From my walk on Sunday: a small grey fly, probably a Siphona sp (Diptera: Tachinidae), on ragwort. Flies in this genus feed through a thin foldable siphon (proboscis).. In the above photo the siphon is folded and sticks out forwards from below the head; in the following photo it is partly unfolded.
Photos taken in the field below Chazey Wood, near Caversham, UK, on 2011-11-13.
Mon 2011-11-14 
What I think is dead man's fingers fungus, Xylaria polymorpha, growing on a decaying log.
I now think this is Xylaria longipes. This species tends to be thinner than Xylaria polymorpha and has a distinct narrow stalk.
Photo taken in the Wilderness, Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2011-11-12.
