Wed 2010-03-31 
Although it looks like a slime mould, I think this a fungus of the genus Nectria, possibly Nectria magnusiana or Nectria coccinea.
These tiny red spheres are the sexual stage (teleomorph) in the life cycle of this fungus; the asexual stage (anamorph) consists of little pink cushions.
Photos taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2010-03-26 and 2010-03-07, respectively.
Tue 2010-03-30 
A bumble bee, Bombus sp (Hymenoptera: Apidae) infested with mites. I was rather surprised to come across parasites so early in the spring as I had assumed that they don't really get going till later in the year. This bee was rather torpid: it didn't try to fly away when I approached it, but just waved a leg at me.
Photo taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2010-03-28.
Tristram Brelstaff
This afternoon I overheard a discussion of bee mites on BBC Radio 4. Apparently the mites that are commonly seen on bumble bees in the spring are not thought to be parasitic, but are just hitch-hikers. They spend most of the year in the bee's nest scavenging on scraps of food but in the spring, when the queen bee is about to leave in search of a new nest, the mites climb onto her, so as not to be left behind. When the queen founds a new nest, the mites dismount and make it their new home.
The above bee is therefore probably a queen.
Mon 2010-03-29 
What I think is Bjerkandera adusta (smoky bracket fungus), growing on the trunk of a dead silver birch tree. Bracket fungi species can be hard to identify on sight because they are so variable in form and colour. However, in this case, I have based my identification on the similarities with photos here (to get the images, roll your mouse over the captions on the left), here and here.
Photos taken in the Wilderness, Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2010-03-13.
Sun 2010-03-28 
A mute swan (Cygnus olor).
Photo taken beside the large lake, Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2010-03-18.
Sat 2010-03-27 
Lichen encrusting a fallen twig.
Photo taken in Whiteknights Park, Reading University grounds, Reading, UK, on 2010-03-23.
Tristram Brelstaff
Probably Xanthoria parietina.
