Greylag goslings from the two allied greylag families in West Park. Early morning, having breakfast in the grassy areas near the Villiers statue.
Strawberry: flowers, green fruit
Garden strawberry plant with flowers and green, unripe fruit.
Five ducklings, losing their down
Five ducklings on the Compton to Wightwick Mill stretch of the canal. Despite losing both their parents in the first week after they hatched, the complete clutch have continued to thrive. Here. at about a month old, their juvenile down was beginning to give way to adult feathers.
Female orange tip, wings closed, jack by the hedge leaf
Female orange tip butterfly, at rest with wings closed on a jack by the hedge leaf. When she stayed for some time, I thought she might be laying eggs. After she left, I had a good look, but couldn’t see anything.
Flying swans, boating lake
Early morning, West Park. Flying swans. One landing on the boating lake, then a second takes off from the same area and starts to circle the island.
Red flowers, white flowers: horse chestnut
Red flowers, white flowers: horse chestnut candelabras from trees in front gardens at the opposite ends of Albert Road.
Hungry starlings, West Park
Hungry starlings working their way along an area of short grass in West Park, eating invertebrates.
Large red damselfly females in a garden
Three different large red damselfly females which were settled at rest in a garden, just before the middle of May.
Swan family, West Park, second view
Second view of the swan family on West Park lake. They were some way out on the water. I could only see five of the six cygents I had counted the day before, and feared they had already lost one. A closer view of the photos shows five cygnets on the water, and the sixth riding in comfort on its mother’s back.
Honesty, orange tip butterfly
Honesty flowers with a male orange tip butterfly butterfly feeding on the nectar.
Heron by Wightwick Lock
Heron, probably the same young bird which has been haunting the canal and vicinity at points between Castlecroft and Aldersley. This time it was on the towpath, watching intently where the water of the overflow weir at Wightwick Lock joined the bottom pound. It stayed for some time, never getting to the point of pouncing. Then two Canada geese landed heavily on the water yards from it, and set it flying for a quieter spot.
White: hawthorn flowers en masse
White petals from a crowd of hawthorn flowers and a last few unopened flower buds.