Wolves Wild

On the lower pond in the Wightwick Manor garden, a lone moorhen chick feeding enthusiastically on the aquatic vegetation. It was being watched from a distance by a lone parent.

More from the garden at Wightwick Manor. There’s an avenue formed by two rows of yew hedges. Sharing the bed with one of the hedges,here was a small cluster of common earthballs.

Every year, pm a weekend in mid-September, there’s the annual Heritage Open Days. One participant is the National Trust, which opens its grounds and properties without the usual hefty entrance charges. Weather and other commitments permitting, we often try to look around the extensive gardens of Wightwick Manor, though I am finding it increasingly difficult to reach the most interesting areas.

This was our most interesting find of the 2026 visit. Willow emerald damselflies are evidently extending their range as an effect of climate change. First recorded in significant numbers in England as recently as 2004 (in East Anglia), they are rapidly spreading.

This one, probably a male, was resting in the sun on vegetation at the edge of the lower pond in the Wightwick Manor garden. Although it moved to find a sunnier spot, it seemed unworried by our presence. I got close enough to take pictures on a mobile phone (as well as a camera) without it taking flight.

Orange grisettes. The species is variable in colour, frequently yellow rather than orange, as in these specimens.

A blushing bracket fungus seen from below and above. The lower side is a mass of pores: the spores are dispersed from these, rather than from gills.

A cluster of honey fungus emerging from a fallen tree trunk, which had probably been brought down because the fungus had eaten away at its heart wood.