David

The mottled pattern near the apex of the cap may be the remnants of a veil. The radial corrugated stripes are unusual. This mushroom was growing unnoticed in one of the large plant boxes on the platform of Birmingham International railway station.

There are three or four different individuals represented in this series of pictures.

Seen fluttering near streams in, surprise, May. At the very end of that month, this one landed on the protective glass on Wye bridge, Hereford.

These, too, are pictures of males.They were two of several on or over a patch of grass leading down to the river Wye from Castle Green in the middle of Hereford.

These inconspicuous buds will later develop into privet flowers.

Beautiful demoiselles are damsel flies which can be common near water in the spring. Because they are relatively weak fliers, they can be pictured resting on vegetation, often in bright light.

Two individuals are pictured in this series of pictures. Both are males. The males have a bright shiny turquoise or electric blue body, with wings which can vary in colour from pale brown to a brown so dark it approaches black; or wings similar in colour to the body. Females have a green body.

These two were both spending most of their time warming up shortly after they first appeared for the day, just before noon on one of the hot days at the end of May. They were in the woods near the river Blythe in the Marsh Lane LNR, Hampton in Arden.