David

Todays post feature water birds seen on a stroll along the towpath of the Birmingham canal, heading from the city centre in the direction of Birmingham, a couple of weeks ago.

This duck and her two ducklings were in a gap in the wall above the canal a few yards from Bilston Road.

From the middle of August, heathy areas like this part of Cannock Chase near Brocton,  become a mass of purple as the heather comes into flower.

By early August these plums were ripe enough to show the beginnings of the bloom on their surface.

One of the historic breeds farm animals at Shugborough Park. If these are indeed Bagot goats, they are descended from the semi-wild herd of Blithfield Hall, on the opposite side of Cannock Chase, and be of a critically endangered rare breed.

The billy is relaxing above, and the kid, below, is eating with a jackdaw seeming to mimic its actions.

This clump had just a couple of flowers remaining when I saw it growing at the edge of the river Anker in Tamworth in the middle of August.

At first the kernels of the berries are green and the outer covers are a paler green, and cover less than half the kernel. To me, they look more like miniature acorns at this stage.

As the berry ripens, the kernel swells. The covering layer begins to redden and to advance down the kernel.

Riper = yet redder cover with yet more complete coverage.

Varying degrees of ripeness in berries which are almost touching. Perhaps it was the time of day I was there, but there seemed to be a direct effect that the berries in the sunniest spots had come furthest along.

These pictures all taken within a few minutes, of berries on the same yew tree in West Park.

Hat tip: Jefny.

These two manage to survive although greatly outnumbered by the Canada geese on the West Park lake.

The leaves were just beginning to turn on this rowan and a few of the other trees in West Park towards the end of August.

This squirrel was eagerly taking the food which was being offered by a couple of young children.

This family of swans were on the river Anker in the Castle Pleasure Grounds, Tamworth.

I think it was the cob (male bird) leading with an aggressive posture, and the pen as tail-end charlie.

As the swans swam downstream, several passers-by got out their mobiles to take pictures.