David

More from the late-March burst of weeds a few inches high with tiny white flowers. Growing by the canal footpath was this bittercress species, possibly hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta).

Two coots on their nests on West Park lake at the start of the month. One looked like it might already have been brooding. The other was standing on a nest which seemed to have been only half-built. It was looking around nervously at swans which were surrounding the nest, dipping their heads in the water to feed from the bottom.

Ground ivy isn’t actually a type of ivy: it’s related to the dead nettles. Dead nettles aren’t nettles, either.

Be that as it may, ground ivy is still worth looking out for. It’s inconspicuous because it clings to the ground. The flowers might, at first glance, be mistaken for violets, which tend to flower at a similar time of year. They are described as having a strong smell of blackcurrant or of tom-cats(!). I’ve never bent down far enough to test whether that’s true.

Shovellers seem to spend almost all their time in the water. Usually they are swimming round in tight circles, filtering the water just below the surface for food. When they take a break, it’s by relaxing and floating where they are.

For once, this pair of shovellers had climbed onto a fallen bough. They were standing one-legged; their necks turned so their heads were resting on their backs. Their eyes were open, or at least the eyes visible from the shore were. But they may still have been asleep: a neat duck trick.

Japanese quince, a shrub where the bright red flowers make a nice early spring contrast with the equally bright green of the leaves. These were by the West Park perimeter footpath.

I like taking pictures of fungi. They don’t flee if I get too close: creatures which don’t flee when I get too close are likely to attack instead. Even worse. They don’t move unpredictably when there’s even the slightest breeze, like many plants.

Admittedly, they are often hard to get a good view of: hiding where there’s not much light, half-hidden in vegetal detritus in an overgrown patch of rough ground. But they have an incredible variety of shapes and textures, and sometimes colours which cannot be seen anywhere else in the natural world. And once in a while they’re just a slightly twisted variation on a standard mushroomy shape, with colours which are bland. Lo, scurfy twiglets, Tubaria furfuracea.