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David

Meadow salsify seed head, Baggeridge

Meadow salsify seed head, Baggeridge

Meadow salsify (jack go to bed at noon) seed head, plant growing by the path at Baggeridge Country Park.

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David

Short hop flight

Short hop flight

Swan which wanted to get a hundred yards or so along the Avon at Stratford in a hurry. Instead of swimming it took a short hop flight where its feet never rose higher than the surface of the water and the take-off segued directly into the landing. I couldn’t see it doing anything special which needed a rush once it had landed.

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David

Teazle with peacock butterfly and hoverfly

Teazle with peacock butterfly and hoverfly

Teazle in flower by the Compton Park pool, attracting a peacock butterfly and a hoverfly to feed.

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David

Banded demoiselles, male and female

Banded demoiselle, male

Banded demoiselles, brightly coloured damselflies most likely to be spotted flying over water or resting on waterside vegetation. The males are an electric blue, and the females an electric green which despite its vividness can make them harder to spot against the leaves they are on.

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David

Great crested grebe rising

Great crested grebe rising

Great crested grebes on the large lake by the River Blythe at the Packhorse Bridge Nature Reserve. One of the birds was rising out of the water as it swam – as far as I could see, just to shake its feathers.

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David

Common darter, Compton Pool, resting

Common darter, Compton Pool, resting

Male common darter dragonfly resting on the handrail of the footbridge over Compton Park pool. There have been some there in late summer every year since the pool was created in 2013.