Category: David

Some of the orchids growing in the wildflower Meadow at Wren’s Nest Nature Reserve last month. They and the other flowers were half hidden in the long grass.

The back face of one of the former quarries on the Wren’s Nest Nature Reserve. There is a fault in the rocks, beginning at the upper ground level in the middle of the picture, and heading towards the lower right corner. To the right of the fault the strata seem to be a couple of feet lower than the corresponding layers on the other side.

Orange flowers on hawkbits usually indicate a cultivated variety, found in gardens, with yellow ones on the wild plants. These were growing together, both wild, by one of the paths in the Wren’s Nest Nature Reserve.

Magpie on the lookout perched on a ball, a decorative feature on the roof of West Park’s Conservatory. Another magpie nearby, on the ground, also watchful.

Mating now over over, the female is ovipositing (laying eggs) in the weedy water of Compton Park pond. The males are still clasping the females’ bodies, their wings beating rapidly, sometimes supporting both their weights.

Common blue damselflies at an early stage of mating. The males tail clasps the female just behind her head. A little later the female will bend her abdomen round to hold on to the male in a similar position.