Wolves Wild

One of the cygnets on West Park lake, grooming the feathers at the base of a wing as it swims in the water.

A teazle flower-head flowers starting at the top, then moving down as a ring while the higher parts have already been fertilized with the seeds beginning to form.

On one plant the flowering section, marked by the purple of the pollen, was forning a ring about half way down the flower head. Another nearby plant had flower heads which were still green, not yet producing pollen.

Close-up of a hoverfly visiting the flowers on a ragwort – a picture dominated by shades of yellow.

Flashes of blue and green, a fast, zig-zagging circular flight as the dragonfly patrols its chosen territory.

A week ago, this year’s first appearance of an emperor dragonfly on the Compton Park pond. It seemed to be settled. Last year once the first one arrived there were emperors present for some time. There were often two or three jousting over space, and frequent mating.

But this most recent one seems just to have hung around for one day. I’ve been back a few times and seen no sign of one, though there has been an occasional brown hawker and several common darters.

Pair of half-grown moorhen chicks on the canal at Wombourne, incautious to the point of foolhardiness. One, already on the towpath, started walking towards me. The other one actually climbed out to the water to get near.

Some recent pictures of bees visiting flowers. The portrait-format pictures were taken in the Sensory Garden at Northycote Farm; the others peeping into front gardens in Ludlow.