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David

Chicken of the woods, Himley Plantation

Chicken of the woods, Himley Plantation

Chicken of the woods (sulfur polypore) is an edible and quite common bracket fungus which is said to taste like chicken.

These fruiting bodies looked very fresh when I came across them in Himley Plantation, and must only have been a few hous old.

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David

Jack go to bed at noon, seed head

Jack go to bed at noon, seed head

Meadow salsify seed head, looking like a dandelion clock which has expanded into a complete sphere.

The informal name, jack go to bed at noon, comes from the habit of the flower which opens in the morning, and closes around midday.

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David

Small skipper on the ground

Small skipper on the ground

Small skipper butterfly spreading its wings on the ground of the Barley Field as it gets warm in the morning sun.

It’s just possible it is actually an Essex skipper. Some have been seen in the vicinity of small skippers on this part of the Barley Field, and these pictures are not detailed enough to distinguish the two species.

Small skipper on the ground

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David

Orchids, Whitcliffe

Orchid, Whitcliffe

Orchids, species unidentified, growing in long grass in clearings by the footpath leading up to Whitcliffe Common.

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David

Southern hawker (male)

What big eyes you have

Dragonfly of the same species as in the previous post, but this time a southern hawker male, with blue patches on the body.

This one was on the hedge by the track on Northycote Farm, perhaps a hundred yards away from Berry Brook.

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David

Southern hawker (Aeshna cyanea)

Southern hawker (Aeshna cyanea)

Southern hawker dragonfly resting in the morning sunlight on the leaves of a tree at the edge of one of the clearings of the Breadwalk above the River Teme at Ludlow.

This is a female: the males have blue patches. The clearing seemed to be its territory.