Wolves Wild

Chicken of the woods, a bracket fungus much favoured by fans of wild food. It’s growing, as it does every year, inches above the water of West Park lake, on a willow fallen from an island in West Park lake.

Galls on the catkins of an oak. It seems that the wasp responsible for this particular type of gall (Andricus grossulariae) has an even more complex life cycle or perhaps generation cycle than many insects.

These spherical galls appear in the spring, growing, as here, on the catkins. They are for the sexual form of the insect. A second form grows later in the year, on young acorns. It is for an asexual (parthenogenic) form, which I will now be looking out for.

The swan family on West Park lake, with their five cygnets, were swimming in line when I made this visit.

Yellow flag iris flowering time has come round again. The close-ups are of plants growing right by the boardwalk over the Compton Park pool.

These were growing on the far bank of the canal near Compton.

Each year, several sets of coot chicks are hatched from nests on West Park lake. Both parents spend quite some time feeding the chicks with vegetation brought up from underwater. Pictured here are chicks from three of the nests.

Flowers opening on a rock rose (cistus) shrub.