Hogweeds this year seem to be growing very tall. Here flowers seen from below.
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Another glimpse of the July-hatched mallard ducklings on the canals hard by Aldersley Junction. This time they all (young and mother) were swimming right by the bank of the canal, just occasionally visible through gaps in the overhanging vegetation. As far as could be seen, all was well with them. The pictures are all of one duckling which was swimming a little further from the shore than its siblings.
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Skipper on a rush leaf
Skipper butterfly resting on the leaf of a bulrush in the pool at Compton Park. It was too far away to identify which species of skipper – to do that, it’s necessary to get a view of details like the underside of the antennae.
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Young blackbird sunbathing, canal footpath
A sweltering early afternoon. Very few people about on the canal towpath. A young blackbird, taking the opportunity to use the path to sunbathe on.
Another butterfly where the summer generation has coincided with the mid-July heatwave, a small tortoiseshell.
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Holly blue butterfly, summer generation
Another butterfly on its second, summer, generation of the year. Holly blue warming itself by spreading its wings on the canal towpath, then eating or drinking from something insalubrious nearby.