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David

Common blue damselflies mating, resting on a leaf, another male nearby

Common blue damselflies mating, resting on a leaf, another male nearby

A pair of common blue damselflies (the female is actually green) resting on a reedmace leaf as they mate. Another male was flying by at the time.

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David

Mould growing in rings

Mould growing in rings

Mould growing on a knot in the wood of a footbridge. It is growing in rings which follow those of the underlying knot.

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David

Meadow cranesbill with bee

Meadow cranesbill with bee

Bee paying an early morning visit to a meadow cranesbill in someone’s front garden near Penn Common last weekend.

Meadow cranesbill with bee

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David

Tetchy swan

Tetchy swan

One of the swans on the lake at West Park. It seems to get annoyed with the other swans rather frequently without any visible provocation, and to adopt a threat posture or fly at them. Less often, geese get a sililar treatment.

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David

Water boatmen, and perhaps some eggs

Water boatman

Water boatmen skimming the surface of the Compton Park pond recently.

I’m not sure whether the mat of very small spheres in two of the pictures are insect eggs, or very small air bubbles clinging together.

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David

Sedge by a trackside

Sedge by a trackside

Sedge growing along the Railway Walk, the weight of the flowers bowing the stem down.

Sedge by a trackside

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David

By any other name

By any other name

Rose, which was growing on a bush climbing up a fence by the side of the Birmigham Canal.

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David

Swan and cygnets by boating lake island

Swan and cygnets by boating lake island

Adult swan and six cygnets swimming near the island in West Park’s boating lake recently.

The heron from yesterday’s post was on watch nearby – the cygnets were just the right size to make a tasty breakfast for the heron. But all the cygnets were still thriving when I last checked, several days after these pictures were taken.

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David

Red clover flowers, Barley Field

Red clover flowers, Barley Field

Some of the many red clover flowers growing amid the long grass of the Barley Field.

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David

Demanding coot chick

Demanding coot chick

Well-grown coot chick by the edge of the pool at West Park. It spent all its time demanding to be fed by a parent, even though it looked big enough to gather its own food.

Demanding coot chick

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David

Heron on a bough, West Park

Heron on a bough, West Park

Heron perching on a bough at the edge of the island in West Park boating lake, looking out for prey early one morning recnetly.

Heron on a bough, West Park

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David

Emerging, reflecting

Emerging, reflecting

Water plant just rising above the surface of a pond, reflected in the calm water.