Common earthballs in a front garden. One pair appeared as normal.
The other pair had split apart to show the gleba (spore-bearing mass) inside.
Wasp stripping wood for paper
Wasp stripping wood from the handrail of the bridge across the Compton Park pool. Used to make paper for its nest.
Heron on fallen trunk
West Park heron on one of the favoured perching spots, a fallen trunk stretching over the water.
As it twisted to preen, it seemed to be imitating Anne Boleyn’s ghost (Stanley Holloway monologue version)
Sweet chestnuts, ladybird, fly
Cluster of sweet chestnuts, ripening on a tree in Bantock Park, had attracted a ladybird and a greenbottle fly.
Hawthorn shield bug on alkanet leaf
A hawthorn shield bug, resting in the sun on an alkanet leaf. The third shield bug species I’ve noticed this year.
Frog in water, bird bath
For several days in the middle of this month, a frog spent some time in the late afternoon resting in the water of a bird bath, almost completely submerged. The routine ended as abruptly as it began.