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David

Male chaffinch on a feeder

Male chaffinch on a feeder

Male chaffinch making enthusiastic use of the seed feeder at Northycote Farm.

Male chaffinch on a feeder

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David

Celandine with tiny insect

Celandine with tiny insect

Tiny insect in search of the nectar of one of the celandines growing in the same spot as the violet from the previous post.

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David

First violet of the year

First violet of the year

There’s a spot by a canal bank where violets and lesser celandines flower together every spring. When I visited in the middle of March several of the yellow flowers had opened, but just this one violet.

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David

Camellia flower and bud, West Park

Camellia, West Park

Flower and flower bud on one of the camellia bushes growing in West Park.

Camellia bud, West Park

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David

Canada geese in flight

Canada geese in flight

Pair of Canada geese flying by the water at Pool Hall Fishery. They were coming in to land in the field on the far shore.

Canada geese in flight

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David

Wetland Pool, Tettenhall Ridge lost in the mist

Wetland Pool, Tettenhall Ridge lost in the mist

All but the faintest ghost of the trees of Tettenhall Ridge lost in the mist in this view over the Smestow Valley Wetland Pool early one morning.

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David

Pussy willow catkins beginning to open

Pussy willow catkins beginning to open

Catkins on a pussy willow just beginning to open. They had not yet got the bright yellow surface of pollen for scattering to the wind.

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David

Elf cup by Compton Lock

Elf cup by Compton Lock

Scarlet elf cup fungi seem to have been growing in more patches in and around the Smestow Valley Nature Reserve this winter. This was one of several scattered on the floor of the patch of woodland by Compton Lock.

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David

Dunnock high in a bush

Dunnock high in a bush

Dunnock which obligingly posed while perching high in a bush by the canal towpath at Wombourne.

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David

Tufted duck female, West Park

Tufted duck female, West Park

One of the female tufted ducks on the lake at West Park. As with many bird species, her plumage is plainer than the male (previous post).

Tufted duck female, West Park

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David

Tufted duck male, West Park

Tufted duck male, West Park

Male tufted duck on West Park lake, showing the feathered tuft at the back of his head. He is sprinkled with drops of water remaining after feeding at the bottom of the pool.

Tufted duck male, West Park

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David

Signs of spring – Daffodils

Daffodil, East Park

A daffodil growing by a path in the wooded end of East Park, and a bunch growing together in a front garden, showing earlier this month. More signs that spring is now well on the way.

Daffodils