Wolves Wild

This nettle was part of a small patch where all the uppermost leaves were a much paler shade of green than the rest of the plant.

There have been kestrels living on Union Mill, visible from the platforms of the railway station for a long time. But it seemed that whenever I took my camera to try to get a picture, they decided to spend the day somewhere else.

Finally I saw one when I did have a camera. It did eventually move into a position where it was showing itself just before my train was due to go. This was after it had spend some time with its back directly pointing at the station (final picture).

The bumble bee is visiting one of the umbellifers which thrive in the field behind Compton Lock.

There are grains of pollen sprinkled on its back and legs.

Insects in the Smestow Valley Reserve feature today. This red admiral made a brief pause on vegetation just inside the entrance from Compton Hill Drive to the Barley Field.

Yellow-tailed moths are quite common, but these are the first I ever noticed – they look just like scattered down when they are at rest.

Apart from the tail, which can’t be seen here, they are pretty mush all white.

This pair of moths were spotted just up the road from the one in the previous post. They may have been mating.

This moth was spending the day resting on Ludford bridge over the river Teme. Its camouflage wasn’t very effective.

This young heron was looking hopefully for prey at a site just upstream of the hunting-ground of the dipper featured in the previous post. It didn’t seem to be catching anything.

Dippers are small birds which tend to keep well away from people as they hunt their prey in fast-flowing streams. The one here is standing in the river just behind the rock in the centre of the picture.

Lords and ladies is one of the most distinctive of the common hedgerow plants. Here the berries are just beginning to change from green through yellow and orange to red.

Although it is only August, fruit are already beginning to ripen, and some indeed to go rotten.
This raspberry was growing wild, although it may be descended from a cultivated plant.