Wolves Wild

As well as the two pools in the centre of the village there is one down by the stream in the Dingle.

This weathered post, by a quiet lane outside Pattingham, seemed to be the crow’s preferred lookout point.

This heron seems to have chosen the willow tree on the island of the smaller arm of the lake in West Park as its preferred perch.

One of a pair of Aylesbury’s which were on the lookout for bread when the mallards seemed happy to be resting in the warm sun.

A second “Access all areas” session where the entire Conservatory at West Park was opened to photographers was held at the end of June. The pictures I took will feature in several posts in the coming days. The first instalment is this magnificent orchid which was in one of the greenhouses at the back, not normally open to the public.

This short stretch of canal between two of the Stourbridge locks is much wider than it is long so as to act as a small reservoir.

The 6-spot burnet is a vividly-coloured, day-flying moth.

By my count, this one has five spots on each wing. This is not unusual.

This series of pictures are all of the same individual. They show how the colours, especially the iridescent blue, varied dramatically as it moved very short distances as it fed on the knapweed flower.

These flies (species unidentified) had gathered in some numbers on the damp clay margin of a pond in the Barrow Hill LNR, Pensnett.

The young of a harlequin ladybird.

These insects are the fastest spreading non-native species in Europe and the most invasive ladybird in the world. It is reckoned to threaten the survival of 1,000 native insect species.

This tiny ladybird resting on a wild rose bush lives up to its name with just one spot one each wing.