Monday, May 15, 2023

Spotted out and about

 Last Wednesday we popped into Trentham Gardens for a walk around the lake.  It was a lovely morning although rain and thunder storms were threatened we managed the walk and also a quick look around the garden centre before it started to rain.  

I took a few photos as we walked around, stopping halfway for a coffee at the lakeside cafe.

I've never seen so many Camassias.

Like bluebells it is hard to capture the vividness of the blue.

Below a soft yellow tree Peony

Such a pretty tree

 Looks like I managed to photograph an insect on the  flower.

This black swan was quite inquisitive and it came right up to me.  I said I was sorry to have no seeds for him/her. It liked the look of my camera.

 Proud Greylag parents

I'm sure there were six goslings but I seem only to have captured five of them.

 Below a curious squirrel


Cow Parsley frothing at the side of the lake. One of my favourites at this time of year.

At the start of the walk is a chalk board with bird, mammal and insect sightings around the lake.  Mammals spotted include Beaver, Water Vole, Field Vole and Shrew. Didn't see any of those.  I'd love to see a Beaver and a Water Vole.  We only managed to spot the ubiquitous Grey Squirrel.

 

Meanwhile on our early Sunday morning walk across the fields nearby the Hawthorne blossom was looking lovely in the gentle sunshine.

The bright blues and yellows in the hedgerows are being overtaken by a profusion of white.  Hawthorn, cow parsley and wild garlic.

We spotted a fox making its way across the field.  It appeared on the path in front of us, became aware that we were there and scooted off into the bushes.  Not sure if it was male or female but I guess there will be cubs somewhere.  Skylarks were singing and crows cawing.

We saw a few butterflies a small tortoiseshell, orange tips both male and female and a couple of little brown ones dancing around each other and staying in front of us as we walked.  Across the meadows were those black flies with long dangling legs. I think they are called St Mark's flies.  At one point the air seemed full of them.


 All for now. 

 

 

12 comments:

  1. Lovely photos Rosie - the Camassia is a beautiful blue. I saw some recently on a roundabout near Worcester and wondered what they were so thanks for the id! Isn't it lovely to see hawthorn, cow parsely and wild garlic in flower? Such a super time of year for flowers. The goslings are very cute!!! Have a good week.

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    1. Everything is so fresh and vivid green at this time of year too, driving out this morning was a real treat. The goslings were lovely, so sweet. I hope they all survive:)

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  2. Oh so lovely. I too like camassias, but never grown them & we have lots of hawthorn & cow parsley alongside our roads, thanks to our first settlers. It does look pretty in Spring & the birds are feasting now on lots of berries. Our black swans have quite a snap if they want something & I've memories of them chasing a certain young man.(giggle). Those geese are similar to our Cape Barren geese, though possibly not as large. I think I spotted your sixth gosling, possibly squatting on the ground just between/behind the 2 adults. Thanks for sharing, take care & hugs.

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    1. We have a few camassias in the garden but they aren't doing very well, perhaps they don't like our heavy clay soil. Glad that the sixth gosling was there after all, great you spotted it:)

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  3. Well done on the butterfly spot. It’s been a very poor year here so far. Love tree peonies and those gardens are beautiful. B x

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    1. We've both seen a little blue butterfly over our garden in the last few days, not sure what it is, I must get the book out and see if I can identify it. The tree peony was gorgeous:)

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  4. The walk around the lake must be a good place to see water birds. Also it's satisfying to know that beavers, field and water voles and shrews live there. The black swan is beautiful and the greylag goslings are cute. I've spotted camassias growing on council verges in our city, but I think the setting is prettier where you took a walk. Your other walk looks good too. It's rewarding when you spot butterflies, see a fox and hear field birds singing.

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    1. Thank you Linda, always lots of water birds at Trentham, I guess you have to be there very early to spot some of the wildlife, I know they have dawn chorus walks, I bet they are interesting. We are used to the foxes that visit our garden but it was good to see one in the fields:)

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  5. This is another fantastic place which never fails to deliver. A great post. 😊

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    1. Thank you, always good for a walk and always something new to see:)

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