Little Egret on the Woodside Link pond
Enjoying the plentiful food
Little grebe on the right inspecting a female mallard
There were two little grebes and one swam right up to me, a delightful bird also called a dabchick
The fields were full of colourful wild flowers and grasses, perfect habitat for dragonflies and damselflies
Black-tailed skimmer
Damselfly resting with wings along its body
Showy Ox-eye daisies
The chalk meadow in late summer
Painted lady butterfly
Curious fungus
The marl lake in the Chalk Pit much depleted while on the northern rim the chalkhill blues flutter around a bit of pooh
The Wildlife Trust on a water vole survey but only signs of water shrew or bank vole were found (left)
Thorn Road showing Bury Spinney on the left and Oakwell Park on the right. I was looking for chewed hazelnuts hoping to find evidence of hazel dormice who used to live in this area. I found plenty chewed by mice, voles and squirrels but not dormice. I wasn't really expecting to in view of the disturbance to their habitat.
View of Regent's Place from Bidwell West
Builders have hung up their hats and planted flowers in them outside the site of the second warehouse on Thorn Road
Lapwings and gulls taking advantage of the temporary shallow scrape on the site
Golden reed bed in the Chalk Pit
The marl lake restored
Reflecting on these pictures, there is so much to look forward to next summer. Even though the climate is changing, the cycle of the seasons means we can expect to see frogspawn in March, warblers in April and swifts in May, that is the wonder of nature which I find restorative and full of hope. I thought the marl lake had gone for ever but when conditions were right it filled up again (like the scientists said it would). Listening to the water trickling into it instead of down the plughole was a tremendous relief and seeing these green-blue colours in its depth made me think what a mysterious and beautiful world we live in.
