The storm has passed....the sun is warm and bright...

Dragonflies and butterflies are out enjoying some basking...

The young swans are doing some flying practice....

And a little flock of long tailed tits are busying themselves along the hedgerows.

Today the wind is blowing hard across the pool, 

bringing flurries of rain as well as sunshine...

the swaying grasses sound like the sea on the shingle...

the birds are sheltering....

the seeds are flying instead!

A cool breeze across the pool..... sunshine and clouds....

A chiffchaff in a willow by the pool

Hedge woundwort by the path - give it a sniff if you see it!

The adult swans are increasingly flying off for a bit

leaving the youngsters to get use to life without them

Some folk are getting grumpy!

and conkers are emerging from their spiky cases on the horse chestnut trees.

Lovely warm early Autumn days on the pool.....

 A young Goldfinch eyeing up the fruitful hedgerows

A teasel in the sunshine

Female Green-veined White Butterfly (maybe!!)

A Common Shrew - dead on the path

Wood pigeon - sitting pretty, on its nest

Heron  - up to his tummy, fishing

Seeds - breaking out

All is quiet here under the boardwalk.....

But up in the hedgerows there is much feasting.... and squabbling!

Great tit

Robin

Just to update yesterday's post....Well thanks to some knowledgeable friends I discovered that the weird rose thing is the rose bush's reaction to a gall wasp laying its eggs i.e. a gall

And the dragonfly I thought was a Southern Hawker is actually a Migrant Hawker.

So I learnt something new there!

I'm feeling like we could do with some more water in the pool... but life is still good...

This is a wierd looking rose thingy over by the bridge...

This is a comma butterfly enjoying the sunshine at the end of the boardwalk

And this (I think) is a Southern Hawker Dragonfly.... taking a few more rests as we get to the end of the season....

Parent or child?  Yes my little ones are as big as me and getting more like me every day....

The cygnets are a lot more recognisable... but still grown up a lot.

 We have a small flock of blackheaded gulls on the pool now (not blackheaded at present - just a little black spot on their heads as they have winter plumage)

and hedgerows of fruit - but I'll leave them for the hedgerow birds.... I'm a strickly pond weed kind of bird!

The cootlets are getting there white front spots now ....

A well camouflaged darter on the path (I think)...

Some Autumnal fruits... blackberries...

Horse chestnut (conkers)......

and Elderberries... being enjoyed by Starlings.....

Well last week my little ones still looked cute though down to five.

This week the posse of five roam around the pool like restless teenagers while we are in the background to give support if they get into trouble!

The nest has gone, the wind is blustery out on the pool.  The clouds are dark and moody but the paths are tidy after all the work by the volunteers.

af

and a wood pigeon sits and ponders his next move...

My Cootlets are five weeks old now and growing up fast... no red heads anymore...  lovely white fronts instead .... and great at diving for weeds!

And the pool has some beautiful dragonflies and butterflies around.  Here is a Speckled Wood (I think).

The little ones go exploring on their own more now but soon we are back together again... and they still want me to give them food!!

The water level is lower now and a bit smelly round the edges..... but the view is still lovely....

some gorgeous purple stripes on the canary grass.... rustling in the breeze.... like being at the seaside...

and I love the bold purple thistles too.

Invaders in the camp!!

But we see them all off - including the swan!

And their three little ones are not so little any more.....

And this is me and my brood.... (just six now)

And Mr Heron posing at the end of the pool....

And some mushrooms in the woodchip pile....

And the view from here... new bullrushes in the sunshine.

Haymaking time in the meadow....

 

So lots of fluttery butterflies about....

and lots of people sitting around drawing and painting and taking photos..... I must be famous!

but I'm just busy busy busy feeding my little ones.