Bee on Sowthistle

 Smooth Sow-thistle is a native annual or overwintering weed common on arable land on most soils throughout the UK. It is also found on wasteland. There are many of these plants growing at Ferrymoor Flash right now. A Bee was capturing nectar from this flower,

Goose Train

 There were many more chicks attached to this Canada Goose but only so many you can get in one picture. I took this photo yesterday on a flying visit to Ferrymoor Flash. The lake seems to have lots of families of birds now. This is a good sign and lets hope most of them survive without being attacked by predators. This is always a wonderful time of the year when lots of new young birds start to appear.

Green June Beetle

 There seems to be a lot of these about at the moment. Not only at Ferrymoor Flash but my garden also has many. This is a  Green June Beetle found in and around the UK. If left alone during the spring and summer months many kinds of insects and creatures will spotted at this reserve.

Grey Heron

 It did not stay in one place for long. This Grey Heron was perched beside the lake at Ferrymoor Flash, it must have spotted me so decided to take off. I was fortunately lucky enough to capture it as it was flying over the water. There are normally at least one or two of these birds about sometimes even more. Five have even been spotted at one time.

Canada Goose and Chicks

 What a wonderful site, six new chicks swimming alongside the mother on the lake at Ferrymoor Flash. There are several families now on the lake, lets hope most of the youngsters survive and are not taken by predators. I have not been down for a few days so I would expect to see a lot more on my next visit.

Mallard Duck Chick

 Oh they do look cute at this stage in life. This Mallard Duck Chick  was swimming across the lake at Ferrymoor Flash. I love the dark stripe behind his eye. There are many families of these birds on the lake now. His head reflecting in the water and the ripples being caused as he dashes around with several others of his family brings this photo to life.

Canada Goose

 Portrait of a Canada Goose. This one and many others reside at Ferrymoor Flash most of the year. But there are lots of visiting birds at other times especially in the migrating season. These birds are actually native to the Arctic and temperate regions of North America. They do migrate to Northern  Europe and tend to form noisy flocks and can also be found on open fields and farmland.

Dog Rose

 A familiar flowering beauty that can often be found now at Ferrymoor Flash. It is a climbing rose with hooked thorny prickles. The petals are normally pink or white. They also have a faint sweet scent. When the flowers are finished they eventually turn in to red pointed hip buds. These is a real favourite with many birds.

Canada Goose Chicks

 These two Canada Goose Chicks were standing on a slope beside the lake a Ferrymoor Flash.  They had been in for a swim so were drying off their fluffy down. How cute they look with the sun shining on their backs. There are many families here now, some are just a few days old and others are more advanced, it will not be long before they become juveniles.

Greylag Geese

 Just flying in, these two Greylag Geese starting to land on the lake at Ferrymoor Flash . A quite normal occurrence lately. These mix with the Canada Geese they spend a lot of time on the lake. So far no chicks have been seen but it is still not too late for this to happen. The background of blue sky has really helped with this picture.

Grey Heron

 Getting ready to pounce his eyes looking down at a fish for dinner. This beautiful Grey Heron was standing in the shallow part of the lake on my last visit to Ferrymoor Flash. The surrounding vegetation has created a green cast in the colour of the water and also given a lovely reflection.

Greylag Goose

 A calm sunny morning at Ferymoor Flash let me capture this beautiful Greylag Goose with an amazing reflection in the lake. This is the largest and bulkiest goose native to the UK. They can be found amongst Canada Geese sometimes in flocks. Their sound aahng-ung-ung can be heard above many other waders.

Oxeye Daisy

 Sometimes known as the Moon Daisy. There are several clumps of this growing and in flower at Ferrymoor Flash. This is generally a meadow plant but can also be found growing in gardens. With a rich orange centre and those clean white petals this flower really stands out from the crowd. An attractive flower that can often be found with lots of bees on it.

Terrapin

 There are several of these at Ferrymoor Flash but this is probably the smallest I have ever seen there. One can only assume it all started with one or two perhaps put there by someone who is longer able to look after them. They are actually a small Turtle. They make me think of mini Dinosaurs. The stripes down the front and the clawed feet do give that appearance.

Gadwall Female

 This Dabbling duck is smaller than the Mallard. There seems to be several of these birds at Ferrymoor Flash right now. The female is very similar to the male but has a very orange beak. Seems to be a lot of new wildlife appearing now. I cannot wait to show what I spotted yesterday in  tomorrow's post here.

Daisies

 There is always a good crop of daisies to be found at Ferrymoor Flash. This patch was growing where a viewing area once stood. Until it was set fire to by vandals a few years ago.  Just a small flower but they can supply lots of pollen for insects. So when they are growing in your garden let them be as insects attract birds and we all want them to visit our garden.

Mallard Duck and Chicks

 This is one of three families of Mallard Ducks now at Ferrymoor Flash. The chicks look so cute and the markings in the feathers makes them look so spectacular. The area they cover when swimming around with the parents it quite vast. One day you can see them on the west end of the lake and another they can be right down in the west end.

Hawthorn Blossom Pink

 I noticed on my visit to Ferrymoor Flash yesterday that some of the Hawthorn blossom has a pink tinge to it. Something I have never noticed before. This flower also known as May blossom probably because of the month it flowers in is a haven for birds and insects, Very soon the blossom will  die off and small berries will start to appear that will eventually turn red in colour.

Canada Goose

 Just as he started to lift the wings it was a sure sign this bird was going to take off. This is one of many Canada Geese  at Ferrymoor Flash now. Hopefully there will be some tiny chicks about to appear but so far they have not come up trumps. I  love the colouring under the wings as the sunlight has caught the patterns.

Birdsfoot Trefoil

 This wildflower has many different names including Eggs and Bacon. There are a few of these plants growing around Ferrymoor Flash and are now starting to come in to bloom. This flower can also be found growing in other habitats including grass verges and on heathlands. You cannot miss spotting it as the bright yellow colour stands out.

Mallard Duck Chick

 There appears to be two families of Mallard Ducks now at Ferrymoor Flash. These chicks look so cute especially when they have droplets of water clinging to their fluffy down. It is quite amazing the colouring of them is so much different to the adult birds. All of that spectacular colour is still to come. The male bird always looks so bright and colouful.

Bracken

 All curled up like a ball this Bracken or wild fern as it is also known. I spotted it growing in amongst some the dead foliage at Ferrymoor Flash. It seemed strange that there is no sign of last years dead growth around it. The shapes of the leaves when they open can be quite spectacular. This plant is also an asset to wildlife especially for somewhere to hide among.

Greylag Goose

 A portrait of this beautiful bird at Ferrymoor Flash. It is the largest and bulkiest goose native to the UK. They can often be found mixing with Canada Geese. Also they tend to be semi tame which may be not in their favour some times. That bright orange beak really does stand out among the crowd though.

Blackberry Leaves

 Sparkling in the morning sunlight these Blackberry Leaves stood out at Ferrymoor Flash. I find taking pictures of all kinds of nature helps to understand the environment a lot more. Especially in closeup when you can see a lot more detail. It was not until I looked at this photo at 100% could I see the insect clinging to one of the leaves.