Hi there
I went for a 3 hour walk around my patch today to get away from the house for a while. I took my camera and bins with me, and I was a happy person. I wanted to get a few good pictures of wild flowers, and try to brush my ID skills once more. The skills are sooo rusty at the moment
I walked around to an area of the local park i had never been to before called 'Fenlake' and it involved an interesting walkabout. I saw a male Reed Bunting sitting on the top of a spindly branch singing his heart out and I was good to hear him sing as I am not familar with Reed Buntings singing at all.
Another bird song elevated itself from another bush. I stood and watched the bush intently but no joy with any sighting of the bird at all. It sounded Warbler like. i have had a good listen to the RSPB bird calls, and I am aiming towards a Lesser Whitethroat at the moment - there again?. I will have another stroll tomorrow to the same tree, and have another listen to the call.
A Chiffchaff sings on the other side of the river from where I am and another bird answers it back. Two birds in competition with one another on opposite sides of the Great River Ouse.
A Black Cap joined in the chorus and it was a singing heaven form all species of birds. I could have listened all day long. All for free too!! Lots of Sedge Warblers in the area once again. Their scratchy uneven calls where unmistakeable in many a riverbank bush.
I past by the Boat Lake, and I hear a machine travelling over the top of the water like a hovercraft. I had a chat to the driver and he said it is special machine for removing alga from the surface of the water. It is a rare machine with only three in the UK. The lake water is still and not running so that is why the alga is so abundant everywhere (though I am sure that the Mute Swans like nibbling it a lot)
It was noted as usual my Scottish.....Edinburgh accent seems to stand out in Bedford. It is good that people seem to associate a trip to Scotland as part of their lives - still it bring s a healthy subject home and it is good to talk about Edinburgh and the surrounding areas.
So, I took a few pictures of Wild flowers along the disused railway line, and I will post them here. Anyone who has Wild Flower ID's would be greatly appreciated.
What Flower is this?
Alga on the surface of the Boat Lake
White Campion
Red Campion
Ox-eye Daisy
Dog Rose
Wood Sorrel?
More to come....
An inviting local path that gives you the desire to walk along it.
Speedwell
A Common Daisy
A Common Buttercup
The 'Alga' cleaning machine at the side of the Boating Lake
Just a lovely 'peaceful' day out even though the weather was a bit cold, dull, and windy
Regards
Kathy and Dave
Hi Kathy
It seems like you have some beautiful walking countryside very close by. How lucky you are.
I'm not much good at identifying wild flowers so I will let someone who is an expert come along and do the job properly.
A lovely set of pictures though. Thanks for showing them to us.
Best wishes Chris
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What a lovley way to spend some time eh.lovely picks too...
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Hi Kathy,
Lovely photos. It's a great time of year to be out among the flowers :)
I am still working on my flower IDs but can do a few of yours. No 1 in post 1 (the yellow flower) is Common Silverweed. The one you've labelled Wood Sorrel? looks right but has too many petals, I think (should have five) - don't have any other suggestions though I'm afraid. Wood Sorrel should have clover-like leaves... not sure if the leaf visible in the pic belongs to this flower or not but it doesn't look clover-shaped. Of the last three in post 1, the first is Herb Robert, the second Common Mallow, and the third... I don't know :( will get back to you if I have any ideas! The unidentified white flower in your second post is Garlic Mustard.
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Looks like a lovely walk yesterday!
I think that the bottom set of pics in your first post are all types of cranesbill, the wild geranium clan. The one with the purple veining might also be from the group of wild flowers.
Wild flowers aren't really my fortey but I should get to know them better as they don't fly away + they are easier to watch with a tiny strapped to my back bouncing around. Lol.
Hope someone with a greater knowledge pops along soon.
'In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks' John Muir.
Excuse wobbily dyslexic spelling!
Oh no the second from the bottom is def mallow - sorry!!
Thank you for replies everyone.
Now all the ID's are starting to bring a few memories back with ID's. Once moved I will make a point of having a scout around every so often and test my wildflower skills - love it!!
Thank you all for the ID's. I think the pink colouration of wildflowers can be the most confusing one as it feel there is more of this colour than any other colour. I was sure that one picture was of Herb Robert so that is confirmed as they are much smaller than the Red Campion {thumbs up}
aiki: The one you've labelled Wood Sorrel? looks right but has too many petals, I think (should have five) - don't have any other suggestions though I'm afraid. Wood Sorrel should have clover-like leaves.
No there was no clover shaped leaves so I can confirm that detail to you
I will be going back to the Fenlake Reserve closeby, as I did yesterday to see if that mystery bird plus its call is still around. I will have another look and see if I can see it in the bushes.
Love to know what the bird is!
Lovely set of pics Kathy! So many flowers out there when one starts looking!
"All weeds are flowers, once you get to know them" (Eeyore)
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It sounds like you have a great place to walk there! Great photos too.
I am also quite interested in the flowers and especially taking photos of them. But unfortunately, I am completely hopeless at ID'ing them. And as everyone knows my bird ID'ing isn't too hot either! :)
There is a friend of mine who organises bird holidays and one of his holidays was a trip to Ireland on a 'Botanical Special'. I didn't go this time as I have been to Ireland dozens of times. But I reckon you would have loved it - it sounded great: http://www.islandventures.co.uk/ireland_may.pdf
I am going to return to Cheshunt, hopefully next week, to try and discover their 'Orchid Discovery Trail'......and will hope to try and get some good photos.
Best wishes, Graham
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Thank you MarJus for your kind reply.
Graham:Thank you for your comments. No worries about not knowing the species of flowers as this makes it good for all of us to learn on this Forum all at one time. Over 15 years ago I knew my wild flowers but I have not kept the practice going so everything is strange to me once more.
Great that you have a friend who enjoys the subject as he does. i will have a look at the link.
My x-husband from 20 years ago, who was a botanist, had a degree in the subject. Not a qualification that is good for the job market unless you are going to be a teacher. We met through a wildlife group that we where with at that time.
Once you know the wild flowers you really have to keep reintroducing yourself to the species so that you remember them on a daily basis.
I was out and about for another 3 hours today. Yes, i found some more flowers to photograph, and will post here asap.
Today, I found more areas that I have never ventured to yet. Priory Park, and all ad-joining areas is a vast place and you can walk for quite a while without meeting anyone else at all. Peace and harmony comes to mind. found other wildlife too and I will add anther thread about general wildlife asap. I think there are more visits on the cards with the on-going move. It is good to have time out form the event of moving.
There is an ongoing expansion scheme in the near future to add more areas onto the exisitng park so it will be a huge area to walk about. I understand that it will stretch to St Neots on the ourskirts of Bedford. Cannot wait for all of this to happen now. Will never tire of the area at all as it is so lush and great for wildlife.
Love to hear how you get on at Chesthunt in your flower Foray too. Are there known Orchids there at all?
Unknown said: Hi Kathy, It sounds like you have a great place to walk there! Great photos too. I am also quite interested in the flowers and especially taking photos of them. But unfortunately, I am completely hopeless at ID'ing them. And as everyone knows my bird ID'ing isn't too hot either! :) There is a friend of mine who organises bird holidays and one of his holidays was a trip to Ireland on a 'Botanical Special'. I didn't go this time as I have been to Ireland dozens of times. But I reckon you would have loved it - it sounded great: http://www.islandventures.co.uk/ireland_may.pdf I am going to return to Cheshunt, hopefully next week, to try and discover their 'Orchid Discovery Trail'......and will hope to try and get some good photos. Best wishes, Graham