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....
Hi Kathy,
What a lovely peaceful walk you had. It lifts the heart to walk through such areas with the time to stop, look and listen. I should do it more often. We do have a good walk every late afternoon but we have the dogs, and never seem able to spend time just looking. Thank you for sharing your walk with us, it was delightful.
Cheers, Linda.
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Nicki C said: 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. Love to hear how you get on at Chesthunt in your flower Foray too. Are there known Orchids there at all? Regards Kathy and Dave
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.
Love to hear how you get on at Chesthunt in your flower Foray too. Are there known Orchids there at all?
Regards
Kathy and Dave
I'll let you know how I get on - the weather looks good for next week!
Best wishes, Graham
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Thankyou Sparrow for your kind remarks {big smile}
It is so true about being out and about and it really lifts your heart a lot and makes you see the worls in a differnt away.
Just to get away from the stresses, and strains of everyday living is good for you and it calms a person down inside and out.
Graham
I am glad to see that your walk was successful, as your report states.
The weather was on your side, and yes, Your Orchids are stunning, and it makes us all appreciate the beauty of the Orchid family.
This time last year, I tried to see a Bee-Orchid last year close to where I live. On the way through the grass, I placed my right foot in a hole and broke my leg. So Bee-Orchids have a few memories attached now, and the Bee Orchids had flowered and we missed them all together LOL - such as life!
Yet, another few pictures of flowers to ID from the same area that was walked around.
Took so many pictures it takes a while to work out what ones to download onto this Forum - hope that there are no repeated ones LOL.
A Red Poppy
and the others are not familiar at the moment! Must be a senior moment going on here LOL.
Some type of seeds
This is one that was questioned before and it shows the flowers leaves clearly this time
The last picture shows a yellow flower growing on top of the thistle so it is part of the same plant
The seed heads look like a willow of some sort (Salix) and the yellow flower is a sow thistle I think! Not at all sure about the pink veined one! The leaves do look a bit like the geranium family (cranesbill) but not sure!! Will let a more experienced forumite reply! Great pics by the way!!
"All weeds are flowers, once you get to know them" (Eeyore)
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Hi MarJus
Thank you for your kind thoughts about my pictures
ID-ing is never easy so that is why it is good that we all learn together on this thread.
I will have another go myself once more settled down later on this evening.