One Morning

Grey Heron, Ardea cinerea.  Husseywell Park, Hayes, 25 June 2016.

I go out most days to look for plants or invertebrates to photograph.  This post documents a couple of hours of one recent morning. 

The weather forecast was a bit iffy so I just walked up to a local farm field, which I am monitoring to log all the plant species in its monad (1-km square) for the London Flora Project.  On the way I walked through Husseywell Park, a small park with a small pond.  The name is a contraction of  "Housewife's Well." 

The pond is small, but big enough to interest a heron.  My lovely 100mm macro lens lets me take long-distance shots as well as closeups, and the sensor in my camera (EOS 5DS) allows me to crop down to just a small part of the picture and still make it look good.

Yellow Corydalis, Pseudofumaria lutea.  Hayes churchyard wall, 25 June 2016.

I photograph common plants if I see a particularly photogenic specimen. The wall of Hayes churchyard is clearly very welcoming for plant life.  As well as this Yellow Corydalis, there are four other species just within this photo.

Pellitory-of-the-Wall, Parietaria judaica.  Hayes churchyard wall, 25 June 2016.

This is one of them.  Pellitory-of-the-Wall is in the same family as stinging nettles, but is harmless to touch.  Though, according to Wikipedia it is very allergenic.

Pellitory-of-the-Wall, Parietaria judaica.  Hayes churchyard wall, 25 June 2016.

It has tiny white flowers clustered in the leaf axils.

Toad Rush, Juncus bufonius.  Hayes Street Farm, 25 June 2016.

Finally at the farm, which is only 15 minutes walk from my house, I photographed mostly species I had not spotted here before. This Toad Rush is not rare, but usually likes damp places.

Toad Rush, Juncus bufonius.  Hayes Street Farm, 25 June 2016.

The flowers are more interesting in close-up.

Smooth Sowthistle, Sonchus oleraceus.  White-petalled form.  Hayes Street Farm, 25 June 2016.

I've seen these before, but this is a nicely placed specimen of a white-petalled form of the Smooth Sowthistle, so I thought it was worth a photo.  The prickles are quite soft, unlike those of its close relative the Prickly Sowthistle, or, indeed, the true thistles.

Rush Veneer, Nomophila noctuella.  Hayes Street Farm, 25 June 2016.

I was distracted by this moth, which I chased until it settled in a photographable pose.  Rush Veneers are usually darker than this one.  They are known to come in to the country over the channel.  Of course, that will have to stop if we leave the EU.

Nursery Web Spider, Pisaura mirabilis.  Hayes Street Farm, 25 June 2016.

Spiders that hunt their prey usually carry their egg sacs with them, like this Nursery Web Spider.  They are hard to photograph because they only hold still for a few moments before dashing off into cover, so I get a lot of random unfocused shots of grass stems.  Luckily, this one is not too bad. 

I also had a couple of photos of unidentified plants, which I won't show this time.