Tree Head

Smile and the tree might do to..

Sky Watch Reflection.

Peak Forest Canal

Romiley

Waterside Views

Relaxing by the Water

Sleeping Giant

Resting Defor

Screaming Curlew

Slaphead Womtig

These are a few shots I took whilst walking around the moor tops of Woodhead, Tom did a series on the river last week and these were taken the same day. He laughed when he saw the few pictures I took of him and I'm pleased it did not mind me showing off his baldy head.. ha!

Baby Robin

This little fledged Robin was within touching distance at times, it showed no fear at all when I moved around to get a different shot.

I only saw the one but was sure I heard another calling nearby, the parent birds will still be feeding them at the moment so after I took these I walked back the way I came so as not to cause the parents anymore alarm.

Not a sign of the Robins Red Breast at this early stage, speckled browns to help it hide unnoticed in the undergrowth, but it sure stood out some it front of these new leaves.

Woodland Views

Start the week off with the last of my early spring pictures, these buds are all in leaf now and the trees are many shades of green. It is a great time to be out and about in the woodlands. Tomorrow I'll show you a young Robin I came across, which like most young showed no fear and posed quite happily for me.

Dandelion

The dandelion is one of the most versatile plants we have. Often classed as a weed the dandelion is in fact native to the UK, and is a true herb. The word herb comes from herbaceous, meaning to die down during the dormant season in winter. It is also used under the secondary definition of herb because it as medicinal properties.

After fertilisation, each tiny flower becomes a seed that is formed with a 'parachute' of white hair attached. The seeds are blown from the plant by the wind, or by small children 'telling the time' or making a wish, by counting how many blows will remove all the seeds. The seeds can travel a long way on the wind, before they land and become a new plant. The taproot also is capable of propagating. If it is severed, all the pieces can grow into a new plant.

The milky sap of the stems can be applied daily to warts, and traditional Chinese medicine makes use of a poultice of the leaves to treat boils and abscesses.

They are also great to take macro pictures of, I practiced on these when I first got my camera.

Canal Views

Reflections

Sky Watch Fish Supper

Rainbow Trout For Supper

It tasted beautiful.. well they both did

Evening Stroll

I thought this looks like a dog swimming in the water

Now it is taking shape

Coot

Tulips

The Beauty of Macro

Jelly Ear

Fun With Fungi

Bluebell & Fungi

If you go down to the woods today...

.....you're sure to sights like these

Tawny Owl.

Our Tawny is a resident owl and stays in its breeding area all year. Hunting takes place at night and the Tawny is perfectly adapted for this. It has extremely sensitive eyes and ears which help it to locate prey in very dim light. The Tawny's hearing is so good that it can pinpoint prey even when it is too dark for its keen eyes to see. The soft plumage and comb-like leading edge to the wingtips enable it to fly silently. The owl waits quietly on a perch and then glides down and pounces on its unsuspecting victim, killing it with its talons or with a quick bite once it as a hold on its prey.

The Tawny's diet depends on the habitat it is living in. In woodland, mice and voles are mainly eaten with some birds, shrews, worms and beetles. In urban areas, small birds may form the main part of the diet such as sparrows and starlings. They have been known to take goldfish from garden ponds. Then again so have I.. :O) but that's another story.

A Tawny owl spends the day roosting on the branch of a tree as the one I have capture here and is often mobbed noisily by small birds such as chaffinches, house sparrows, blue tits and blackbirds, though they seldom manage to disturb the dozing owl.

I have been back to this spot but I found no trace of it again.. I was sure it would be nesting in a hollow tree not from here. I came across the rough pellets that owls and hawks regurgitate but all of them are old. It seems that it as moved on.

Tunnel Vision

Peak Forest Canal

Sky Watch

Sky Watch Silhouettes

Woodland Floor

Wood Anemone

Bluebells

Drinking Trough

Stone Horse Trough