Afternoon Walk

We had a couple of hours spare so made the short journey to a local canal. This is a great spot for wildlife and usually reveals something different every time we go.

As we parked the car we noticed Butterbur flowering

In various places Field horsetail was starting to appear

There were a few tractors working the fields and one disturbed a Roe deer. It seemed to have difficulty running through the field due to the thick mud. Eventually it reached the cover of some trees.

On the side of the canal there were clumps of Marsh Marigold flowering.

According to Wild Flowers of Yorkshire this used to be hung over farm doorways to ward off witchcraft and as a protection against lightning strikes.

Apart from a few Reed bunting and the some Lapwing and Curlew there was not much activity from the bird life but still the sight of the Roe deer added a little excitement to the day and it was encouraging to see various plants starting to flower. The canal has lots of Yellow water-lily and the leaves of these could be seen making their way to the surface.