Here are some of the early spring buds and leaves in the park. It will change very quickly from here on.
Here is another gallery of photos
Brassica
Dwarf Mahonia
Dwarf Mahonia
Algae in the wetlands
Algae in the stream feeding the wetlands
Marsh Marigold
Algae in the stream feeding the wetlands
Marsh Marigold
Marsh Marigold
Marsh Marigold
Marsh Marigold
Some nice shots, Henry. We went there this morning & saw the very pretty ornamental toadflax, Linaria maroccana, near the new pools which is the pinkish flower in your photos. There was also a diminutive specimen near it with creamy flowers. Must be an escapee from one of the seed mixes & does turn up as a casual.
In the same area I noticed several plants of non-flowering Flixweed, Descurainia sophia, an early pioneer species. The only other place I’ve seen this plant in this country was when the London Wetland Centre was first constructed. At first in the early stages it was pretty common but over the years declined & I’m not aware it’s been recorded in recent years. Presumably the seeds have come in with the imported substrate?
It’s a yellow flowered crucifer with quite small flowers but is most unusual for a crucifer (cabbage family) are the very divided fern-like leaves. Look forward to see it flowering here.
On the same pools a pair of Grey Wagtails was feeding.
Migration has brought in a couple of singing Chiffchaffs in the park whereas the Black-headed & Common Gulls seem to have departed for their breeding grounds.
My iNaturalist app identified the Toadflax for me, but with insufficient confidence for me to label it as such here. I also noticed the creamy specimen, but here finally my mere iPhone camera simply could not produce a good photo and I did not include it.
We also spotted the wagtails, but again photography with a mere iPhone is not really on.
The algae on the pond seems to be forming rapidly. Richard tells me this can be mitigated with plants, but probably not this year. When the flow through the ponds slows down, we may get a lot of the surface covered with this?
I suspect the algae will be a dominating feature this season as temperatures rise & if plenty of nutrients.
For the first time since I walked with you I went to the channel by the allotments + some of your marginals are coming up including a couple of flowering Marsh Marigolds.
Neil, There are more than a couple of Marsh Marigolds. I have added photos of them to the gallery above.
A communal effort planted these last November, along with other marsh plants such as sedges and rushes.
The large pond in the centre of the main park is now coming up for three years old and has already seen two summers. It dries out around June-July, and then the bottom of the pond is fully covered in plants. I wonder if it is these that keep this particular pond relatively free of algae when it has water?
A newer pond, on the left of the footpath leading to the new bridge and passing through the golf course has a permanent green tinge to it all year around. Perhaps that is because its base was gravel rather than clay, and the plants are less well established? That pond is certainly very porous and it does not hold water very well.
I did see there were quite a number of Marsh Marigolds but not all were in flower. Noted the sedges + also Water Mint. Couldn’t see any sign of amphibian life here though many tiny tadpoles in the pool near the Coston Stream, recently emerged from the spawn.