June 1st – It may have been the first day of the meteorological summer, but it was cold, wet and blustery. Again.

Cheering me up in the gloom, though: Clayhanger’s latest family: seven Canada goose goslings, clearly very recently hatched. When I spotted them, they were scrambling to hop out of the overflow they’d been paddling in.

Mum and dad were very attentive and impressive parents, it has to be said.

May 31st – There’s living in that little face. Watching me from near Middleton Bridge, this inscrutable black puss was high on the embankment. A charming little cat, not moving o really acknowledging my presence at all. 

Wonder what happened to the ear-tip? I bet there’s a story there…

May 31st – A wolf of a day again – a heavy wind and wet morning, but bright sunshine in the afternoon made for a short ride and some familiar views to test the Nikon. The zoom is a lot more tricky to get right than the older camera, but it gives way better results, I have to say. Those shots of the Cathedral from Shire Oak and Hammerwich from Newtown are remarkable sharp for the range. 

On the whole, the camera seems excellent, and most of my grumbles are with a particularly fiddly user interface, not inconsiderable weight and peculiar autofocus lag.

Oh, and terrible, terrible documentation. But on the other hand, wow!

May 30th – As is traditional on a day when you have a new camera to try out, the light was crap. It was dull and overcast and less than inspiring – but the views over the Brownhills and Shenstone countryside were green and lush.

That limpid-looking pool is a surface drainage lagoon for the M6 Toll. You’d never know to look at it.

May 30th – I have a new camera to try out. I usually use a Panasonic TZ70, but having used that brand for 8 years, I often try alternatives to see how they are when I get chance.

Courtesy of a generous friend, I’m currently using a Nikon S9900… and I rather like it. With similar ultra zoom performance, it seems a bit more solidly build, and I have to say, in most situations I’ve used it in, the camera has produced excellent images.

They seem a little vivid, but the macro mode is excellent, and much better than I’m used to, as I found when I tried it on various flowers.

I have this for a couple of weeks, so plenty of time to find the issues, I guess.

May 29th – I don’t know why, but I find these oak galls a bit horrible. They are distorted leaf buds, into which a wasp injects it’s egg and a chemical which causes the tree to grown the gall instead of a leaf stalk. The larva lives within the growth, feasting on it. When mature, the wasp eats it’s way out and the life cycle continues.

This tree on Clayhanger Common is peppered with these tumour-like galls – they look like fruit. The gall doesn’t harm the tree particularly, but it’s a very visible parasite.

there are many different types of gall wasp, all with different methods and growths. I’ve not seen this one before, and am unsure what it is specifically.

Nature can be very odd sometimes.

May 29th – A quick run through Walsall Wood on the cut on a wet morning rewarded me with all kinds of life in the dripping wet green. The swan family from the Watermead were near Clayhanger Bridge and had obviously gone past their nap-time. Shame about the litter, sadly left where people were fishing the day before.

If people bring stuff with them, is it really so hard to take it back home?

The Canada Geese goslings are also growing well, and were closer to The Black Cock bridge – but in-between, a stripy fellow was being nonchalant and pretending he’d not seen me.

Life teams this time of year, rain or shine.

May 28th – At Clayhanger, the Mallard family that numbered four on Sunday is down to three; probably picked off by a heron or raptor (or perhaps even a fox), it’s sad to see but natural, I guess. Mum may go on to have another clutch this year, and this is the way of things I guess. But I do hope the missing one didn’t suffer too much.

Meanwhile, just near Clayhanger Bridge, a single Canada goose mum and one gosling. I think there must be a story there too; she looked like she was protecting her fluffy charge with grim determination.

Nature can be so brutal sometimes.