Brown End Quarry

This was my first visit to Brown End Quarry
A fascinating little Staffordshire Wildlife Trust reserve, providing lots of interest, as it not only is a quiet little haven for wildlife it also holds a lot of geological interest too.
All of this used to be the floor of a warm tropical sea.

Brown End Quarry

Brown End Quarry

If you look closely at the rock fall you can see fossils 

There is even a pile of stones you can go fossil hunting in, next time we need to take a geological hammer with us. But we did come across some evidence of shell like fossils...

cowslips

Butterbur

This is a great place to visit and just sit, enjoying the tranquil surroundings

Can't see the flowers for all the grass!

After catching a glimpse of a white flower on the common I had to go and investigate at the weekend. I am so pleased I did. The Common has all of a sudden burst into flower but most of it is hidden away so you need to look really hard to find the gems out there.
So here are a few of the hidden flower jewels, I found!

Marsh Marigold

Lousewort

Violet

Field Woodrush

Ladies Smock

Another hidden gem!

I really enjoy the walk out of Gnosall towards Newport along the disused railway line, especially during the spring with so much to see. Yesterday it was magical, it was hot and sunny, not a cloud in the sky and the tree line track provided a welcome shade at times.

There were so many butterflies flying around although they are strong fliers at this time of year and they weren't interested in resting on any of the vegetation, so we didn't manage to get a good look at any of them but I can tell you that we saw Speckled Wood , Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and Green Veined White butterflies. We also saw a pair of blackcaps and chiffchaff, and there were robins flying in in and out of the hedges all the way.

The spring flowers looked magnificent we had Primroses, violets, bluebells, wood anemone and wood sorrel,

And in the hedges the blackthorn was out in it's full glory and the pussy willow looked stunning too

and all of a sudden our country lanes are full of colour again!

Even though it was a grey dull day, my spirits couldn't fail to be lifted walking along our lane today, with the sound of distant curlew warbling and a wren singing for all it's might on the top of the hawthorn hedge, such a big song for such a tiny bird!
Take a closer look at the hedge and the verge and glimpses of colour catch your eye. whites and yellows and a very well hidden patch of blue.

Blackthorn

celandine

celandine

dandelion

white dead nettle

chickweed

ground ivy

Chasing buntings

On my last dog walk I was captivated by butterflies.
Today it was the birds that thrilled. My first chiffchaff of this spring, and not just one, but three !!!!

Then I had this heron fly past, not sure what it had in it's beak

And for the last part of my walk I had this pair of reed buntings flitting about amongst the grass and the hedge.

I must have followed them for about quarter of an hour, the dog was very good and kept waiting to allow me to take photo's but I still never managed to get quite close enough.

Chasing butterflies

Having seen three butterflies flying around my garden yesterday I chose to go on a butterfly hunt on the common, with the hope that I might be able to photograph some.
Some hope - first find your butterflies!

Well I did manage to find my daughters mirror brush which she lost last week, we had given up hope of ever finding it, but today there it was just lying there in the middle of all this. Whether she will ever use it again is debatable but at least we know it isn't lying on the common anymore.
And, then, at the sheltered end of the common, not only were there some butterflies dancing about, but some actually stayed still long enough for me to photograph.

                                                                     Small Tortoiseshell.

                                                                           Peacock

and I also spooked a couple of snipe too,- not sure who jumped more them or me

A host of golden Daffodils

It has been several years since I last visited George Hayes reserve and as it is a Saturday in the middle of March and the sun was shining we made the decision to pay it a visit.
Georges Hayes is a Staffordshire Wildlife Trust reserve   It is home to an ancient woodland but more importantly for me today, it also has the largest colony of native daffodils in Staffordshire.
When we arrived at the reserve a large bumble bee flew past, the first one I've seen this year, so a great start! then we were confronted by a large amount of litter scattered about the car parking area, so our first job, (which we really didn't have time to do because the rugby was on TV all afternoon, which apparently we needed to get back for!) was to collect up all the litter up into a bag. House keeping done we walked into the woodland.

 The ground was covered in wild garlic leaves and a hint of their heady aroma hit us in waves,

There was also the evidence of the beautiful delights that will await the visitors later in the spring with bluebell leaves all around us too.

The path was also dotted with celandine, and the sound of the woodpeckers drumming along with the calls of the numerous small woodland birds made us very aware that spring is in full swing.

Then there they were in all their glory,' I wandered lonely as a cloud'  can't fail to jump into ones mind at this time.

Daffodils happen to be one of my favourite flowers!

I could have sat amongst them all day!

.... but alas! I couldn't as the rugby was on TV all afternoon and apparently we needed to get back for it!!!!