The Elder budburst is one of the first signs that the Woodland Trust ask us to keep an eye open for and this Elder tree in the Maple belt is well advanced.
In spite of the fact that Dutch Elm disease still strikes this tree they nevertheless survive somehow and this one is on flower along the ditch from the main road.
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A lovely sunny afternoon with the temperature at 18 degrees centigrade. 7 Spot ladybirds out and about in some numbers and Bluebottles and Grey flesh flies sun basking fences and tree trunks.
The following pictures show lichens growing on tree stumps or trunks. They are all nitrogen tolerant which means that they can grow where the levels of air pollution are quite high. This is to be expected because of the main road running along the West side of the park. The Yellowish one is Xanthoria, the one with black spots is Lecidella, the grey green crusty one is Flavoparmelia, the one with greenish spikes is Cladonia and the dusty grey one is Lepraria.
Several pairs of Peacock butterflies flighting and jousting along the ditch which runs from the main road this afternoon. Lovely sunny day with temperatures 18 degrees Centigrade this afternoon.
