Primrose Path

This morning's walk took in part of the old Nottingham Canal.  The air was filled with birdsong and the hedgerows full of flowers.  Among the most abundant of these flowers were the Primroses (Primula vulgaris).

They were seemingly everywhere as we walked along and carpeted the ground between the trees.

The plants are hermaphrodite, but the flowers display two distinct types and are known as Heterostylous.  This is a complicated term and is best described if you click HERE.

The yellow theme was continued as a lone Yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella) was singing from the top of a tree nearby.  A little tricky to spot as he was quite a long way away, but there he is...

The song of the Yellowhammer was probably the first one I was able to identify as a small child and still brings back memories of long, hot, dusty summer days in Norfolk listening to their "little-bit-of-bread-and-no-cheese" song.
Typically a bird of arable farmland, they are not seen often round these parts.  Coupled with the crash in their numbers in recent years, so it was a great treat to hear this one - and to see him - this morning.  Click on the pictures to get a closer look and you will see the flies flitting around the bird's head too.