Perky European Grayling parr feeding with Minnows in a chalk stream tributary of the River Test

Enjoy these gorgeous European Grayling (Thymallus thymallus) parr busy feeding with European Minnows (Phoxinus phoxinus) in a chalk stream tributary of the River Test, pointing upstream into the fast flow to snatch tasty morsels. Notice their pointy noses, horizontal lines on their flanks and big eyes that all differ from the Brown Trout parr with which they share the river. Some of the Minnows are in breeding condition, displaying blue-white tubercles eg at the gill cover. See the raw chalk on the river bed, although sadly there is too much of the green algae Blanketweed (Cladophora glomerata), which has apparently appeared only in recent years, due to eutrophication. Sewage? Agriculture? More positively there is also a few whisps of that mark of a healthy chalk stream, Chalk-stream Water-Crowfoot (Ranunculus pseudofluitans). There is a bank of Fool's Watercress (Helosciadium nodiflorum) in the background. (P7253665 51 50 49 47) .