David

A crowned earthstar under trees by the riverside footpath / cyclepath by the Severn in Shrewsbury. Earthstars have (in my opinion) one of the most attractive shapes of fungi. They aren’t very common, and can be quite easy to miss, usually occurring in the undergrowth below trees or bushes. They do, however, tend to stick around for at least a few weeks once they appear.

Even among the earthstars, crowned earthstars rank only as “occasional”. This one had been kicked over, perhaps by a dog. That did give a clearer than usual view of its shape. From its state, it seemed likely that it had managed to disperse its spores before it was knocked over.

The remains of one of last year’s teazels and one of last year’s umbellifers growing on the banks of the Severn, early morning sunlight silhouetting some trees on the top of a ridge on the far bank.

One final big batch of pictures on the Shrewsbury loop of the Severn over the Christmas period.

When not grabbing bread, most of the birds spent most of their time towards the left bank of the river. Perhaps because the currents on the outside of the curve make for better fishing. Perhaps because there’s less disturbance: the right bank has busy roads or footpaths close to the river for all this stretch.

So these are all pictures taken across the river. Goosanders swimming upstream, swimming downstream; threats as one male warns another to stay away from my bird.

The stonework of Welsh Bridge and riverside fences in Shrewsbury provide the foundations for spiders weaving their webs. Morning dew leaving droplets on the webs help them stand out from the water in the background of the pictures.

The Quarry in Shrewsbury must be one of the country’s most distinctive urban parks. It’s got a riverside location, and takes up a significant fraction of that part of town enclosed in the loop of the Severn. Every August, it’s home to a well-known flower show.

On cold and misty mid-winter mornings, there tend to be fewer people around. But as the sun starts to appear, cloaked by the mist, it might be in the middle of nowhere.

A misty morning over Christmas, and a lone cormorant was resting on a fallen tree which was just emerging midstream in the Severn at Shrewsbury. As it turned its head, it seemed to be paying more attention to the sky than the water. Then it wasn’t there any more. Eventually it surfaced, before diving again.

The day before, what may have been the same bird had been standing high in a nearby tree, waving its wings to dry them (here).

The section of the river Severn which forms the loop almost enclosing the centre of Shrewsbury is crossed by three road bridges: Welsh, Kingsland and English Bridges; three footbridges: Frankwell, Porthill and Greyfriars; and the railway bridge with the platforms extending along it.

Over Christmas, much of the country was blanketed in mist which hung around for some days. These views of the river during that period feature most of those bridges.

Focussing in this time on the females among the gathering of goosanders on the Severn by St Julian Friars in Shrewsbury.

Goosanders gather at various points on the Severn in winter to choose mates and then to actually mate. One such concentration means there’s a chance of spotting in central Shrewsbury, particularly on the stretch between the Portway footbridge and English bridge – the short stretch immediately downstream of English bridge seams a particular favourite for actually mating.

The most likely spot of all on this stretch is by St Julian Friars, a popular spot for feeding the birds. Some goosanders have learned that there are easy pickings there. On our visit last month, they actually outnumbered the mallards. They were also coming so close that it was easy to get pictures: some of these were actually taken on a phone.

I took so many pictures that today’s set is just of lone males. More to follow.

Snowdrops already flowering in late December inurchyard, a quiet corner in the centre of Shrewsbury,.