David

View over the edge of a reed bed on the Exe estuary.

This flock of ducks was feeding directly in front of the RSPB hide at the Bowling Green Reserve
in Topsham, south Devon.

This teazel is probably cultivated, but it harmonised in colour with the reed bed in the background. I couldn’t resist the picture as I enjoyed the view in an excellent pub’s outside drinking area.

I took this as a grab shot of the moss growing on a garden wall, its fruiting bodies lit up by the sun. It wasn’t until I looked at the picture that I noticed the tiny mushroom.

This tree was outlined against the sky, growing on the bank separating the Exeter Ship Canal from the estuary of the river Exe which can just about be seen in the background.

This blackbird appeared to be spreading its wings to catch the sun.

This post, and like those for today and the next three days, are not from in or around Wolverhampton. Instead, they were taken on a short break in south Devon at the end of February. These violets were already developed in a sheltered spot.

The scruffy feathers of this feeding swan mark it out as a young one.

These oyster mushrooms were growing from the sawn-off stump of a birch tree in a garden.

The soil was built up, perhaps level with my chest. That’s why these views show the undersides of the mushrooms and there are better views if the gills than the caps.

I don’t know whether it is cause or effect, but the mushrooms are sprouting from there the bark has peeled back from the stump.

Oyster mushrooms can vary in colour and be seen at any time of year.

As a tributary of the river Worfe passes through the Dingle at Badger, it is first held back to make a pool which is larger than either of the two pools in the centre of the village.

The water is then released to form one of the few waterfalls which can be seen in the vicinity of Wolverhampton (above).

The pool was well covered with surface pondweed in mid-February. Notice the tracks where some water bird has been, thinning the weed in its wake.