Category: David

Sticky horse chestnut buds are normally a sign that spring is well under way. These were already developing just before New Year, in time to be dusted in frost.

Black-headed gull balancing on a wire, possibly in first winter plumage. The beak is in shadow, so it is just possible to see that it is a similar shade of red to the legs.

In centuries gone by, the Smestow provided power to many water mills. This one, at Greensforge, was built in the late 1800s and stopped working as a cornmill in the 1920s. The buildings are preserved through being subject to an apartment conversion.

Coot walking across the ice of the partly-frozen boating lake at West Park, slipping and skidding every few steps.

Magnolia buds covered in what looks like fur. These were beginning to come out in mid-December.

More velvet shank mushrooms, one of the brightest colours of nature in winter. Some frost crystals remained from the cold night, but most had melted, leaving a film of water which added a gloss in the bright morning sunlight.