Category: David

Some of the ducks which have taken up residence in West Park, coping when the lakes were almost frozen.

As winter approaches, the sloe berries have finally turned almost completely black.

Holly berries covered in hoar frost after the recent freezing fog.

A flotilla of ducks had just swum by, hoping I was going to feed them.

That disturbed the surface of the previously dead calm canal just the right amount to give fairground mirror type reflections of the heron fishing on the opposite bank.

Badger and magpie footprints in the snow

The footprints of a badger and a bird in the recent deep hoar frost. The bird was probably a magpie.

Another (overlapping) pair of badger prints taken on the same day.

A badger print from a few days previously, this time in snow. This print is much more indistinct that the ones above.

These bird footprints, with my oversized heel as a size comparison, are from a pheasant.

Fox prints in snow. It’s a disconcerting characteristic of fox footprints that they all line up pretty much in one straight line.

Blackberry leaves and branch iced in the recent cold spell.

Crab apples on the tree behind Compton lock. The covering of frost makes them look like they have been sprinkled with sugar.

Hawthorn berries (and ivy leaves) covered in the recent hoar frost.

During the hard weather the West Park population grew.

Gulls taking refuge from the snow by resting on the crossbar of a goal. The nearest gull has a gob of snow on its beak – presumably from having been delving for food.

Various deciduous trees covered with the recent hoar frost.

Some of the West Park birds coping with the early onset of winter.