Wolves Wild

Tiny mushroom growing on moss, and just peeping through the short grass. The cap all looked the same shade of yellow – perhaps the whitish spokes heading towards the rim are a product of overexposure.

The current turkey at Northycote Farm, the replacement for the bird killed by a fox after vandals wrecked its pen a year ago. Perhaps characterful rather than handsome.

This shot caught the bird as its nictating membrane was covering the eye. Sometimes called the third eyelid, it lets birds protect their eyes while still partially seeing their surroundings.

Growing on the wood mulch in the Sensory Garden at Northycote, redlead roundheads are small, brightly coloured mushrooms.

See this earlier post for more on their exotic origins.

Jay spending a long time on the ground in the Smestow Valley Barley Field. It was busy eating: lowering its head then coming up with a bunch of loose straw, possibly for insects in the straw.

I wasn’t far away, but the bird seemed fine with carrying on eating. Perhaps it felt safer because it was half-hidden behind tussocks of grass.

Hazel catkins beginning to develop earlier this month – and even a tiny bud which will develop into one of next year’s leaves.

Little grebe in the canal at Compton. Probably Smestow Birder Geoff’s bird still in summer plumage.

Every time a dog passed, the bird dived or retreated into the bankside vegetation. This was the only shot I could get without disturbing it.