Wolves Wild

Fungi, possibly velvet shanks, rotting the tree they are growing on. In their turn being sustenance for the white mould growing on them.

Wigeon, constantly whistling to one another, swimming on a stretch of the open water at the RSPB Bolling Green Reserve. Others moving as a group as they fed among the tussocky grass.

The busy Exeter to Exmouth main road crosses the River Clyst by a fairly narrow, historic stone bridge. It’s only a few years since there’s been a wooden bridge for pedestrians and cyclists running beside it, built with the development of the RSPB Goosemoor Nature Reserve.

Already, the footbridge supports a rich array of algae. This is a small sample, mainly of those growing on the rail inches above the floor level.

The great egret, still standing on the far side of the Bowling Green Marsh Reserve, was now approached by a heron stalking towards it, giving a strong impression of being on a mission to intimidate the incumbent. The heron carried on striding for a few yards beyond where the egret was standing, but then the egret, immobile up to this point, flew off.

In what I presume was a deliberate decision to aim for a colour match with the violets flowering nearby, the crocuses planted in Topsham churchyard were all of the violet form.

Lurking at the very back of the RSPB Bowling Green Reserve, right by the railway line, was a lone great egret. It’s just about visible in these pictures.

Yet more early flowering Devon violets. These were growing on the grassy roadside bank further along the same lane as the white violets which featured in a post earlier this week.

Two spoonbills which have been staying for most if not all of the winter on the RSPB Bowling Green Marsh Reserve at Topsham. Not only were they standing so far from the hide that they’re tiny in the shots on my camera, which had only limited telephoto range. One of the pair was placed as if deliberately hiding behind the nearby cormorant.

More mid-February Devon violets in flower. These were growing in the roadside by the dead-end quiet lane which runs along the RSPB Bowling Green Marsh Reserve in Topsham.

Our visit to the Exe estuary this year was timed so that I was seeing the river when the tide was low, so most of the waders were feeding way too far away for me to get any clear pictures of them feeding – apart from this smallish group which came closer to the Goat Walk at Topsham one morning.

Mid-February, and already the violets in the favoured climate near the south Devon coast were fully in flower. These were in a clump which were growing in the churchyard at Topsham.

The Exe estuary at low tide has huge expanses of exposed soft mud, pullulating with invertebrates. That, together with its temperate climate, make it an important site for large flocks of overwintering birds: geese, ducks, waders and more.

When the water’s out, there’s usually a handful of turnstones close to the Goat Walk at Topsham. They wander, more or less as a group, from one clump of seaweed to another, probing the ground searching for things to eat.