Just after I took the pictures in the previous post, the parakeets flew from the island and landed high in one of the conifers closer to the path. This is the one less obscured by the branches.
The ring-necked parakeet pair in West Park. One is feeding on an alder on an island on the lake while the other keeps on watch.
Neither bird has the red patch of feathers at the back of the neck (the “ring” of their name) which marks the male. But they are definitely acting like they are paired.
Staffs & Worcs Canal seen from two of the bridges crossing it. Hinksford Wharf on a sunny winter day, and the morning sunlight on the new growth on a weeping willow at Newbridge.
Pair of tufted ducks on the West Park boating lake. The drake with the tuft at the back of his head has drops of water over his back from a recent dive. The female (as in many bird species) has plumage less showy than her mate.
Two of the geese at Northycote Farm, bathing together in the same tub of water. Each of the birds seemed to be preening the other one’s feathers as they swam round and round.
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.