Wolves Wild

Aldersley Junction – view from the towpath of the Staffs & Worcs Canal to the bridge across the end of the Birmingham Canal. The last of the twenty-one locks can be seen through the arch.

Clump of snowdrops at Bantock Park, yards from the ones in the previous post, and pictured at the same time. The overnight rain seems to have cleaned these flowers.

Some of the early snowdrops in Bantock Park last month. Heavy rain overnight has splashed the flowers with mud.

Bantock House can be seen peeping over the bushes in the background.

The swansfavourite stretch of the river at Stratford on Avon is between the tramway bridge and the chain ferry. That is where there are the richest pickings of offerings from tourists.

On my occasional visits to the town, there always seems to be one pair of swans on this stretch which distinguish themselves by swimming up and down this short length with their wings curled high. It looks like they are using their wings as sails. Actually, I think, it’s a threat posture – it makes the bodies look larger.

It seems always to be the same pair, a pen and a cob. Sometimes they swim apart from the other birds, separately or together; sometimes with the big group of swans which forms. Occasionally they even seem to be with groups of the geese.

View towards the aqueduct which carries the Smestow Brook across the Staffs & Worcs Canal.

This is where the brook emerges into the open air. Previously it runs mainly through underground culverts, with a short open stretch in Fowlers Park. Most recently, its course was under Wolverhampton Racecourse, which is behind the hedge on the far bank of the canal.

View looking downriver and in the direction of the setting sun from the riverbank at Stratford on Avon.

Sheep, one in a field of pregnant ewes, nibbling at the nearby grass while lying down.

Recently-excavated entrance to a badger sett, under the hedge by the canal at Newbridge. Traces of the badger(s) using the entrance show up best on the left of the soft earth.

One of the footprints. Not dissimilar to those of a large dog, but the toes are more likely to leave an impression, and the sole leaves a kidney-shaped mark clearly wider than it is long.

Chillington Wharf, off the Birmingham Canal near Bilston Road, was originally built for water transport to and from a major ironworks nearby. When the works closed, it became a depot for transferring goods between the canal and the railway (hidden in the background of these pictures).

An indication of the length of time the site has been falling into picturesque dereliction: the post standing in the middle ground of the top picture is from a gas lamp.

Heron perched in a willow tree at the river edge of the churchyard in Stratford on Avon.

The bird stayed for some time, despite lively pedestrian traffic, sometimes directly under its tree. It even turned its head to keep a disdainful eye on a dog running loose on the footpath under the tree.

The long plumes dangling at its front show that the bird was already preparing for the breeding season when the pictures were taken (mid-January).

Reeds growing in the middle and at the edge of the pool in Hickman Park, Bilston, when it was frozen a couple of weeks ago.

Buds which will soon be opening as this year’s oak leaves, as they were beginning to grow in the middle of January.