Wolves Wild

Views across the lake at Wollaton Park, Nottingham to Wollaton Hall in its dominant hilltop position.

It’s about five miles from Nottingham city centre. The park, encroached by housing and a golf course compared to the glory days when an entire village was wiped away to create it, is now one of the city council’s public spaces. The lake attracts waterfowl. There’s herds of red and fallow deer. Extensive woods managed for wildlife are again a haven for birds, and are also well-known for fungi in the season.

The hall is now the venue for some of the city’s museums, including a Natural History Museum.

Scarlet elf cups growing on rotting wood under moss on the edge of Compton Rough, a splash of late winter colour.

Small group of male goosanders on the lake at Wollaton Park, Nottingham. They had been fishing near the shore, but were retreating from the busy footpath.

The same rail featured in yesterday’s post, making a brief visit to the inlet of the Penk at Perton Pool. moving very fast and randomly, hard to keep in frame.

Moss growing on the roadside wall of Compton Hospice, with a miniature forest of sporophytes raised above the level of the leaves to catch the wind for dispersing the spores.

Water rail foraging yesterday, possibly after invertebates, in the channel where the water of the Penk flows into Perton Pool. It spend most of its time feeding in the shelter of the overhanging branches of the bushes surrounding the bank of the pool. When it thought there was no chance of being disturbed it came more clearly into view, allowing me to get off lots of shots.

It carried on probing the water for food. At one point it paused for a quick preen before hunting again. After a couple of minutes it started to stroll back to the shelter of the bushes. Another minute later, and the stream of people passing started again.