Wolves Wild

Deceiver mushrooms after a cold January night. As they warmed slightly, the frosty coating has been reduced to a rim round the edge of the caps.

A small monkey puzzle tree after a cold night. By lunchtime the following day, the sunlight is well on the way to making the frost disappear.

Landscapes from late January back in 2013. The leaden skies and the blanket of snow have almost completely drained the scenes of colour.

The views are of the canal by Castlecroft bridge, heading out into the south Staffordshire countryside, and at Compton.

For a short time several years ago there were wallabies in Wolverhampton. This picture was taken from the bridge where the Stafford Road crosses the canal, looking down to where they were.

Tall trees just outside the grounds of Holy Trinity church, Stratford on Avon, with lots of bunches of mistletoe growing on the high branches. From a distance, the combination of the evergreen leaves and the white berries of the mistletoe give it a “golden” appearance, contrasting with the dark tones of the bare branches of the host trees.

A kingfisher poised on a branch over a side arm of the Avon at Stratford, before flying off (in my direction). Shaky pictures because the hand I was using to hold the camera was on the same arm as my crutch.

For many other bird species, pictures like these would be struggling even to rate as record shots. The kingfisher’s colours are so strong and distinctive, there can be no doubt about it.

There were actually two birds present, though I only saw this one.