Swallows on a telephone wire as they prepare to set off on their long journey to southern Africa, resting and occasionally preening their feathers.
The middle bird was an adult, the others this year’s young. Occasionally, one of these young would make a cry demanding to be fed. The parent made no response.
The rarest of the rare breeds among the livestock on Mary Arden’s Farm at Wilmcote. Arapawa goats come from a tiny island of the same name off New Zealand. They are thought to be descended from old English goats left on the island by Captain Cook.
Young tufted, one of a group of five or six birds including the adult in the previous post, swimming on the Avon, and a view of its tail as it dived under the water.
Tufted duck swimming in a circle on the River Avon at Stratford, contorting as it preened, twisting as it raised its front out of the water to attend to the feathers on its chest and stomach.
Mangalitza pigs, woolly and apparently not bred for their cuteness. Originally Hungarian, they supposedly have a distinctive dark meat which has recently become a favourite of some foodies.
These characterful animals were among the traditional breeds of livestock on Mary Arden’s Farm at Wilmcote.
Open-a**e, or more politely medlar fruit. The vulgar version of the name was used by Chaucer and Shakespeare in their writings.
