Absolute #serenity in Dorset as this mallard swims into the winter light. #birdoftheday #birds #ukwildlife #nature #art #naturephotography #ukbirding #dorsetbirding

A Somerset robin and his hawthorn berries. I love their territorial spirit! #birdoftheday #smallbirdsaturday #robin #ukwildlife #art #photography #naturephotography #birds #saturday #weekend

I saw some mandarin ducks and it felt incredible. Read more if you would like to: tinyurl.com/victoriawool... #birds #eastcoastkin #nature #ukwildlife #wildlifephotography #naturewriting #ukbirding #saturday #writing #art Photo credits in article, with eternal thanks.

Out of my normal patch this weekend and saw this Egyptian goose using its #longneck for a preen, in Hyde Park. #birdoftheday #birds #london #ukwildlife #nature #eastcoastkin #wildlifephotography #photography #art

One of #RSPB Lodmoor's many black headed #gullsinwater. An elegant yet badly named gull with a white head in winter and a brown one in summer! #birds #birdoftheday #ukbirding #nature #ukwildlife #photography #eastcoastkin #naturephotography #dorsetbirds

The Somerset Levels from Ebbor Gorge, including shining floodwater. It looks so harmless from here. #somerset #nature #photography #climate #naturephotography #uk #weather #flooding #weather #countryside #winter

An absolute rabble of house sparrows lives in my Somerset garden. They are so used to me that they hardly move when I appear out of the door. This one is making some rather grumpy #eyecontact #gardenbirds #birdoftheday #birds #eastcoastkin #photography #wildlife #ukwildlife

Representing the West Country for #SquirrelAppreciationDay is this chubby grey squirrel in Haldon Forest, Devon. #wildlife #nature #naturetherapy #outdoors #eastcoastkin #animals #cute #naturephotography

This great tit has found his #perfectperch but looks ready to get going. Taken at #RSPB Ham Wall. #birdoftheday #birds #nature #eastcoastkin #photography #wildlife #naturetherapy #ukbirding #somerset #ukwildlife

The browns and greys of a British winter can seem never ending, luckily they can also be quite beautiful. Read more if you would like to: tinyurl.com/ycyydc9y #birds #nature #naturewriting #naturetherapy #wildlife #outdoors #wellbeing #weather #landscape

A chaffinch for today's #birdoftheday. He's a well fed chap living at #rspb Ham Wall in Somerset. I am seeing more and more of these; hopefully their numbers are bouncing back. #birds #ukbirding #eastcoastkin #nature #wildlife #winter #photography

Gloria the Goldfinch #BirdOfTheDay #Finches #birds #photography #EastCoastKin

Charles the Chaffinch #BirdOfTheDay #Finches #birds #photography #EastCoastKin

A gorgeous teal in its #natural marshland habitat for today's #birdoftheday. Teals are our smallest duck and their winter arrival into the West Country is one of my favourite things. Taken at #rspb Lodmoor, Dorset. #birds #ukbirding #dorset #newyear #winter #wildlife #eastcoastkin #naturetherapy

Great Spotted Woodpecker by the bird feeders at Haldon Forest Park, Devon. I was on my way into the forest in search of Crossbill (which I saw but couldn't get a shot of) and Hawfinch (which are still eluding me.) #birds #wildlife #devonbirds #forestrycommission #devon #eastcoastkin #newyear

While walking under a large yew at St Mary's parish church in Charlcombe, nr Bath something caught my ear and I saw a few goldcrest (I think) feeding. Then one hopped down on the floor and didn't seem to notice me #wildlife #birds #nature #ukbirds @westcountrynature.bsky.social

My son found and photographed this Firecrest whilst we were at Ham Wall yesterday. It was on the main track about 100 metres east of the windmill #somersetbirding

Velvet Shank mushrooms in Edford Woods, Somerset today. Known as the winter mushroom as they last into the colder weather, even surviving a freeze. #mushrooms #fungi #mycology #nature #wildlife #UKNature #WinterWildlife #Winter #holidays #frost #Somerset

Sleeping shoveller ducks at #RSPB Ham Wall this weekend. The closest my #ducks have ever been to being in a row! These shovellers gather in numbers on the #Somerset Levels every winter. #SideViews #BirdOfTheDay #birds #sleep #rest #EastCoastKin #winter #BirdSky #wildlife #photography

A robin in a frosty Forest of Dean. The most obvious and cheering of all #winterbirds. #birdoftheday #birds #nature #christmas #festiverobin

I hope you are enjoying the bluer skies this weekend. This blue tit is, in Edford Woods Nature Reserve, Somerset. The flitting acrobatics of blue tits are heartwarming. This one is investigating a swelling bud. #birds #ukbirding #somersetbirding #Wildlifetrusts #somerset #bath #nature

A grey heron on a grey day at RSPB Lodmoor in Dorset, for today's #birdoftheday. Easily the most 'dinosaur' of our native birds. #heronsandegrets #birds #dorset #nature #naturewriting #wildlife #britishbirding #weymouth #dorset

#birdoftheday finches in my back garden in Somerset. The goldfinches often fight to get onto this feeder full of niger seed. I have to sneak it in at night for its clean, so that they are never disappointed! These are the most common finch I see in my patch. #birds

Ravens visit my work regularly. It turns out that they are not just 'big crows' after all... Feel free to take a read. open.substack.com/pub/victoria... #raven #birds #birdsky #somerset #nature #naturewriting #wildlife #iceland

We had so many ladybirds across the West Country this summer. There are still loads to be found tucked away in nooks and crannies for the winter. This pair are hibernating on an elder stick on my allotment. #nature #insects #winter #hibertnate #somerset #wildlife

In central Bath this evening, hundreds of pied wagtails came into roost on this Christmassy tree. They were illuminated by the lights and looked like living snow. Credit to my sister for taking this video. #birds #birdsky #nature #bath #christmas #ChristmasLights #urbanbirds

Little egrets in the UK still seem exotic to me, despite having started to arrive in considerable numbers in the 80s. They are so elegant, until their bright yellow feed appear out of the water! #Birds #Birdsky #BirdOfTheDay #sideviews #nature #wildlife #dorset

Paying attention in a small Somerset nature reserve inspired this latest piece of reflection. open.substack.com/pub/victoria... #nature #naturewriting #mushrooms #fungi #somerset #rivers #ukwildlife #bath #wellbeing #environment

It's easy to forget how beautiful our most familiar creatures are. Everyone thinks of a mallard when they hear the word 'duck,' but how often do we stop and look at them? RSPB Lodmoor, Weymouth, 8th November. #RSPB #Weymouth #bird #birding #duck #wildlife #nature #Dorset

Jelly fungus in woodland near Holcombe, Somerset today. Looking like some kind of spillage, this is one of nature's weirder and more fascinating creations. #nature #fungus #somerset #wildlife #outdoors #woodland #forest