Nice to see the redwings back in the garden feasting upon the haws

Cracking wee rosy bonnets by the edge of a rough pasture in the Ochils

The rough pasture and adjacent shelterbelt behind my house are forever giving in their abundance of fungi - here, a stunning cluster of common stump brittlestems

Nae weel so catching up on some reading. I just love Keith’s writing style, beautifully describing his love of nature and its importance in our mental wellbeing. Based on #Edinburgh’s wild nature places (clue’s in the title!). @keithbroomfield.bsky.social

Giving some puffballs a helping hand in releasing their dust-like spores

A great spotted woodpecker watches the sun dip below the horizon this evening from its lookout post by the edge of the Ochils

One from last week when the sun briefly shone – a family group of whooper swans on a lochan at the head of Glen Turret, newly arrived from their breeding grounds in Iceland

A goldfinch this afternoon down by the river

'Thick mist and the merest whisper of wind caressed my face as I walked along the broad grassy ridge, the air wrapped in an all-encompassing silence that was completely addictive'. My 'Outdoors' column in this weekend's Courier and P&J

An enjoyable time today at the Auchterarder Book Festival giving a talk titled 'Nature Journeys' on the places that have inspired my books, followed by some great questions from the audience

I will be doing a book signing session for my new book – Wild Edinburgh - at the Scottish Christmas Book Fair from 3pm to 3.30pm at The New Town Church in George Street, Edinburgh, from 3pm to 3.30pm on Friday 21 Nov. Free mulled wine and mince pies!

A wee wood mouse checks out the garden plant pots

The hills were alive to the sound of roaring stags in Glen Turret a couple of days ago as the autumn red deer rut neared its conclusion. Here, a group of hinds on a distant ridge, with a stag on the far right

A wee bit of autumn magic in Glen Turret yesterday

Some whooper magic on a small lochan at the head of Glen Turret today

A stunning ballerina waxcap in a rough pasture by the edge of the Ochils #wildflowerhour @bsbibotany.bsky.social @wildflowerhour.bsky.social

I was gonna go cold turkey on taking any more fungi photos – but then I found this stunning pink waxcap (aka ballerina waxcap) in the rough pasture behind my house

'A blustery afternoon on the Montrose Basin and the vast estuarine enclosure had been completely in-filled by the tide, the water ruffled and white-topped by a strengthening wind'. My nature column in today's Press & Journal and Courier on a magical encounter with pink-footed geese

A drift of sulphur tufts in one of my local woodlands

This striking amethyst deceiver by the edge of a rough pasture in the Ochils was a bit of an eye-catcher

Join me at the Auchterarder Book Festival on Saturday 1 November to hear about the nature journeys that inspired my books. Free tickets on Eventbrite

Even in gardens, rare species can occur, such as this pink waxcap growing on our lawn. This stunning fungus is assessed as ‘vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

It was formerly thought that slime moulds were fungi but they’re different & classified as protists. Here, egg-shell slime mould I discovered yesterday. After a couple of days, the little yellow structures explode to release their spores, after which they look like cracked eggs!

A fab time last night giving a talk on my new book ‘Wild Edinburgh’ to the RSPB Forth Valley Group at Bannockburn

While watching the sun set yesterday evening by a shelterbelt in the Ochils, this great spotted woodpecker appeared above me and hammered noisily away in search of invertebrates, sending wee flakes of bark tumbling down to the ground

Cracking sunset on my evening walk by the edge of the Ochils looking towards Bank and Kingseat Hills

A misty walk to Seamab Hill in the Ochils brought a close encounter with this wee fella - a curious stoat

It’s a privilege to be editor of the prestigious Forth Naturalist & Historian journal and involved in organising its 50th annual conference at Stirling University on 15 Nov. Details on how to attend at tinyurl.com/yc8yrcvh

Translucent beauty - intricate radial patterning on the undersides of these porcelain fungi this afternoon growing on a tree trunk in a shelterbelt in the Ochils

A fly agaric bringing a splash of colour to the woodland floor in Glen Devon

I'm always looking for reasons to avoid mowing the lawn - and this waxcap provided the perfect excuse...

'An impossibly large fin broke the surface followed by another, dark backs arching through the cold sea in a manifestation of nature’s raw power'. My outdoors column in today's Courier and Press & Journal on a magical encounter with orcas off Shetland

Like a lost refugee from summer, a painted lady butterfly resting on a sand-dune in Lunan Bay last week, wings flattened as it soaks up every last vestige of warmth from the autumnal sun. They are long distance migrants, spreading northwards from the desert fringes of North Africa

Enjoyable time yesterday in the centre of #Edinburgh meeting the folk from the Edinburgh Natural History Society and giving a talk on my first book, If Rivers Could Sing published by Tippermuir Books, and the incredible array of life found on the River Devon in #Clackmannanshire , #Scotland

Gannets off Fair Isle from a couple of weeks ago as seen from a fishing vessel and getting mighty excited by the easy pickings of herring on offer

Great to see an article in the Edinburgh Evening News on my latest nature book, Wild Edinburgh, published by Tippermuir Books

Ready to pounce - the soft light of the early morning sun catches this lapwing on the estuary of the River Ugie by Peterhead as it poises to snap-up a worm

I don’t know this book but I’ve got it on my to read list now!

‘For his new book, Keith Broomfield went back to his childhood haunts in Edinburgh, where his love of nature began, and found a city packed with extraordinary wildlife’. Nice feature in today's Scotsman on my latest book – Wild Edinburgh

‘I was in the twilight zone, the period of transition between summer and autumn, and as I made my way through my local wood, the first signs of the change in the seasons were all around’. My nature column in today’s Press & Journal and Courier

My latest book – Wild Edinburgh - has now been published. This is a book for those who love Scotland’s capital city and are keen to delve deeper into its natural riches. Available in bookshops and from online sellers

My latest book – Wild Edinburgh - has now been published. This is a book for those who love Scotland’s capital city and are keen to delve deeper into its natural riches. Available in bookshops and from online sellers

This mottlegill toadstool was a nice find when on a 14-mile return hike along upper Glen Almond with a couple of mates earlier this week

A heron last weekend snaffles a flounder on the estuary of the River Ugie by Peterhead

Taken last week off Fair Isle, Scotland, and not the best pic as the bird was distant and flying fast. It is a sooty shearwater – breeds on islands in the south Atlantic near Antarctica, then migrates north in an epic oceanic journey

The low evening sun catches this pair of orcas off Fair Isle a few days ago, with a bonxie (great skua) swirling around in the foreground

A north Atlantic sunset over Fair Isle a few days ago #Shetland #Scotland

A video of my recent orca encounter 15 miles off Shetland as seen from a herring fishing vessel. Not much is known about these offshore orcas as they lead different lives from those found close to the shore in Shetland, feeding on herring and mackerel, whereas the inshore ones specialise in seals

A wee trip to the waters off Shetland yesterday brought a magical encounter with orcas

Great to see the Wee Bookshop in Dollar receive its first copies of my new book - Wild Edinburgh - published by Tippermuir Books. Book explores the amazing wildlife found in Scotland's capital city