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Found in Nature January and February 2023

Thank you to everyone who submitted their fantastic photos of things they 'Found in Nature' in January and Feburary 2023. Please find the gallery below.

green plant which looks like smiling faces

Happy Little Liverwort!

Found in my garden. Last year attended a zoom talk on mosses and liverworts given by my local wildlife trust and then went out on safari. These happy faces had been smiling up at me all these years and I’d never noticed.

Debbie
Chorleywood u3a

big brown mushroom on moss

“Turtle Fungus”

Found in woodland near Newtyle, north of Dundee. On 2nd January while walking in woods on the Kinpurnie Castle estate near Newtyle I found this “turtle fungus”.

Mike
Dundee u3a

Pecking order....

Fishing port, Leigh on Sea on the Thames Estuary. Little Egrets squabbling on a fishing boat. Once rare, there are lots of these birds around here now and squabbles are usually short but can be vicious. No birds were hurt as a result of this dispute!

Richard
Leigh Estuary u3a

a donkey in a green field lying on its back with four legs in the air

‘I’ve just got to lie down!’

Found at Bodenham Arboretum. Well it made me smile- this donkey had so much fun rolling about on the grass then he seemed to pause to rest with his legs in the air!

Karen
Balsall Common u3a

a white swan with orange and black beak looking at its reflection in ice

An Icy Look

Found on Ulverston Canal. I suspect that this was one very confused swan

Colin
Furness u3a

a brown flower with lighter brown middle.

Chocolate Flower

Found in my garden in East Lothian. A beautiful flower, smelling gorgeous and just the right colour.

Dianne
East Lothian u3a

a black crow looking in a takeaway brown box

Crowing About Carry Out

Found in St Margaret's Loch. Watched the smart crow work out how to get into the box

Irene
Edinburgh u3a

Fibonacci Curl

Found in Banff, Scotland. A piece of curling bark loosened from a tree. Taken with my iphone12 pro max and a macro lens.

Andrea
Guildford u3a

Is It Time To Feed?

Seen through my lounge window. This robin appeared to be carefully considering whether to eat some seeds from the feeder.

Jim
Balsall Common u3a

The Thames In Flood

Found in Swinbrook near Burford. The winter sun on the flooded fields made interesting patterns.

Carolyn
Balsall Commonu3a

Boggy Beauty

A small fungi growing out of the middle of some beautifully coloured sphagnum moss in Scotland.

Jane
Dunstable u3a

the fine of a small whale in blue water

Whale

Found off Playa de Santiago, La Gomera, Canary Islands

Peter
Norwich u3a

a purple flower hanging down

Jersey Tiger Moth

Having completed the Great Garden Butterfly count not long after moving in to our new house in Torquay, I also found this rather unusual moth on our Buddleia, which is such a pretty little thing. Our garden is tiny but well set up to attract birds and insects.

Annie
Torquay u3a

a white butterfly on an orange flower with a big spherical centre.

Holly Blue Butterfly

Found in a local National Trust Garden. I thought the colour of the flower enhanced the markings on the butterfly.

Janet
Balsall Common u3a

a brown horse with woods behind it. Black tail and mane.

Nature's Adornment

I was in the New Forest with the Southampton Walkers group when I saw this delightful New Forst Pony nonchalantly displaying an adornment of bracken in her mane.

Jan
Southampton u3a

a brown and grey falcon on a building

Urban Peregrine Falcon

Found on an industrial building near the river Thames at Belvedere, Greater London. It's always special to discover such a wild creature in such an urban setting. A pair have been high up on this building for several years, and are quite at home.

Jenny
Abbey Wood & Thamesmead u3a

a thin legged spider

Gatecrasher!

During our Nature Appreciation group meeting this Cellar Spider slowly followed the sun which shone on the floor of the venue. Had it moved any faster I would have stayed seated!

Jenny
Honiton u3a

Contrails At Dusk

Although “man-made”, these contrails or condensation trials form an interesting criss-cross image in the evening sky over Balsall Common. Although close to Birmingham Airport these aircraft are far too high in the sky to have taken off from there. One wonders where their passengers will land.

Jim
Balsall Common u3a

Sunlight On The Waterlilies

Found in Waterperry Gardens.

Julia
York u3a

a brown and white bird with yellow talons on a thin tree branch

Kestrel

Found in Kirby Fleetham, North Yorkshire. It pays to be observant when driving, as i drove under this little guy and was able to stop and reverse back under him and get some photos before he flew off.

Steve
Northallerton u3a

A deer with big antlers on grass with lake and tree in background.

Lazing Around In The Shade

Found in Charlecote Park, Warwick. I was walking in the grounds of Charlecote Park where there were loads of deer, a few were sitting in the shade and I was lucky to get close enough to take this shot.

Tina
Balsall Common u3a

A long thin orange fungus

Fascinating Fungus

Found in Shorne Country Park, Kent. I love foraging for fungi but this dramatic Dog Stinkhorn was a first for me.

Jenny
Abbey Wood & Thamesmead u3a

a bird with a grey head and orange/ grey speckled chest. Close up with grass in background.

Stuffed Fieldfare

Found in my back garden. We usually leave the apples on our old tree for the birds and our local blackbirds enjoy them throughout December. However, one really cold day a flock of over 20 fieldfares descended on our garden and scoffed the lot in a single day. This one looks like it is stuffed with fruit.

Mike
Dundee u3a

Reflections

Found on Trent and Mersey canal, South Derbyshire. On a recent crisp frosty day, with bright sunshine and a clear blue sky, the calm surface of the water in my local canal beautifully reflected the bare winter branches of this tree.

Mike
Melbourne u3a

a swan with its head in the water and black webbed feet in the air. water splashing

Mute Swan Bath Frenzy

On a walk in the Lee Valley Park, Hertfordshire, I came across this Cob Mute Swan bathing. I took several images of back lit spray when it suddenly turned upside down waving its feet in the air.

Phillip
Cheshunt u3a

a big bird with grey wings and a white chest swooping through the sky

Lapwing

Found on Two Tree Island, South Essex. We enjoy local sightings of many wading birds. Red-listed Lapwing are fabulous fliers with huge, distinctive wings. I love watching them soar and swoop, and I'm convinced that they enjoy it too,

Richard
Leigh Estuary u3a

a small bee on a yellow flower

Winter Active Bumble Bee On Mahonia

Found in Municipal Gardens in Leigh on Sea. Our warming climate now allows Buff-tailed bumble bees (Bombus terrestris) to maintain winter-active nests in southern England. This worker was photographed on January 2, 2022 shortly after an extremely cold snap pre-Christmas. Good to see the nest is still functioning (but 'bad' as it is more evidence of global warming).

Richard
Leigh Estuaryu3a

the clouds in the sky making a circular pattern

Hole Punch Cloud

Found in Matlock. Unusual cloud formation, also known as a Fallstreak hole which I saw while out walking in 2022. It was so unusual that it was mentioned on the local BBC news that evening.

Sharon
Derby u3a

Buzzard In Flight

Found in High Batts, North Yorkshire. This was the first time i have had the opportunity to try and photo the majestic bird in flight

Steve
Northallerton u3a

A Surprise Visitor

Found in my kitchen in Cardiff. Suddenly this tiny caterpillar appeared on the side of a drinking glass in my kitchen - in January. No idea where it came from or how it got there. A complete mystery. Made a nice photo, though!

Yvonne
Cardiff u3a

two birds with big manes of feathers in water, mirroring each other!

Great Created Grebes

this was taken on a u3a Northallerton trip to Kipling Hall in North Yorkshire.

Steve
Northallerton u3a

a red and white mushroom looking fungus in brown and yellow leaves.

Fly Agaric Fungi

Found at Baddesley Clinton National Trust Property. I was very pleased and excited to come across this fungi specimen as it rarely appears at the above location.

Terry
Balsall Commonu3a

white snowdrops

The Harbinger Of Spring

Found in Charlecote Park, Warwickshire. I am constantly amazed that these small and delicate flowers always appear after a harsh winter to bloom in such profusion. A welcome sign that Spring is on its way.

Jim
Balsall Common u3a

a red and black crab on sand

Red Legged Crab

I was walking on rocks in Tenerife, and I could not believe how many crabs were rushing about, these red legged crabs really caught my attention. They were not easy to photograph, they kept moving!

Tina
Balsall Common u3a

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