Baby Snakes, Spooky Fungus and Super-rare Birds

Baby grass snake at Venus Pool. Not much bigger than a devil's coach-horse beetle. so I presume fairly recently hatched. 

Juvenile Rosy Starling. This is only the second recorded sighting in Shropshire.

Red Deer.

Shaggy Ink Cap and Fly Agaric. 

Dead Men's Fingers fungus. I actually found this on Halloween!
 

Fieldfare

Cormorant at Whixall Moss.

Last Sighting of the Year?

                                  Migrant Hawker

                                  stonechat

                                    Southern Hawker

Every year, towards the end of September, families of water voles diperse and numbers seem to drop dramatically. This makes individual voles shyer and harder to photograph. So about this time, my blog goes into semi-hibernation. There's still a chance that, when the vegetation dies down in the brook near the town centre, I'll get a few more sightings, but they're not guaranteed. I'll post if I see anything!
 

Sightings Getting Fewer

 Female rat in our garden. Below, some birds and seals from Hilbrae Reserve on the Wirral.

                                  A wall butterfly

 

You can see where a water vole has been nibbling the ends of these briar stalks.

 

Sightings are really tailing off now, but trailcam footage shows the voles are still pretty active.
 

Water Voles and Rats (again)

 

 

 

Above, water vole and rat at White Lion Meadow.

Below, a comparison of the two animals' droppings.

 

 

 Lizards at Prees Heath. Some are pregnant females.

 

 

 A raven at Brook Vessons

 Edgeley Road water vole. Sightings are becoming fewer now, as the autumn comes near.

Around the Reserves

 Hares and a kestrel in the evening light. I won't put the location for this as there are evil people about who like to hunt hares.

Yellowhammer, common lizard and spotted flycatchers at Prees Heath Common.

 Fox, male common blue butterfly, wheatears, meadow pipit and female redstart at The Hollies, Snailbeach.

Silver-washed fritillary, Llanymynach Rocks.

Male bullfinch, Marford Quarry.

Edgeley Road voles.