Curious, gentle encounter with an immature herring gull on the beautiful beach at Mwnt, Wales, apparently having learned that visiting humans might respond to that plaintive cry by giving food. I didn't, but I suspect that once in a while someone responds with a tidbit... Gulls will be gulls!

Less than 4 weeks ago, I found a pair of wood pigeons had built a nest on an old chair, stored in the rafters of our open garage behind some ivy. Since then, the two white eggs have hatched and these massive chicks are growing rapidly... Such characterful birds!

Back to my local badger sett for a bit of badger archaeology... as they dig in what must have been a Victorian rubbish dump, they unearth bits of broken pots and glass bottles, including this @stroudbrewery bottle and a skull!
At first I expected it to be a badger's but it is a fox skull.

Switch to low light setting on my @fairphone.com Faiphone5 and capture a bit more #badger action...

Getting a bit dark...

And then a fox 10 minutes later...

First badger... 8.50pm

What joy to sit in woodland listening to the evening chorus of robins, wrens and blackbirds, waiting for badgers to emerge.
First badger at 8.50pm, then a fox, and more badgers until even the low light setting on my @fairphone couldn't cope. And a pipistrelle bat overhead on the walk home. Lovely!

Nothing like 50 mph gusts and being sand-blasted into the New Year!
Happy Hogmanay to all!

Trying out Blue Sky thinking for the first time, so here's a happy heap of mountain gorillas, just chilling under blue skies in Rwanda after a morning munching wild celery and bamboo - at peace with each other and their habitat, in which they are the #GardenersoftheForest
Enjoy.