West Country Nature
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westcountrynature.bsky.social
West Country Nature
@westcountrynature.bsky.social
Observing and writing about nature in England's West Country.

https://victoriawoolley.substack.com/
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
February 1, 2026 at 3:38 PM
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
January 31, 2026 at 10:47 AM
Reposted by West Country Nature
#BirdOfTheDay A cheerful chirping blue tit.
January 31, 2026 at 9:45 AM
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
January 29, 2026 at 8:08 PM
Representing the West Country for #SquirrelAppreciationDay is this chubby grey squirrel in Haldon Forest, Devon.

#wildlife #nature #naturetherapy #outdoors #eastcoastkin #animals #cute #naturephotography
January 21, 2026 at 8:17 PM
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
January 17, 2026 at 7:48 PM
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
January 17, 2026 at 5:55 PM
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
January 12, 2026 at 8:09 PM
Reposted by West Country Nature
January 12, 2026 at 2:21 PM
Reposted by West Country Nature
January 12, 2026 at 10:57 AM
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
January 11, 2026 at 11:59 AM
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
January 10, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Reposted by West Country Nature
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
January 8, 2026 at 11:56 AM
Reposted by West Country Nature
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
December 20, 2025 at 9:06 PM
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
December 23, 2025 at 5:24 PM
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
December 23, 2025 at 10:26 AM
A robin in a frosty Forest of Dean. The most obvious and cheering of all #winterbirds.

#birdoftheday #birds #nature #christmas #festiverobin
December 16, 2025 at 3:36 PM
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
December 14, 2025 at 12:07 PM
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
December 14, 2025 at 11:43 AM
#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
December 13, 2025 at 6:27 PM
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
The Raven Himself...
Ravens in a Somerset School
open.substack.com
December 13, 2025 at 6:24 PM
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
December 12, 2025 at 1:58 PM
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
December 11, 2025 at 3:34 AM
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
December 9, 2025 at 1:33 PM
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
November 30, 2025 at 9:00 AM