It could be winter; it's been such a strange few weeks for weather that it's hard to be sure. The air is bitingly cold. The land's slippery with frost and ice feathers the fringes of the river and lake But while donkeys huddle in their stable...



...the wild creatures must still hunt for food. Kingfishers are very active on the river - possibly a little too active from the point of view of a photographer and usually all that I see is that flash of cobalt-and-orange as they swoop across the water. Usually, but not always



This one perched opposite me, and was rather reminscient of a still-hunting owl or hawk as it studied the river for fish.





Kingfishers aren't the only hunters along the river, of course. Otters are present, somewhere, and of course there are grey herons, even if sometimes they give the impression that they're out of the water because it's simply too cold.





Meanwhile, gulls practice the flypast