Despite some cold nights, on the whole, January was very mild.

The middle of the month could only be described as dank at times and I started to wonder if we would ever see the sun again, as day after day seemed to pass with an oppressively dark, overcast sky.

It was on one such dank day that I spent an afternoon out on the Devil's Spittleful Nature Reserve between the towns of Bewdley, Stourport and Kidderminster.

This is a wonderful nature reserve, which is part -managed by the District Council and part managed by the Worcestershire Wildlife Trust.

Over the years, this reserve has seen a lot of work taking place on it to transform it into a wonderfully open heathland landscape.

In my opinion, it is one of the most beautiful places in Worcestershire. Even during these damp conditions, this reserve managed to create some outstandingly beautiful vistas.

As the day began to draw to a close, the drab, grey sky was releasing a misty light rain.

However, somewhere high above the clouds the sun was setting and a bizarre pink light started to colour the clouds and highlight the swirls of misty rain a soft pink colour against the silhouette of the bare trees. It was an almost unbelievable scene.

Fortunately I had my camera with me and was therefore able to capture this spectacular sight. It was not just me who was enjoying these conditions though.

Spotting a flicker of a ripple on a puddle, I took a closer look and to my disbelief I discovered half a dozen mosquitoes struggling out of their aquatic larval skins onto the surface tension of the water.

I began to think this was not such a good thing when silhouetted against the grey sky I saw the unmistakable shape of a pair of bats.

With their wings beating swiftly and regularly they twisted and turned around the stands of scrub.

The bats must have realised that the conditions were right for the mosquitoes to emerge and were busy banqueting on these troublesome beasties.

Normally watching bats feed is an activity I enjoy in the summer months so, to see this in the depths of January was certainly an unexpected delight.