By Daily Mail Reporter


These stunning pictures depict the best of Britain's wondrous wildlife - from a wide-eyed piglet hiding under an umbrella to escape the rain to a hedgehog in a pile of autumn leaves making preparations for the winter.

A striking photograph of a fluffy yellow ducking nuzzling up to a baby goat is sure to melt even the hardest of hearts melt while the sight of thousands of starlings soaring over Somerset is simply breathtaking.

The images have all been taken by photographer Richard Austin and feature in his 2013 calendar Animal Magic.

Richard has been snapping animals professionally for more than a quarter of century and his photographs have appeared on the front pages of every UK national newspaper.

His love of animals and wildlife photography has received international recognition having previously been published in calendars in the USA and Canada.

His photographs of animals resulted in his own six part TV series called ‘Richard Austin’s Animal Magic’ which went on to win the Royal Television Society’s Regional family entertainment programme of the year in 2007. He has also published five books under the titles of ‘Richard Austin’s Animal Magic.’

This beautiful image captures the moment a piglet sensibly takes shelter under a brightly-coloured umbrella to escape a downpour

On the lookout: In Great Britain and Ireland, the number of Red Squirrels has decreased drastically in recent years, in part because of the introduction of the eastern grey squirrel

No ugly ducklings here just extremely cute bundles of yellow fluff

The wondrous sight of a black-headed gull swooping into land with the early evening light creating a reflection in the water

A tiny dormouse delicately balances on a thin branch as it tucks into some blackberries

A Jackdaw appears to be whispering in the ear of a majestic Red Deer stag while a second one stands at the rear of the animal

A Little Egret perches on its spindly legs as the recognisable orange and yellow hues of autumn reflect off the surface of the water

A hedgehog nestles in the fallen leaves as it makes its preparations for the winter months

What a cracker: A smartly dressed beige-coloured miniature piglet gets in the Christmas spirit

Photographer Richard Austin chose this photo of a pink-beaked fluffy duckling perching on a branch as the cover for next year's calendar

A goat kid nuzzles up to a duckling to create an incredibly cute scene

The starlings are back on the Somerset Levels roosting overnight in the reed beds. Here they were near Glastonbury Tor bedding down for the night

The flock of starlings will grow larger as more birds are driven across to the UK from Russia

More starlings on the Somerset Levels. Richard Austin has been a Professional photographer for more than a quarter of a century

A animal wanders through a field in the foreground as thousands of starlings take to the skies in the South West of England

It looks like a blanket of white as Mute Swans at the abbotsbury Swannery in Dorset mingle in the sun


source:dailymail