Wildlife photographer - Richard Austin

From a wise old owl on the prowl in a field of beautiful buttercups to an intrepid harvest mouse climbing up a spring flower.

Wildlife photographer Richard Austin, the author of two books on his encounters while working with all creatures great and small, has captured nature in all its glory with these snaps of animals enjoying British blooms.

Who are you calling an ugly duckling? These feathery friends find a hiding place among the buttercups

Hello petal! A meerkat tries to sweet-talk a daffodil

Danger mouse: A daring harvest mouse scales a bloom

Not to be sniffed at: This lamb likes the smell of daffs

Eye say: A cheeky week from a wise old bird

In the pink: A piglet nestles between rose blooms on a farm in Devon

These aren't bananas! A gorilla at Paignton Zoo sniffs a bunch of roses

Cunning hiding place: A fox cub looks out from beneath a bunch of daffodils

Quacking snowdrops: A pair of ducklings play among spring flowers