Bluebells and indigo auroras: Your spring photos

Photographers and wildlife-lovers have shared their spring images of bright bluebells and indigo skies.

The aurora borealis was spotted by photographer Jonny Gios in Kendal, Cumbria, on Sunday, who said he was "two minutes from giving up" when a "huge burst of activity captured him for almost one hour non-stop".

In Staveley, lilac carpets of bluebells were captured by Dom Reardon, who said he had "never seen anything like it".

Meanwhile in the South Lakes, a rare hoopoe, which does not nest in the UK, was seen by birder Hayden Baines who was "so surprised when it flew out in front of me".

He said it was an "unexpected sighting" on his walk on Monday evening in the area and said it was the "first hoopoe he had ever seen".

The RSPB says hoopoes do not breed in the UK, but as many as 100 can turn up in spring as birds migrating north to Europe from Africa overshoot and land on the south coast of England.

Ian Bolton headed out early last week to "get the early morning light streaming through the trees onto the carpet of bluebells" in Fishgarth Woods near Clappersgate.

"A fantastic show of bluebells, with the added bonus of the sun rising," he said.

Cumbria Wildlife Trust said the bluebell spends most of the year as bulb underground in woodland, emerging to flower and leaf from April onwards.

It said the early flowering allowed the bluebell to make the most of the sunlight before the forest canopy became too dense.

Meanwhile Gios captured a different shade of purple in the sky at Scout Scar, near Kendal.

"I am fascinated by the aurora so any chance I can photograph it with amazing landscapes I'm there," he said.

"I was two minutes from giving up and then a huge burst of activity captivated me for almost one hour non-stop."

Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.