Herons.

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A few hours at 2 local nature reserves. Blashford Lakes and Testwood Lakes.

Blashford Lakes regularly has visits from white-tailed eagles.

A reintroduction project led by the RSPB and Scottish Natural Heritage brought white-tailed eagles back to Scotland in 1975. There have been several more reintroductions in Scotland, and in 2019 White-tailed Eagles were released on the Isle of Wight.

A first for me was seeing 2 of these birds — some distance away, but very pleased to get a view of our biggest raptor. A very cropped-in and denoised picture, but a record for my birdwatching.

Both reserves had large numbers of Herons.

Great White Egret, the size of a Grey Heron and the much smaller Little Egret. The1st picture shows the size difference.

Woodland wonders.

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It seemed a little later this year, but now the fungi season seems well underway.

I am no expert in these fascinating fruiting bodies that litter the forest floor. After a Google search, I think it will be difficult for me to learn many by name; Britannica and Wikipedia report that scientists recognise about nearly 150,000 formally described species of fungi. Scientists estimate that the total number of actual fungal species on Earth is much higher—generally ranging between 2.2 million and 3.8 million, with some estimates reaching up to 5.1 million.

Leucism.

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Leucistic Carrion Crow, Southampton Common. Leucism in birds is a genetic disorder whereby the pigment cells are unevenly distributed, resulting in patches of feathers looking paler, bleached looking or showing white.

Mammals.

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Large mammals in the New Forest. Fallow Deer and New Forest ponies.

Fallow Deer “Buck”.

New Forest Ponies – Many visitors to the National Park still get very close to the forest ponies; they do not realise they are wild!

It is illegal and a fineable offence to feed a New Forest Pony.

Dartfords.

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5 mile circular walk across open heathland this morning

Stonechat.

Dartford Warblers.

When I was a teenager Dartford Warblers were one of those birds that was on my wish list and it seemed the place to see them was the RSPB reserve at Arne in Dorset a few visits there never gave me a sighting of these attractive little birds. Roll forwards 50 years and a regular spot in the New Forest for me.

Egyptian Geese

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Egyptian geese aren’t true geese; they’re members of the shelduck family. They are naturally found in Africa. They were introduced from Africa as ornamental birds for country estates and private water collections in the 17th century