Month: June 2023

Red Foxes

/ Andy Finnegan / 10 Comments

Some close encounters with a local fox family. This is a very picture-heavy post.

Red foxes are found across all of the UK. (They are only absent from the Scottish Islands, except for the Isle of Skye.) Many numbers live in towns. It is estimated that the UK has a population of 240,000 animals.

Fox dig out dens to provide a safe underground space that is mostly used for raising fox cubs, also called kits. Foxes are scavengers and eat almost anything they can find, including insects, earthworms, fruit, berries, birds, small mammals, carrion and scraps left by humans.

I was wondering if would I see any foxes where I watched them last evening. When I arrived at the location this youngster was sat on the lawn enjoying the evening sunshine. Soon others came out of the adjacent woodland.

Avocet action.

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Avocets the action continues.

The parent Avocets (male and female) keep a close eye on their chicks – get too close and there is “trouble”. Yesterday’s post was about the clashes where Avocets getting too close. Today’s pictures were also taken yesterday show a juvenile black-headed gull overstepping the line!

Walking on Water.

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The Gerridae are a family of insects in the order Hemiptera, commonly known as water striders, water skeeters, water scooters, water bugs, pond skaters, water skippers, water skimmers or puddle flies. Since childhood, I have called them water skimmers.

Dragons & Damsels.

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Dragonflies and Damselflies are abundant at the moment around many of the New Forest ponds and boggy areas.

Keeled Skimmer (male)

Keeled Skimmer (female)

Beautiful Demoiselle (male) {Damselfly}

Beautiful Demoiselle (female) {Damselfly}

Common Darter (female)

Broad-bodied Chaser (male)

While looking for dragonflies spotted these young males Fallow Deer – now sporting their spotted summer coats. Their Antlers are still in velvet.

Frog.

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Marsh Frogs are Europe’s largest frogs they are not naturally found in the UK. They were introduced to Romney Marsh in Kent in the 1930s and they have spread throughout the southeast. There are colonies in the New Forest.

Growing family.

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Another visit to see how the Great Crested Grebe family is doing. All four chicks have grown over the last week. Mum and Dad are both looking after the chicks who are spending more in the water rather than on the backs of their parents.

Testwood Lakes.

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A very large and impressive dragonfly the Emperor Dragonfly. They are on the wing from June to August. It is a common species of large ponds and lakes, as well as waterways such as canals and ditches. The female lays her eggs in floating pondweed. One of the largest dragonfly species in Europe, the emperor dragonfly flies up high to look for insect prey, such as butterflies and chaser dragonflies. It catches its prey in mid-air and may eat it on the wing.