Male Stonechat New Forest.
Female Stonechat New Forest.
Stonechat.
Month: May 2024
The other side of the fence.
Good looking Roebuck at Hamble Point. He seemed to know the boundary fence gave him security from us – we just stood and looked at each other.
Bee Orchid.
The flower’s velvety lip looks like a female bee. So this cleaver orchid fools a male Bee to fly in to try to mate with it, in doing so it will pollinate the flower. Sadly, the right bee species don’t live here, so this orchid is self-pollinated in the UK.
Tufted Duck
Smaller than a Mallard the Tufted Duck is a medium-sized diving duck the male is black on the head, neck, chest and back, and white on the sides. It has a small crest and a yellow eye. In winter, numbers increase because birds are moving to the UK from Iceland and northern Europe {The female is entirely chocolate-brown, with yellow eyes }.
Close encounter.
A freshly emerged male Golden-ringed Dragonfly in the New Forest today, her wings have unfolded but not yet dropped into the open flight position so it will be an hour or so before he will fly.
I put my hand down to pick up an empty dragonfly nymph exoskeleton which was on the ground and the dragonfly walked onto my finger.
A damselfly empty nymph exoskeleton.
A morning bird watching.
I decided to record my visit to Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve as a video.
At the end of the film is a Shelduck out at sea with her chicks – It is amazing watching these little birds journey in the choppy waters.
Damselflies.
Similar to Dragonflies, Damselflies are usually smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species will fold their wings along the body when at rest, unlike dragonflies which hold the wings flat and away from the body. They have existed since the Jurassic Age.
All damselflies are predatory insects; both nymphs and adults actively hunt and eat other insects.
Long legs!
Tetragnatha Montana is a species of long-jawed orb weaver spiders commonly known as the silver stretch spider. These spiders have a habit of extending their front legs into a stick like shape
Little.
Wordless Wednesday.
Now the sun is out.
Now the sun is out Dragonflies and Damselflies are starting to fly.
Four-Spotted Chaser.
Four-Spotted Chaser. This Dragonfly has emerged deformed and missing one wing.
The Chaser below is deformed and missing 1 wing.
Azure Damselfly pair mating.
Hairy Dragonfly.
Banded Demoiselle.
Continued Reflections from my World. 