Great Spotted Woodpecker, New Forest.
Here in the UK, we have three resident woodpecker species.
1, The Great Spotted is the most common.
2, The Green Woodpecker.
3, The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.
Woody!
Author: Andy Finnegan
Dragons of the air.
Now we are into May, and the sun is out. Dragonflies are starting to appear.
Emperor Dragonfly through the reeds.
Four-spotted Chacer.
Beetle.
The Two-banded Longhorn Beetle (Rhagium bifasciatum). in the New Forest.
Male Stonechat.
A little while ago, I posted pictures of a female Stonechat. https://skylid.travel.blog/2026/04/15/female-stonechat/
At the time, I could not get any pictures of a male bird, but yesterday I spotted this male Stonechat.
Humbugs.
black-and-white-striped, an old-fashioned boiled mint sweet.
Great Crested Grebe family – checks effectively known as “humbugs” due to their black and white stripes, are doing well on a local pond.
Little things.
Little things spotted at Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve while on a Sunday morning walk.
Alder Beetle – mating pair.
Large Red damselfly.
Common Lizard enjoying some sun.
I believe this is a Little Reed Beetle.
Azure Damselfly {male}.
Bee.
Something a bit larger.
Picked up a Mute Swan egg on the path.
Return.
After Thursday’s visit to Swanick Lakes, we returned today for a longer walk. The site is 36 hectares.
Clay has been extracted in the area since the late 19th century, with the first pit dug on the site in 1948. When extraction finished in 1974, woodland developed over much of the reserve.
I filmed a Great Crested Grebe on a lake. The interesting part was when the bird spotted an insect, likely a dragonfly, and caught it, which I had never seen before. It was also nice to film how the bird lowers its crest before diving.
Lake side.
A short visit to Swanwick Lanes this afternoon, Swanwick Lakes, once clay pits for a Burseldon Brickworks, now a mixture of woodland, lakes and meadows. A nature reserve managed by Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust since 1991.
Grey Heron.
Coot.
Canada Goose.
Greylag.
Moorhen.
Face to face.
A couple of close encounters on this morning’s walk.
Kestrel.
Perched high in an oak tree, this Kestrel is a male bird; males have blue-grey heads and tails with a single black band, while females are brown overall with barred tails.
Continued Reflections from my World. 