Some small birds spotted on a walk in the New Forest yesterday. Walking on marked paths/trails to avoid disturbing ground-nesting Curlew and Lapwings. Much of the New forest is Heath and Moor and an important habitat for these ground-nesting birds.
Distant and high flying Skylarks were fairly abundant on my walk.
The flowering Gorse bushes provided some good spots for the Rare Dartford Warbler. They nest deep in these bushes and the thorns give the nests vicious and effective protection from praditors.
Some of these birds seemed to be collecting cobwebs I presume for glue for their nests.
Others were collecting insects so I think there must be some nearby nests.
Dunnock’s caught me out a couple of times pretending to be a Dartford Warbler until I got a bit closer!
Also spotted a Male Chaffinch.
I found these duck eggs which had been predated probably by a crow or a magpie a fair distance from any pond or river.
As well as bird insects are starting to appear.
The round-leaved sundew a heathland plant found in the New Forest has round leaves which have sticky, ‘dew’-covered tendrils that tempt onto it unsuspecting insects as prey. The ‘dew’ is very sticky, trapping the insect; the sundew’s tendrils detect the presence of its stuck prey and curl inwards to engulf it. After a while, the whole leaf wraps around the insect which is digested. The acidic habitats the round-leaved sundew lives in don’t provide enough nutrients, so it has evolved this carnivorous way of life to supplement its diet.
