Countryside UK

Happy Badgers.

/ Andy Finnegan / 3 Comments

Still photos taken from trail camera footage.

Some more Badger trail camera footage from The New Forest. This demonstrates good interaction between up to three animals. They seem to be playing; if the rolling around was in anger, I am sure that with their strong jaws and claws, there would be injuries. Our trail cameras are often knocked over, you can see how!

Badgers are the UK’s largest land predator and are one of the most well-known British species. They are famed for their black and white stripes and sturdy bodies, using their strong front paws to dig for food and to perfect their burrows, called ‘setts’.

Length: 75-100cm
Tail: 15cm
Weight: 8-12kg
Average lifespan: 5-8 years

Badgers are protected in the UK under the Protection of Badgers Act, 1992, and the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981.

Mr Badger.

/ Andy Finnegan / 6 Comments

In the book The Wind in the Willows, Mr Badger is one of Rat, Toad, and later Mole’s good friends. He’s a wealthy older gentleman who lives in the heart of the Wild Wood, in an extensive underground home. Our Badger sett is in the heart of the New Forest, with many entrances to their subterranean home.

Badgers are our largest land predator, feeding on small mammals, birds’ eggs, worms, fruit and plants.

Our trail cameras picked up some good footage of the Badger last week.

Trail Camera.

/ Andy Finnegan / 1 Comment

Last week, I decided to charge up the batteries on my trail cameras and head deep into the New Forest to hide one near a location where we had found a Badger set last year. It is always a risk that someone will steal my camera if they come across it. I lost one camera in the local woodland during lockdown. The New Forest is a public National Park, so camera loss is always a risk.

Upon collecting the camera, it had captured a passing Badger. So yesterday, with my brother, we set up 4 cameras around where the badgers may pass. We aim to pick them up next week, so a further post will follow if we successfully capture any images.

A new walk.

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Were the River Test meets Southampton Water is the small town of Eling. Eling is now part of the city of Southampton, has a long history of its own. The quay dates back over a thousand years; a medieval tidal mill was the centre of settlement it was once a hub for industries such as shipbuilding and timber. Today, the mill is open to the public, the area has light industry, and private boat mooring.

A walk early this morning, started from Eling and followed Southampton Water down towards Marchwood. The unofficial path follows the water opposite the city’s container terminal, giving both views of the workings of the docks and mudflats.

Engineers need a head for heights for pilon work!

Some interesting wildlife on the walk. Starting with Little Egret.

Egyptian geese. This goose is related to the Shelduck. It was introduced to ornamental ponds, but escaped into the wild, where it’s now successfully breeding. In 2009, it was officially declared a non-native species.

Very distant Kingfisher.

Female Reed Bunting.

Scarlet Ibis, not very clear pictures, but this bird was some distance off. A surprise sighting of a non-native Scarlet Ibis! It seems several of these South American natives escaped from a local bird park a few months ago.

Raptor Centre.

/ Andy Finnegan / 7 Comments

Photo-heavy post.

Something a little different today, we spent the day at a local Raptor centre. So all photographs are captive birds.

https://www.libertyscentre.co.uk/about-us

Great Grey Owl.   This Owl is the world’s largest species of owl by length. It is distributed across the Northern Hemisphere. The wingspan can exceed 5 ft, They breed in North America.

A smaller Owl, although not much smaller, is the Siberian Eagle Owl. However, they have a wingspan of 6ft.

One of our native Owls is the Barn Owl. Tiny compared to the 2 previous birds, the Barn Owl has a wingspan just over 2 & half feet. Normally, I have to get up at 05:00 hours to watch our local birds!

Barn Owl.

Harris Hawk.  They are native to the Americas. However, they are a popular species in falconry and are often used for pest control in the UK,

Hazzard, Hazzards are a very rare hybrid of a Buzzard and a Harris Hawk.

Golden Eagle. I have only ever seen a pair of Golden Eagles once in the Highlands at some distance away, so it was a treat to see this bird today. With a wingspan of nearly 7ft, they are a big bird.

Sunday.

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An early morning start to look for Barn Owls, but no luck this time. This area had been a good place in the past, but not this week. A good number of Red Kites were taking advantage of the views from the high electricity cables.