Swan Lake on ice.
Countryside UK
A Winters Tale.
Monday, we had our 1st snowfall of the year, just a few centimetres, but enough to blanket the road and countryside for a few hours. By Tuesday morning, the snow had gone, but we were left with freezing temperatures and a lot of ice.
Frozen lake at Eastleigh. Just one corner with open water.
Drake Mallard on the ice.
Great Crested Grebe. On open water.
Fieldfare.
Fieldfares are the largest of the thrushes; they visit Britain & Ireland during the winter months. They start arriving on the UK’s eastern coasts from western Russia and eastern Europe during early October. Numbers vary each year and are dependent on berry crops closer to their breeding grounds. Fieldfares move in large numbers in search of berries.
Road Kill.
Driving back from our Sunday walk, we came across a Buzzard enjoying breakfast from a road-killed pheasant.
A lost village.
Today, being the last day of 2025, we decided to have a day out and headed to the village of Imber on Salisbury Plain. About an hour and a half’s drive from home, but well worth the trip.
All the residents of the village of Imber were evicted from their homes during ww2 in 1943 with just 47 days’ notice. The village and land formed part of the training grounds for American troops. Land was first purchased for military training on Salisbury Plain in late 1890s. Within 5 years, the total area in the hands of the War Department had risen to 43,000 acres. Permanent barracks were started at Tidworth in 1905. After the First World War, the War Department resumed buying land on Salisbury Plain. The Larkhill Royal School of Artillery was built in 1920. The village of Imber and its surrounding terrain were acquired between 1928 and 1932. The villagers became tenants of the War Department. After the evictions at the end of the war, it was never returned and remains, to this day, a training ground for urban warfare within the larger military training area of the Plain.
Today, the village is open for visits on a few days a year.
A walk around the village’s old homes and more modern killing houses.
The church of St Giles occupies the site of an earlier building dating from the mid-12th century. The nave was rebuilt towards the end of the 13th century, and around 1400,the addition of the north and south aisles, plus the tower and north porch. At this time, the nave roof was reconstructed. The chancel was rebuilt in 1849, at which time the north-east vestry was built.
Happy Badgers.
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.
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.
Wood Mouse.
Last week, with my brother, we placed trail cameras again at one of the Badger set we have been watching in the New Forest. Some night footage of a Wood Mouse.
Trail Camera.
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.
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.
Continued Reflections from my World. 