Cattle Egret numbers in the UK are rising. These small white herons are mostly found in southern England and Wales. They often spend time close to livestock like sheep and cows and grab the insects and worms their hooves disturb. While watching Highland Cows in Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve, true to their name, 4 of these birds flew in to feed.
Back into the New Forest after a 10-day gap due to the large wildfire, which closed the A31, the main road crossing the forest. Although other parts were accessible, we chose to stay away, as many of the smaller roads were gridlocked with diverted traffic.
Today’s walk.
about 4 miles through some fairly boggy ground. Some of which would be impassable if we had not had a drought.
Marsh frogs.
Spotted flycatcher.
A first for me today, a Goat Moth caterpillar.
)As an adult, the moth cannot feed. The caterpillars live inside the trunks of a variety of broad-leaved trees, feeding on the wood. They overwinter three or four times as larvae and a final time as pupae. The caterpillar can grow to 10 cm (about 4 inches), and the moth has a wingspan of up to 9.5cm (about 3 1/2 inches).
Stock image of a Goat Moth.
Up on the South Downs, west of Winchester, for an early morning walk.
Quite a few Hares on the corn stubble some distance off.
Flocks of Greenfinches also visit the stubble to feed on grains left after the harvest.
Kestrel sitting high on a pylon wire looking for mice in the stubble.
The harvest is over, but the end-of-season usefulness to support wildlife of what looks like barren fields is high.
It was Dragonfly week at WWT Arundel Wetland Centre, with lots of kids’ activities around dragonflies – face painting etc.
Spotted a few dragonflies walking around their trails.
Migrant Hawker.
Also spotted a Willow Emerald damselfly.
The Dalmatian pelican, also known as the curly-headed pelican, is the largest member of the pelican family and among the heaviest flying birds in the world. With a wingspan ranging between 2.7 and 3.2 metres,
These birds are at WWT Arundel Wetland Centre.
Dalmatian pelicans were common in UK wetlands some 2000 years ago, but they became extinct due to habitat loss from farming and hunting.
Hottest day of the year yesterday (so far). I have been staying clear of the New Forest due to the major wildfires.
So spent the day at the coast visiting Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve.
I have been visiting the reserve since childhood, but I have never seen it so dry; the top 2 lagoons/scrapes have dried up completely; the lower scrape has water, but this is due to the effort of wardens who routed water by opening sluice gates on the river.
Common Terns
Juvenile Common Tern.
There are still a few Dragonflies about on the east side of the reserve.
Common Darters.
Southern Hawker(female). Egg laying under the duckboards.
Gosander.
Wood Pigeon.
Common Sandpiper.
Has it gone too far? In the “old days,” you could tweak your pictures in the darkroom. Then came digital, and I used Photoshop to edit my pictures – crop and adjust exposure, etc.
Today, on a long walk in the New Forest, we spooked a Fallow Deer doe with her fawn. They hopped out of the dense Bracken stop and had a good look at us before heading back into the undergrowth.
I took a series of pictures, but the deer were obscured in the foreground by the undergrowth.
Now with A1-supported photo editing, you can go further. I ran one of my pictures through a trial editing package.
I asked it to sharpen, de-noise, and remove the foliage from one of my pictures. This is the result, but I have to ask: is this acceptable, or is it a step too far in wildlife photography?
My first Wasp Spiders I have seen for a while.
Today made up for it, and I saw a good number. The female wasp spider has yellow, black and white stripes, just like a common wasp. Its legs are also striped. The male is smaller and pale brown.
The 1st picture shows a female spider with a grasshopper wrapped up, ready to be eaten.
This time, an underside view with prey.
Mating is a dangerous game for males; they wait at the edge of the web until the female has moulted into a mature form, then take advantage of her jaws being soft and nip into mate. However, many males still get eaten during this time. (The male is smaller and pale brown.) The next pictures shows that this female has killed another and will be eating her, something I have not seen before.
Some smaller meals.
Footnote.
Theories About the Zig-Zag Pattern
Warning for large animals: The thick white silk makes the web easy to see so that passing birds, deer, or humans notice it and do not crash into it.(think this is a bit of a non-starter!)
Attracting prey: The silk reflects ultraviolet light in a way that might mimic flowers and lure hungry insects closer.
Camouflage: The design may break up the spider’s outline or hide its body from sharp-eyed predators.
A long-held misconception: People once thought the pattern added physical strength to hold up the web, but researchers found that the silk is too loosely attached to provide stability.
New Forest.
Continued Reflections from my World. 