Up at dawn for a walk along a footpath part of the South Downs Way this morning. Delighted to see a Barn Owl hunting in the morning light.
Barn Owl.
nature spots
Early morning walk.
Early morning walk on the South Downs Way near Winchester. Some short clips.
Video link
Goldfinch.
Sparrowhawk.
A few days away on the Dorset Coast in our Camper van. The best spot of the holiday was Female Sparrowhawk. This bird had caught another bird, probably a Starling. It had landed in a bush to eat it, but the Starling escaped into the bush. She was unhappy and spent a few minutes trying to find it before flying off. Sparrowhawks are small birds of prey; they are fairly common in the UK. Adapted for hunting birds in confined spaces such as woodlands or gardens. Adult Male Sparrowhawks have a bluish-grey back and wings and rusty-brown stripes on their chest and belly. Females have brown backs and wings and brown stripes underneath. Sparrowhawks have bright yellow eyes, yellow legs and feet. The Female is larger than Males (as with all birds of prey).
Looking for a fishing spot.
Cormorant.
first light Curlews.
Hamble River.
Sika.
Making another trip into the New Forest this morning, looking for Sika Deer. Sika deer are not native to the UK but have escaped from parks and collections nationwide. In the 1900s, King Edward VII gifted Lord Montague of Beaulieu a pair of Sika Deer. Some of their progeny escaped and now populate the New Forest in the Beaulieu area,
A successful walk with 2 groups of deer spotted. Sika are generally inquisitive in their behavior towards humans. They react quickly on the first suspicion of danger by fleeing. The animals today were very inquisitive of us. Seeing us as no threat, they were happy watching us. This allowed some close photographs to be taken.
Sika tails are shorter than Fallow Deer tails, and their rumps are normally all white. Male Fallow deer have broad, flattened antlers, while Sika antlers are pointed, like the Red Deer.
Underwater filming.
After enjoying watching toads on Tuesday, I returned to the pond with my underwater camera. The results were good. One loan toad chased the camera and attached himself, confusing it with a female toad. The other fact that I did not expect was that they communicated underwater. The soundtrack shows this.
Toad Spawn is formed as a “string” of eggs, while Frog Spawn is in “clumps.” I have shown both in the clips.
Toad is holding onto my camera!
Toad pool.
Today was the best nature spot of the year so far. Nature never fails to surprise me. Even today, new sightings of events or species are thrilling. I have been viewing nature and the environment for a long time. Since drawing my pension, I have more time to conduct my observations.
I have only ever seen single Common Toads in the wild in the past. Today, we took a chance walk around a New Forest pond. It was off the beaten track. We came across a mass of mating toads.
Several 1st :- mating toads, toad spawn, toads in a pond, toads calling, frog mating with a toads
Toad spawn is in long strips rather than clumps as seen with frog spawn.
A Common frog mating with a Toad! Records show this happens but they can not hybridize.
On the downside of this event was seeing probably a hundred toads. The same amount piled up dead. It seems a Heron stabbed and then fished them out, not fully consuming them.
Love pond.
There is a local pond with clumps of frog spawn. When you stay still for a while, you can spot eyes looking at you. Common frogs have found their place in the pond to mate.
Continued Reflections from my World. 