This morning, a walk along a New Forest Stream with a good population of Golden Ringed Dragonflies. Many were “dipping” {depositing eggs into the stream}.
Dipping!
nature spots
Ducklings.
A late brood. Mallard Ducklings.
Catching lunch.
Watching Dragonflies today reminded me of the 1969 film The Battle of Britain with those airmen engaged in aerial combat in the blue sky over Southern England. There were no Spitfire flights over the Solent today. In flight, combat was taking place, an “Emperor Dragonfly” was on the hunt on the wing chasing and then catching a smaller dragonfly a “Common Darter”. Taking it to a nearby perching stick first killing it by removing its head then eating the contents of the darter’s insides Nature is both cruel and fascinating at the same time. I have witnessed this hunting and killing before of wasps and bees but this was the first dragonfly catching another dragonfly observation for me.
Starlings.
Waiting for lunch!
The Raft Spider. Dolomedes fimbriatus
Sunday.
A hours quite walk with nature.
More Dragonflies.
Today’s Dragons of the air from Titchfield haven.
Marsh Frogs.
Marsh frogs were regularly imported into the UK from the late nineteenth century and were introduced to the Walland Marsh in Kent in 1935, from Hungary. They originate from the eastern half of Europe into western Asia. There are established populations in the UK, which are now predominantly found in south-east England, with populations in other areas in the south are far west as Devon. Following seeing some in “captivity” in The New Forest Reptile Centre I wanted to see some in the wild as there was said to be an established population in the forest.
On a tip-off with my brother we last year looked at marshland southwest of the national park near Lymington. After unsuccessful trips, we tried again this year and spotted one solitary Marsh Frog last week. Yesterday we returned to look closer and were lucky to spot at least 6.
Some information on how to spot a Marsh Frog
- The colour is from brown to green with dark green blotches.
- Size of the females can be up to 13cm in length, and the males are normally smaller.
- Pronounced snout with a wide gape.
- Eyes are closer together than our native Common Frogs.
- There are two parallel skin folds on the back.
- The male has two dark grey vocal sacks, one on each side of the mouth.
- The skin is warty and granular.{like on a Toad}
- They can be noisy with a quacking or laughing sound more so in early summer.
- They prefer to stay in or close to water.
Schedule 9 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, makes it illegal to distribute or allow the release of Marsh Frogs into the wild.
Forest stream.
Another hot weather walk in the New Forest this morning found us following a small stream on the flat which helped us keep cool. There were many Dragonflies – Emperor Dragonflies were “dipping”. An action where they lay their eggs.
Another Dragonfly that was about in good numbers was the Golden-ringed Dragonfly.
A few bird spots.
Nuthatch.
Blue Tit.
A lucky spot walking back to the van was a young Grass Snake.
Goosander.
These diving ducks are a member of the sawbill family, named for their serrated bills, that they use to catch fish. A largely freshwater bird, they first bred in the UK in 1871. It built up numbers in Scotland and, since 1970, it has spread across northern England into Wales, reaching south-west England. Its love of salmon and trout has brought it into conflict with fishermen. This bird seen today in Titchfield Habour is a female (the male has a green head).
Continued Reflections from my World. 