Some more Marsh frogs in the New Forest.
Now we have located the pounds where there are colonies of Marsh frogs in the New Forest it is fairly easy to find some.
Can you see him in picture 1 ? Their camouflage is fairly good.






Some more Marsh frogs in the New Forest.
Now we have located the pounds where there are colonies of Marsh frogs in the New Forest it is fairly easy to find some.
Can you see him in picture 1 ? Their camouflage is fairly good.






I spent a couple of days concentrating on getting pictures of dragonflies, both at Titchfield Haven and in the New Forest, it will not be long before they are gone until next year they do not survive the fall in temperatures as we move into autumn.
Southern Hawker [female.]


Migrant Hawker.





Southern Hawker [male.]





Spotting a few House Martins in the New Forest today was nice. They spend a lot of their time on the wing collecting insects. These little birds build mud nests usually below the eaves of buildings like these I spotted today. They are summer migrants and spend their winters in Africa. Although numerous and widespread, recent declines in numbers earn them a place on the Red List.













Yesterday I spotted a common frog I thought I would post a picture of a marsh frog I photographed last week to give a comparison of these two frogs, {common top picture}


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}.








A late brood. Mallard Ducklings.


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.













The Raft Spider. Dolomedes fimbriatus



