Some more Fox pictures. The Red Fox is the only wild member of the dog family found in the UK.
Red Fox.
nature spots
Raft Spiders.
Further to my previous post which included Raft Spiders I revisited the New Forest stream where we found several of these interesting arachnids. We found 7 Raft Spiders today including a juvenile spider and a female with an egg sac.
Raft Spiders will carry their egg sac around for some time before creating a nursery web for their spiderlings. (Last time we found a nursery web.)
These large spiders will sit at the edge of the water, or on floating vegetation, with their front legs resting on the water’s surface in order to feel for the vibrations of potential prey, they chase out onto the water to catch their prey, ranging from tadpoles or small fish. They will also swim underwater.
Below. Adult female with egg sac.
Below. nursery web with tiny spiderlings.
Below. Juvenile Raft Spider is now independent of the nursery web.
Common Lizards.
Common Lizards are found in many UK habitats, including heathland, moorland, woodland and grassland, they like basking in the sun. The common lizard is also known as the Viviparous lizard. They are unusual among reptiles as they incubate their eggs inside their body and ‘gives birth’ to live young rather than laying eggs.
We spotted this Lizard in the New Forest enjoying the sun on a fallen branch which spanned a small stream.
Dragon Hunting.
Interesting watching a Little Egret catching dragonflies at Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve. A large dragonfly is more of a small fish. Something I have not observed before – I was able to capture some of the hunting on video which I filmed in slow motion.
Little things.
It is that time of year when insects are abundant and for my last couple of walks, I have dusted off my Macro lens and tried to record some of the little things I have spotted.
A first for me was some Raft Spiders. (Dolomedes fimbriatus). I had hoped to find some this year. These large spiders will sit at the edge of the water, or on floating vegetation, with their front legs resting on the water’s surface in order to feel for the vibrations of potential prey. Using the surface tension of the water, they chase out onto the water to catch their prey, They will even eat tadpoles or small fish. Raft spiders will also swim underwater.
Raft Spiders will carry their egg sac around for a period of time before creating a nursery web for their spiderlings.
Another spider also spotted was this one from the Pirata species, commonly known as Otter spiders. These spiders carry their young on their back.
Marbled White Butterfly. (Melanargia galathea).
Common Green Lacewing.
Grasshoppers.
Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris).
Cinnabar moth caterpillars
Peacock Moth (Macaria notata)
(More) Dippers.
Some extra pictures of Dippers on the River Lyn Somerset.
Dippers have a NIctitating Eye Membrane, an extra eyelid to help them see underwater and protect their eyes They also have white surfaces to the eyelids, conspicuous when the eyes are blinking. (see picture below).
Exmoor Waters.
A walk from Lynmouth up the river towards Watersmeet.
We have been away for a few days on Exmoor in the campervan. An objective of our trip was to see if I could find some Dippers. Dippers are a short-tailed, plump birds found on fast-flowing rivers and streams. When perched on a rock it habitually bobs up and down and frequently cocks its tail. They can be seen bobbing up and down on a stone in the fast-flowing river. They feed on underwater insects by walking straight into, and under, the water.
As well as several adult birds I also saw a juvenile bird.
There was also a family of Grey Wagtails on the river walk.
Red Foxes
Some close encounters with a local fox family. This is a very picture-heavy post.
Red foxes are found across all of the UK. (They are only absent from the Scottish Islands, except for the Isle of Skye.) Many numbers live in towns. It is estimated that the UK has a population of 240,000 animals.
Fox dig out dens to provide a safe underground space that is mostly used for raising fox cubs, also called kits. Foxes are scavengers and eat almost anything they can find, including insects, earthworms, fruit, berries, birds, small mammals, carrion and scraps left by humans.
I was wondering if would I see any foxes where I watched them last evening. When I arrived at the location this youngster was sat on the lawn enjoying the evening sunshine. Soon others came out of the adjacent woodland.
Avocet action.
Avocets the action continues.
The parent Avocets (male and female) keep a close eye on their chicks – get too close and there is “trouble”. Yesterday’s post was about the clashes where Avocets getting too close. Today’s pictures were also taken yesterday show a juvenile black-headed gull overstepping the line!
Avocets.
Over 80 birds at Titchfield Haven and a joy to watch. Jut a few pictures from today visit.
Continued Reflections from my World. 