The Gerridae are a family of insects in the order Hemiptera, commonly known as water striders, water skeeters, water scooters, water bugs, pond skaters, water skippers, water skimmers or puddle flies. Since childhood, I have called them water skimmers.
Dragonflies and Damselflies are abundant at the moment around many of the New Forest ponds and boggy areas.
Keeled Skimmer (male)
Keeled Skimmer (female)
Beautiful Demoiselle (male) {Damselfly}
Beautiful Demoiselle (female) {Damselfly}
Common Darter (female)
Broad-bodied Chaser (male)
While looking for dragonflies spotted these young males Fallow Deer – now sporting their spotted summer coats. Their Antlers are still in velvet.
Marsh Frogs are Europe’s largest frogs they are not naturally found in the UK. They were introduced to Romney Marsh in Kent in the 1930s and they have spread throughout the southeast. There are colonies in the New Forest.
Another visit to see how the Great Crested Grebe family is doing. All four chicks have grown over the last week. Mum and Dad are both looking after the chicks who are spending more in the water rather than on the backs of their parents.
#Wordless Wednesday
A very large and impressive dragonfly the Emperor Dragonfly. They are on the wing from June to August. It is a common species of large ponds and lakes, as well as waterways such as canals and ditches. The female lays her eggs in floating pondweed. One of the largest dragonfly species in Europe, the emperor dragonfly flies up high to look for insect prey, such as butterflies and chaser dragonflies. It catches its prey in mid-air and may eat it on the wing.
Spotted this Roebuck in a local private car park!
What it does demonstrate is the size of a Roe deer, he is standing directly in front of the white ford.
A local evening walk back to local woodland where we spent a lot of time in lockdown when we were only allowed out to exercise. Our exercise was not jogging up and down the road but walking down the road and exercising by monitoring the local nature. Exercising the brain as well as the body.
A local Roebuck.
I am not sure if we spotted him 1st or if he spotted us 1st but I think he was the winner! This good buck is an animal we regularly see and we are sure he is the alpha male in the local woodland.
Far off across a field a family of foxes, playing in the evening sun in the open 6 cubs with mum. We watched them playing for 10 minutes Mum had spotted us quickly and kept an eye on us while the cubs played. When it was time to go she barked telling them it was time to go – and off they ran into the woods.
By 05.30hrrs this morning we were watching the Great Crested Grebe family.
Both parents work together to support the chicks.
Grebe regularly eats its own feathers, which form a plug in their stomach, this acts as a filter, holding fish bones until they can be digested; the parents also feed feathers to their chicks you can see this in the video.
The video film is filmed in slow motion – it is fairly long but it does show some interesting parental behaviour.
A young Robin and Donky in the New Forest this morning.
Continued Reflections from my World. 