nature spots

Ending the week in the New Forest.

/ Andy Finnegan / Leave a comment

Another end of a week with many visits to our local National park The New Forest. It has been a good week for deer watching which makes more pictures for today’s post. {so look away if you have had enough of my deer pictures!}

Today it was back to Fallow Deer a small herd of Bucks {although they are so magnificent I feel Stags would be a better name for this breed’s males}.

Fallow Bucks.

I also spotted a Fieldfare. They are a large, and colourful thrush this was the first time I was able to capture one in a picture.

Red Deer.

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Today our walk in the New Forest yielded the UK’s largest Deer the Red Deer. In the forest, numbers are maintained around 90 animals.

Size: Up to 1.37 metres at the shoulder, length from nose to tail is 2.01m in males.

Muntjac in the New Forest.

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Having recorded some of these small deer on our trail cameras in the past year today we were lucky enough to bump into this lone Muntjac while looking for fallow deer in the New Forest this morning. These shy deer are small and are only about the size of a small dog.

Muntjac is mainly a solitary deer. They use scent to communicate their territories. Individuals do this by rubbing the long v-shaped slits on their foreheads where their frontal glands are onto the ground or branches. They also have two large glands located just in front of the eyes, called the pre-orbital glands. Muntjac frequently lick these with their long tongues, this is thought to help them recognise their own scent.

Video film of Muntjac spotted today repeated in slow motion.

Vole.

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A Field Vole is also known as a short-tailed vole. I was lucky to spot this common but hard to see cute little animal. They have grey-brown fur above and creamy-grey belly, with a short tail. Weighing just 20 to 40 grams this small mammal has a life span of just a year. They are about the size of a golf ball!

Winter Gulls.

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Gulls are all in winter non-breeding colours at this time of year.

Common Gull.

The Common gull looks like a small, version of the herring gull I do not see them in great numbers in my local area however the odd ones I do see are always close or within flocks of Black-headed gulls

Black-headed gulls.

These noisy small gulls are the most abundant gull in my local area. They are always on the lookout for an easy meal. Humans are an easy touch for a meal.