nature spots

Sundew.

/ Andy Finnegan / 2 Comments

Sundews are plants found in the New Forest, growing in wet, acidic soil, where they get nutrients from insects.

There are 3 types of sundew in the forest.

I have seen the round-leaved sundew and the oblong-leaved sundew, but I have not yet seen the scarce great sundew. These plants are specially designed to survive in areas with low nutrients. The round-leaved sundew has round, sticky leaves that form a rosette and catch insects. In contrast, the oblong-leaved sundew has long leaves covered in sticky hairs that also trap prey. The great sundew has bigger leaves. When insects touch the leaves, they get stuck quickly; the hairs bend towards the insect to stop it from escaping, and the whole leaf curls over to trap it.

We went on a Boat Trip.

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Wednesday, we took to the sea in Ilfracombe and went on a 2-hour boat trip on the Ilfracombe Princess along the coast . We spotted about 20 Grey Seals. Not many seabirds were still on the cliffs as the breeding season has now passed, but I did spot one lone Gannet.

Spiders.

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About 650 spider species are found in the UK, and about 450 live in the New Forest. One of my regular encounters in the summer is the Raft Spider. Its normal habitat is near water, where it can skate on the surface. The Raft Spider can also live underwater for up to about 20 minutes. They seem to favour wild mint plants to hide on in the area where we have found them.

They are active from spring through autumn. The best time to see them is during the breeding season from May to July.

After the rain.

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After a wet Monday and a Tuesday morning, the rain stopped, and the sun came out, so did the Dragonflies and Damselflies.

Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve.

Broad-bodied Chaser (male)

Azure Damselflies.

Large Red Damselfly.

Norfolk Hawker.

Four-spotted Chaser.

Heathland.

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Today’s post is back to my current photographs. A walk across some of the heathland in the New Forest, lots of Orchids in flower – I am not a plant expert, and a lot of the Pink Orchids look very similar, and they also hybridise. I think these are Common Spotted Orchids, but I am happy to be corrected.

A nice specimen of Oyster Mushroom growing on an old tree.

Now that we are into June, lots of foals have been born, both ponies and donkeys.

Numerous Cuckoos were both seen and heard on our walk, but all too far off to film. The highlight spot of the walk was several Redstarts. A summer visitor, the male is a handsome bird which is pinky-red below with a black face, silvery-white forehead, grey back and striking red tail. They were formerly classed as a member of the thrush family, but are now known to be a flycatcher. 

Itchen Valley.

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Today’s pictures are all a bit closer.

Looking under some corrugated froofing sheet, I was hoping to see some snakes or slow worms, but it was a surprise to see a Common Frog.

Banded Demoiselle (male)

Banded Demoiselle (female)

Painted Lady, this year seems to be a good year for this large butterfly. A summer visitor to the UK, their numbers fluctuate drastically. British winters are too cold for them to survive, so large numbers migrate annually from North Africa and southern Europe, arriving from late spring through early autumn.

Hot Day.

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An early start up on the South Downs before the sun gets too high, especially as it looked like we had another hot day ahead, with some good light early as well for photographs.

Yellowhammers were fairly abundant before it got too hot. The yellowhammer is a passerine bird in the bunting family; it is a bird of farmland.

Brown Hares.

Red Legged Partridge.

Baby Rabbits.

Red Kite.

Crow.