New Forest

Another watering hole.

/ Andy Finnegan / 3 Comments

A late afternoon walk in the New Forest yesterday to see if the Marsh Frogs come out more later in the day. They were basking in the sun, catching flies, sitting on the mud and letting flies land on them until they got a shot at grabbing one!

A short video of frogs, including the motion slowed down at the end.

Being a water source on the heath with the current weather, the frog pond is an attraction for both cattle and ponies to drink from. Our session with the frogs was interrupted for 1/2 an hour.

They also fancied a nibble on my hat!

Watering Hole.

/ Andy Finnegan / Leave a comment

As our heatwave continues, another hot walk across the open plain in the New Forest: a 4-mile round trip to Whitten Pond.

Cows drink 60 to 120 litres of water a day. Some of the ponds dry out in the summer, but Forestry England says there are up to 1000 ponds in the New Forest.

As we walked over Holmsley Ridge, Whitten Pond came into view, and a large herd of cows was also heading to the water. We arrived about the same time.

Ring Plover, which I am more used to seeing on the coast, were at the pond, and a small family were around the edge. They are one of our coastal birds that will breed inland.

A juvenile Pied Wagtail.

Stonechat {Male}.

Parenthood.

/ Andy Finnegan / 4 Comments

Yesterday’s New Forest walk was a bit of a surprise as we found another Raft Spider stronghold. We found a nest full of newly hatched spiderlings. What was different about this nest was that it was being guarded by a parent spider. I had not seen this before.

Adult on guard.

Raft spiders do not spin webs to catch insects; they grab and catch their prey.

Frogs.

/ Andy Finnegan / 2 Comments

Marsh frogs (Pelophylax ridibundus) are Europe’s largest native frog species; they are not native to the UK. There is a colony in the New Forest, and I try to see if I can spot some at this time of year. They are colourful frogs with a range from brown to green.