Broad-bodied Chaser female
Chaser.
Walk
Hot Day.
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.
Beetle.
The Two-banded Longhorn Beetle (Rhagium bifasciatum). in the New Forest.
Little things.
Little things spotted at Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve while on a Sunday morning walk.
Alder Beetle – mating pair.
Large Red damselfly.
Common Lizard enjoying some sun.
I believe this is a Little Reed Beetle.
Azure Damselfly {male}.
Bee.
Something a bit larger.
Picked up a Mute Swan egg on the path.
Return.
After Thursday’s visit to Swanick Lakes, we returned today for a longer walk. The site is 36 hectares.
Clay has been extracted in the area since the late 19th century, with the first pit dug on the site in 1948. When extraction finished in 1974, woodland developed over much of the reserve.
I filmed a Great Crested Grebe on a lake. The interesting part was when the bird spotted an insect, likely a dragonfly, and caught it, which I had never seen before. It was also nice to film how the bird lowers its crest before diving.
Face to face.
A couple of close encounters on this morning’s walk.
Pay to Park.
From yesterday, the Forestry Commission has introduced parking charges for cars parking in the New Forest, so no longer a free day out when we visit the forest.
Nuthatch.
Fun in the Mud .
Hampshire Fire & Rescue mud rescue training on the mud flats at Calshot Point this morning. Mud rescues are undertaken by several agencies in the UK. Fire Service, The Coastguard and The RNLI.
We stumbled across this training exercise and took up a vantage point to watch.
Watching, it becomes evident how hard work walking through the mud is, with each step requiring immense effort as feet sink into the thick, slippery mud.
On an English Hillside.
Another circular Sunday morning walk on the South Downs.
This time of year, Rooks are re-establishing their nest sites. Rookerys are known for high noise levels, territorial disputes, and intense activity during nesting season.
Goldfinch.
Yellowhamer.
Brown Hare,
On the route, there is a memorial to a WW2 accident where 33 were tragically killed.
In early 1944, numerous training exercises were being undertaken in preparation for the Allied invasion of D-Day.
On the 4th April 1944, 1 HGSU, Horsa 1 glider, LG999 towed by Stirling IV LJ-842 of 196 Squadron took part in a large-scale glider exercise code-named ‘Exercise Dreme’.The night exercise of various legs was to take 3.5 hours, and the gliders were to be released over Brize Norton in Oxfordshire. The glider occupants were two glider pilots and members of No. 3 Platoon, ‘A’ Company, 7th (Airborne) Division, King’s Own Scottish Borderers.
Low cloud was reported in the Lewis area and on the leg from Lewis to Winchester. As the towing Stirling descended through the clouds, it hit a tree. The glider released immediately and crashed in Warnford. All 27 men on board the Horsa LG999 were killed. The Stirling flew on for another 15 minutes when it stalled, and crashed at 21:00 hours one-mile south-west of Romsey, some 18 miles from the site of the glider crash, and all six crew members were killed.
Sheep Farm
Sheep farming on the South Downs.
Continued Reflections from my World. 