Walk

Back to the Forest.

/ Andy Finnegan / 1 Comment

Back into the New Forest after a 10-day gap due to the large wildfire, which closed the A31, the main road crossing the forest. Although other parts were accessible, we chose to stay away, as many of the smaller roads were gridlocked with diverted traffic.

Today’s walk.

about 4 miles through some fairly boggy ground. Some of which would be impassable if we had not had a drought.

Marsh frogs.

Spotted flycatcher.

A first for me today, a Goat Moth caterpillar.

)As an adult, the moth cannot feed. The caterpillars live inside the trunks of a variety of broad-leaved trees, feeding on the wood. They overwinter three or four times as larvae and a final time as pupae. The caterpillar can grow to 10 cm (about 4 inches), and the moth has a wingspan of up to 9.5cm (about 3 1/2 inches).

Stock image of a Goat Moth.

Stubble.

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Up on the South Downs, west of Winchester, for an early morning walk.

Quite a few Hares on the corn stubble some distance off.

Flocks of Greenfinches also visit the stubble to feed on grains left after the harvest.

Kestrel sitting high on a pylon wire looking for mice in the stubble.

The harvest is over, but the end-of-season usefulness to support wildlife of what looks like barren fields is high.

Photo Editing 2026?

/ Andy Finnegan / 7 Comments

Has it gone too far? In the “old days,” you could tweak your pictures in the darkroom. Then came digital, and I used Photoshop to edit my pictures – crop and adjust exposure, etc.

Today, on a long walk in the New Forest, we spooked a Fallow Deer doe with her fawn. They hopped out of the dense Bracken stop and had a good look at us before heading back into the undergrowth.

I took a series of pictures, but the deer were obscured in the foreground by the undergrowth.

Now with A1-supported photo editing, you can go further. I ran one of my pictures through a trial editing package.

I asked it to sharpen, de-noise, and remove the foliage from one of my pictures. This is the result, but I have to ask: is this acceptable, or is it a step too far in wildlife photography?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cottingley_Fairies

River bird walk.

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Birds from this morning’s walk along the River Itchen and Itchen Navigation near Winchester.

Sedge Warbler.

Reed Bunting. (male)

Grey Heron.

Goldfinch. (juv)

Goldfinch.

Chiffchaff.

Moorhen.

Blackcap (male).

Manderin Ducks. (juv)

Ratty!

/ Andy Finnegan / 3 Comments

Ratty is the nickname of the Water Vole character in Kenneth Grahame’s classic 1908 novel, The Wind in the Willows.

Water voles are one of the UK’s most endangered mammals. A common sight in my childhood, their numbers have plummeted by over 90% since the 1960s. Due to habitat loss and predation by invasive American mink, many of which were deliberately released by animal rights activists. They are classified as endangered on the UK’s Red Lists

The water vole has chestnut-brown fur, a blunt, rounded nose, small ears, and a furry tail. It is much bigger than other vole species.

Water voles are primarily herbivorous rodents that consume waterside plants, including reeds, roots, grasses, and fallen fruit. Because their plant-based diet is low in nutrients, they must eat about 80% of their body weight every day,

A 0600hrs start this morning along the River Itchen and the old Navigation near Winchester paid off, as we spotted a Water Vole. Pictures were a bit difficult as he was into the morning sun.

Red-veined Darter.

/ Andy Finnegan / 1 Comment

A hot walk in the New Forest during a “heatwave” and spotted a new dragonfly, 1st for me. Red-veined Darter. According to the British Dragonfly Society, this dragonfly is a fairly frequent migrant, principally to southern Britain, with scattered sightings elsewhere. Numbers spotted have been increasing since the 1980s. Breeding has been observed regularly, but the colonies are not yet stable.

Sit down.

/ Andy Finnegan / 2 Comments

The weather changed to heavy showers and constant drizzle yesterday, the only acceptable nature photos were the Siskins feeding in the car park. I posted yesterday.

The dragon and damselflies were not flying, but we spotted some distant birds, including both a Cuckoo and Redstarts.

A view from a sit-down under some trees, “A New Forest View”.