Leucistic birds have affected plumage which lacks the melanin pigment due to the cells responsible for melanin production being absent. This results in white feathers, unless the normal plumage colour also comprises carotenoids, these remain unaffected by the condition.
Below is a Grey Wagtail I photographed and posted earlier in the year.
Today in the New Forest we spotted A Grey Wagtail with a Leucistic head cap.
#wordless Wednesday.
Some Hornets spotted while out in the New Forest this morning. Hornets are giant wasps with yellow and brownish-red striped bodies, reddish wings and a yellow head. The Queen is larger than the males and workers. They have a wingspan of between 2.5 to 3.5 cm. In the UK many people are fearful of our native Hornets but they are actually much less aggressive than the common wasp. It is also an important pollinator and a predator of species that feed on plants and crops, I have watched them hunt and decapitate wasps!
The New Forest Reptile Centre is located near Lyndhurst in the New Forest. There are unique outdoor ‘pits’ that provide a natural home for reptiles and amphibians found in the forest. During the summer season to help educate visitors to the forest and help them see our various snakes lizards and frogs they are on show in the pits (they are released after a couple of weeks).
As part of a walk through the forest on Friday we called into the centre. We arrived on foot just prior to the car park gate opening. So had the opportunity to chat to the staff before the influx of holidaymakers. The snakes were being offered food – this adult female Adder was quick to come out of the undergrowth and take the offering. Adders are the only venomous snake found in the UK. Sightings are not guaranteed.
A number of juvenile Adders were visible (about 8 inches long) note their zig-zag pattern has not yet developed.
Traction engine New Forest this afternoon.
Due to the nonstop heavy rain, this morning walk was under the trees on our forest walk.
Tree views set on monocrome with green highlighted.
Forest Pony brands on an old wooden forest pen.
Rhinefield House was once a private country mansion in the heart of the New Forest. Today it is a hotel. The house was built in the 1880s with a huge garden and ornamental ponds. Many non-native trees were planted along the track leading to the house. Dwellings were on the site since the New Forest was first proclaimed by William the Conqueror in about 1097.
Trees that can be seen include giant redwoods and Douglas firs. In fact, the two tallest trees of the New Forest are here, a pair of redwoods standing on each side of an open grassy ride.
Another study of Raft Spiders (Dolomedes fimbriatus) (& a post). The adult male Raft Spider is 9 -16mm & the female a larger 13-22mm. They are found in wet lowlands and heaths & upland mires. Widespread in Southern England on wet heaths & scattered colonies throughout the rest of Britain. We have found a stream in the New Forest where they seem abundant. Here they seem to favour wild mint growing on the edge of the small stream where they wait for a passing meal – dropping down to walk on the water’s surface to catch their prey.
Wild mint bed in the New Forest.
The Stinkhorn is a fungus that can grow up to 25cm tall and resembles a phallus when they fully emerge from an egg-like structure which contains the immature fruiting body. The young cap oozes gleba a spore-bearing smelly sticky gel. The smell of rotting flesh fills the air which attracts the flies and other insects which then carry off the fungus’s spores.
It is said Victorians were so embarrassed by the look of a Stinkhorn that they would attack them with sticks to stop any impressionable young ladies from seeing such a thing.
Some Dragonflies and Damselflies spotted in the New Forest today.
The “Common Darter” is a smaller Dragonfly. The male is orange-red but becomes brown with age. Females (and juvenile males) are yellowish to light brown. I believe this one is a male.
A “Golden-ringed dragonfly” is a very large,and handsome dragonfly, they are on the wing from May to September.
“Beautiful demoiselle” damselfly the metallic blue males have solid dark blue wings.
The damselfly below had landed in the stream.
Continued Reflections from my World. 