New Forest, 2023:- Pt.5 - 13th & 14th July

Herewith, Pt.5 (the final part) of my account of our family holiday in The New Forest. If you missed any of the earlier installments, you can find them by clicking 'Older Posts' at the bottom of this post.

Thursday, 13th July          Normandy Lagoon : Hatchet Moor : Pig Bush 

This was our last day at the property, with us having to vacate the premises by 10.00 the following day. The local weather forecast for the day was for it to be cloudy and breezy, with occasional heavy showers. However, that for the south coast, which was only about 10 miles (16 km) away, was for sunny periods and a relatively low chance of rain. A return to the coast was, therefore, indicated. 

I left base at 09.45 and about half way to my destination ran into torrential rain, requiring the windscreen wipers to be on their high speed setting. It was sunny, but rather windy when I arrived at the point to park to gain access to Normandy Lagoon. I arrived at the lagoon to find someone with tractor and trailer collecting a few victims of avian influenza. I get the impression, however,  that this horrific and very worrying disease is having a much greater impact on birds the further north one goes.

 

I spent the first part of my visit trying for flight shots as I need practice in that aspect of photography. Although quite distant, I was quite pleased to get the shot with both Common Tern and Little Tern, which were having a bit of an altercation.

 

Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) - Normandy Lagoon

Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) and Little Tern (Sternula albifrons) - Normandy Lagoon

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) - Normandy Lagoon

Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) - Normandy Lagoon

An Avocet was at one end of the island with a youngster.

 

Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) (adult + juvenile) - Normandy Lagoon

You may have noticed the gull in that last shot. Its identity puzzled me for a while but, having seen it closer and side-on, I came to the conclusion that it was a young Black-headed Gull.

 

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) (immature) - Normandy Lagoon

Here are a few of the other birds that I photographed on the lagoon.

 

Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) - Normandy Lagoon

Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus) - Normandy Lagoon

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) - Normandy Lagoon

With the sea wall behind the path I was on, it was relatively sheltered from the southerly wind. This brought out some butterflies.

Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) (female) - Normandy Lagoon

Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) (male) - Normandy Lagoon

I'd told Lindsay  that  I would be back between 12.00 and 12.30 to take her out for lunch, so my time here was limited. I started heading back to the car, but took a couple of shots of an overhead  immature Black-headed Gull (maybe the same one as seen earlier?).

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) (immature) - Normandy Lagoon

I left at about 11.30, giving me just enough time for a lightning-quick visit to the pond at Hatchet Moor. Considering the visit lasted about 15 minutes, it was quite productive.

 

A young Robin looked as if it was establishing a territory

Robin (Erithacus rubecula) (juvenile) - Hatchet Moor

At this location, I have found, particularly in breezy weather, that the gorsey area to the south of the small pond can be very productive for perched dragonflies - especially Keeled Skimmers. It is definitely worth enduring the spikes of the gorse while exploring this area!

Keeled Skimmer (Orthetrum coerulescens) (male) - Hatchet Moor

In past blog posts, I have spoken of the metallic gold appearance of fresh female Keeled Skimmers. This next one is a rather mature one and more like old gold, whereas the one following that is even more mature and looks decidedly tarnished.

Keeled Skimmer (Orthetrum coerulescens) (female) - Hatchet Moor

In a previous post, I mentioned that I'd missed seeing a Sundew until I'd viewed my photos. It happened again! In the first image of the female Keeled Skimmer above, you may notice something bottom right which I did not notice at the time of shooting - I guess that I was wholly pre-occupied with the dragonfly. That image was quite highly cropped from the original. This gave me the ability to extract a Sundew image from that area of the image.

 

Round-leaved Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia) - Hatchet Moor

I also found a Common Darter. This image serves as a reminder as to how uncomfortable waling through the gorse can be!

Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) (female) - Hatchet Moor

Lindsay had requested a visit to Lepe, on the shore of the Solent with views over to the Isle of Wight, with lunch at the cafe there. Melanie and Georgie asked to join us and we were, of course, delighted to have them along. 

On the way back, we stopped at the intriguingly name Pig Bush car park as it had been recommended to me by a fellow I'd been chatting to at Normandy that morning. This brief visit was an interesting one as we saw two very large beetles, one of which was a Lesser Stag Beetle - a species that I'd first seen only four weeks previously in Norfolk. The other was one that was as bright green as an emerald.

 

Lesser Stag Beetle ( Dorcus parallelipipedus) (female) - Pig Bush

Rose Chafer (Cetonia aurata) - Pig Bush

The real treat however was getting a Stonechat fix. I'd been hearing Stonechats quite frequently during the week but, frustratingly, they'd not been showing themselves. This time, I enjoyed several sightings and got some photos, including some of what I  believe is a juvenile.

 

Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) (juvenile) - Pig Bush

Stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) (male) - Pig Bush

 Thus, the wildlife and photography aspects of the holiday came to a delightful end.

The rest of the afternoon and evening were spent sorting out for the following days departure, with a break to go and fetch a Chinese takeaway for our evening meal.

Friday, 14th July          Lyndhurst to Ashby de la Zouch

The forecast was for a wet day all day. Melanie and Georgie departed at around 09.40 and Lindsay and I got away on the dot of 10.00. It rained heavily for the whole of the journey home, and the traffic was horrific. We like to take a cross-country route rather than use motorways. What should have been a journey of less than four hours duration, including a brief stop for a picnic lunch, took six and a half hours. Melanie likes to use motorways and her journey (she doesn't stop for lunch) should have been about three hours long, but it took her about six and a half hours too!

We all had enjoyed a wonderful break in the New Forest and look forward to returning at some time - maybe next year.

 

This break brought home to me a couple of factors that I'd not really given much thought to before. The first was, not entirely unexpectedly, that I no longer have the stamina for long walks without stopping for the occasional rest. The second is that my powers of observation are rather diminished, largely due to my deteriorating eyesight (cataracts, and both wet and dry macular degeneration), but also partly due to my reduced stability which means that I have to concentrate on where I'm puting my feet. Unless I'm standing still, I don't spend as much time as I should do looking upward. The main realisation was that the first factor contributes to the second! As I get tired, I lose concentration and find myself daydreaming as I walk along, and forgetting the job in hand! I have a lot to be thankful for, however, and I think that I'm doing OK for my age. While I am able to get out and take walks in nature with my camera I shall remain happy.

 

I believe that my next blog post will cover more local observations and be a catch-up, as I have not touched on this subject since reporting on a visit in late May!

 

In the meantime, please take good care of yourselves and Nature.

 

Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard

 

New Forest, 2023:- Pt.3 - 10th July

After my short previous blog post, I am following it up with another long one, which covers just one day of our family stay in the New Forest. If you missed the previous installments s of my account of our stay, you can find Part 1 here:-  https://peglerbirding.blogspot.com/2023/07/new-forest-2023-pt1-7th-8th-july.html, and Part 2 here:- https://peglerbirding.blogspot.com/2023/08/new-forest-2023-pt2-9th-july.html 

Monday, 10th July          Hatchet Moor : Crockford Stream : Normandy Lagoon : Japonica Cottage

The day started breezy, later turning windy, with sunny intervals throughout the day.

 

I had put out my portable moth trap on the Sunday night, so the first job of this day was to empty it. This proved to be hazardous, as it had  turned rather breezy and possibly 30% of the catch escaped before identification or were discarded as not being interesting enough to spend my time on as I had other things to do! The retained ones were potted for later photography prior to release.

After breakfast, I headed out to the small pond adjacent to Hatchet Moor car park.

The first thing I  spotted, moments after getting out of my, car was a Dark Green Fritillary. I didn't manage to identify it at the time but when I mentioned it to someone, he assured me that it would have been a Silver-washed Fritillary. I only managed to fire off two frames before it departed, but I can tell from those two shots that it was a Dark Green Fritillary. I don't know if this is unusual for the area, but I suspect not.

 

Dark Green Fritillary (Speyeria aglaja) (female) - Hatchet Moor

A wander round the pond, trying to keep out of the stiff breeze, produced a few dragonflies and butterflies, all hunkering down trying to keep out of the breeze.

 

Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) (male) - Hatchet Moor

This Gatekeeper was a male, as can be seen by the dark 'sex brand' on the forewings.

Gatekeeper (Pyronia tithonus) (male) - Hatchet Moor

You may have noticed, in those last three images, the spikey leaves of what I believe was Gorse. Those spikes are quite sharp and I was wearing thin trousers ('pants' to those on the other side of the Atlantic). The moor round the south side of the pond was densely covered by these bushes, with narrow trails between them, and in many places it was not possible to pass without squeezing between bushes. This was rather uncomfortable!

 

In this next image, the front skipper is a female (no sex brand). I suspect the one behind is a male with amorous intentions.

Large Skipper (Ochlodes sylvanus) (female + male(?)) - Hatchet Moor

This male Black-tailed Skimmer was resting on the ground, but it didn't stop him from grabbing a passing female to mate with!

Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) (male) - Hatchet Moor

Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) (male+female in cop) - Hatchet Moor

In a more open area at the edge of the gorse, I found Silver-studded Blue. These were all extremely worn.

Silver-studded Blue (Plebejus argus) (female) - Hatchet Moor

Silver-studded Blue (Plebejus argus) (male) - Hatchet Moor

I am not sure of the sex of this skipper as I didn't see it with open wings. I am also a bit puzzled by the underside. I had noted it as a Large Skipper, but I would have expected bolder markings on the underside, as in the two shown earlier in this post. By the 'pointed' rear to the abdomen, I'm guessing it was a female.

Large Skipper? (Ochlodes sylvanus ?) (female ?) - Hatchet Moor

In a previous blog post, I have mentioned that the female Keeled Skimmer looks as if it has been made of the purest gold. I should have qualified this by saying that this is when they are relatively freshly emerged. They then get more and more like old gold as they mature. This one is still relatively fresh.

Keeled Skimmer (Orthetrum coerulescens) (female) - Hatchet Moor

As I headed back to our car, I stopped to photograph some Canada Geese with young.

 

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) - Hatchet Moor

After this, I drove a short way down the road to Crockford Clump, and walked over to Crockford Stream. Here I was re-acquainted with all the key five dragonfly and damselfly species from my Saturday visit. However, I did not manage photos of Small Red Damselfly, but I did have the added bonus of an Emperor.

 

Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) (male) - Crockford Stream

Beautiful Demoiselle (Calopteryx virgo) (female) - Crockford Stream

The wing-flicking action by a male can be seen in this video clip, as can photo-bombing by a Small Red Damselfly!

Unfortunately, the 'Mercury' mark on the second abdomen segment of this Southern Damselfly does not show clearly, but that is what it is.

 

Southern Damselfly (Coenagrion mercuriale) (male) - Crockford Stream

Although my prime objective was dragons and damsels, I did find a couple of other items to photograph.

 

The Pellucid Hoverfly is one of the largest flies in Britain.

 

Pellucid Hoverfly (Volucella pellucens) (female) - Crockford Stream

Linnet (Linaria cannabina) (immature) - Crockford Stream

The expected Keeled Skimmers were seen.

 

Keeled Skimmer (Orthetrum coerulescens) (male) - Crockford Stream

An ovipositing Emperor appeared and I noted that this too had a blue abdomen - something that I commented on in my previous blog post.

 

Emperor (Anax imperator) (female, ovipositing) - Crockford Stream

A newly emerged Common Darter took me by surprised as I was not expecting to see this species here and, at first sight, took to be a female Keeled Skimmer. 

Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) (female) - Crockford Stream

The stars of the show were, of course, the fabulous Golden-ringed Dragonflies, of which there were at least two. In the first image below, the dragonfly seems to be dining on a wasp species.

 

Golden-ringed Dragonfly (Cordulegaster boltonii) (male) - Crockford Stream

Just after mid-day, I departed for Normandy, just south west of Lymington. Having found a place to park, I had my picnic lunch in the car before heading to have a look at Normandy Lagoon. This location had been recommended to me by someone I had chatted with at Keyhaven. My main target here was Little Tern. I spotted a very distant one as I arrived, and noted a number of other species of bird on an island that was rather beyond the distance that my lens could cope with.

 

I took a shot of an Avocet that was not too far away, and a Black-headed Gull that flew past.

 

Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta) - Normandy Lagoon

Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) - Normandy Lagoon

My eyesight is not so good these days, but I spent some time chatting with a very knowledgable lady who was, very kindly, pointing out the Little Terns and warning of their approach so that I could attempt flight shots.  I spent ages trying, but these are small birds that fly quickly and I just could not find them in the viewfinder and get focus before they disappeared. I eventually gave up.

 

This lady also alerted me to a Little Tern youngster on the island which was being visited by both parents bringing in food for it on a quite frequent basis. I tried for some shots of this, and fared somewhat better, although a longer lens would have helped.

Little Tern (Sternula albifrons) (adult + young) - Normandy Lagoon

A Common  Tern, also with a youngster, was a little closer on the island before flying off.

 

Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) (adult + young) - Normandy Lagoon

Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) - Normandy Lagoon

The helpful lady had departed and, after a while, I decided that I was not going to get any decent shots of Little Tern, so wandered off, heading westward along the sea wall, to see what else I  might find.

 

On the way to the sea wall, I photographed a couple of non-avian itms. One Hogweed plant held a number of Common Red Soldier Beetles, most of which were doing what this species is famous for.

 

Common Red Soldier Beetle (Rhagonycha fulva) (male+female in cop) - by Normandy Lagoon

Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) (female) - near Normandy Lagoon

Arriving on top of the sea wall, I saw a Little Egret that was busy feeding. As it seemed oblivious to people on the sea wall path, I was able to get quite close. It was having some success, as can be seen in the next two shots.

 

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) - near Normandy Lagoon

I tend to think of Egrets as being rather elegant birds, but that is not always the case!

 

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) - near Normandy Lagoon

I continued along the sea wall for a little while, until I reached the yacht club's lagoon. The way forward seemed a little uninviting and, knowing that I had moths to deal with back at base, I started heading back to my car. 

 

I stopped to photograph some Canada Geese that were passing, mainly to get flight shot practice.

 

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) - near Normandy Lagoon

Suddenly, just a few metres from where I was about to leave the sea wall, a Little Tern was in front of me fishing. I didn't manage any splash shots, but I did get some flight shots that aren't too bad. As Little Tern is classed as 'scarce or local', I don't get many opportunities to photograph them. At the risk of overloading you with this delightful little bird, here's some of what I managed.

Little Tern (Sternula albifrons) - Normandy Lagoon

For me, this was a fabulous end to my time out.

Back at base, I set up to photograph the 19 potted moths from the trap. I managed to lose 7 more of these before sorting their identity or photographing them. Of the twelve left, five were a new species for me. Here are four of the five.

Single-dotted Wave (Idaea dimidiata) - from Japonica moth trap on 23-07-09

Nut-tree Tussock (Colocasia coryli) - from Japonica moth trap on 23-07-09

Brown-tail (Euproctis chrysorrhoea) (male)- from Japonica moth trap on 23-07-09

Slender Brindle (Apamea scolopacina) - from Japonica moth trap on 23-07-09

The Buff Ermine is a rather common, but attractive, moth. This one was somewhat darker and less spotted than usual.

Buff Ermine (Spilosoma lutea) (male) - from Japonica moth trap on 23-07-09

 

This brings me to the end of this post. I believe my next post, in about a week, will be Pt.4 of my account of this holiday and, although a little shorter than this one, cover the following two days. The final Pt.5 following at a later date.

In the meantime, please take good care of yourselves and Nature.

Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard