31st May - Acres Down New Forest, Hampshire

After seeing the Honey Buzzards yesterday at Woolbeding I decided to go after a Hampshire Honey Buzzard and I decided on Acres Down as I hadn't been there for them yet this year.  The traffic was building up as I came off the motorway, but there was space in the car park.  I gathered up my equipment and lunch and walked up the hill and through th ecopse to the viewing point looking out over the forest towards the west.

I came across a Woodlark on the path and it allowed me to get close, but with all my stuff I couldn't reach the camera in time, and it flew across in front of me and over the back of the trees.  As I approached the viewing point I could hear Woodlark singing as well as Redstart and Tree Pipit.

First raptor to show not surprisingly was a Common Buzzard, quickly followed by several more.  There was cloud about, but it looked like it was breaking up as the sun started to warm things up.

Later the view was as spectacular as ever.

The first Honey Buzzard sighting cae from the south west area, appearing over the trees and immediately looking completely different from the Buzzards that you think are Honeys.  The first thing that hits you are the longer wings, then it is the length of the tail.  Finally the head appears to protrude more than a Buzzard.  As it turned you can see it gliding and soaring on flat wings, the Common Buzzard will hold them in more of a "V" shape, plus head on the Honey has a smooth down curving of the wings.

It was always too far to get a decent photograph once again, but I tried.

Another or possibly the same bird was picked up later and this came overhead but at an incredible height, turning out to be just a speck in the sky.

As well as the Goshawks there were at least two Goshawks, one coming into range of the camera, just.

After three hours and a quiet spell from the last Honey I decided to call it a day and walked back to the care.  A Painted Lady flew past me, never stopping.  

The view from the top of the slope that leads down to the car park.

In the car park there was a singing Firecrest, not something unusual these days.

So more Honey Buzzard sightings, but again all distant.  I am not sure if I will get another opportunity this year, although once their chicks have hatched and fledged apparently they show well then, we shall have to see.

30th May - Woolbeding Common, West Sussex

Today it was a trip outside Hampshire, heading west to the view point at Woolbeding Common just outside Midhurst.  Last year the Sussex birders released the news that there were Honey Buzzards showing well here, but when I visited they were distant and high in poor conditions.  The forecast today was much better with sunny intervals hopefully providing plenty of thermals.  The Honey Buzzards have been reported through the week and some coming very close.  This is one bird I would love to get an acceptable photograph of.

Getting there was difficult, the directions I had initially sending me to a large house!  I did manage to remember how I had found it last year and eventually arrived at the car park.  Walking out to the view point a Yellowhammer was singing.  At first it was overcast but gradually the clouds broke and the sun began to warm things up.  The view from here is quite beautiful, looking out over the tops of trees that cover the valley.

The cloud cover when I arrived.

The conditions then started to improve with the clouds breaking up and the sun coming through.

Birds of prey started to appear and you go through the process of "is it one?  No its a Common Buzzard".  There were plenty of these and a wonderful flying display from a Goshawk, swooping up and then diving almost vertically down.

Then a shout went up and a very distant Honey Buzzard was pointed out.  Getting the scope on it you could clearly see the shape of the head and the long tail and as it flew it was plainly a different bird to the Common Buzzard.  It was too far away to photograph and I was left with some views of Common Buzzard.

Another Honey Buzzard came overhead but was again very high and never came close enough for acceptable photographs.  After this the raptors dried up and after an hour without any sightings of any birds I decided to leave and head home. 

So no stunning photographs but at least I was able to get some lovely scope views of the the Honey Buzzards and Goshawks.  Maybe next year?

29th May - Romsey Abbey and Fishlake Meadows, Hampshire

With the failure of the Peregrine pair at Winchester Cathedral over the last two years attention has turned to a pair of Peregrines at Romsey Abbey.  They turned up last year but were unsuccessful in raising their family.  This year though they have had better luck hatching four chicks, three males and a single female.  They prefered the gutter of the Abbey on the north side to a nice box with grit and a web cam!  The chicks were ringed this week and all looks good for them with their fledging expected in three weeks time.

I went along to Romsey this morning, parking in the centre of the town and then walking around to the Abbey.  It was nice to see Swifts using purpose built nest boxes on the Abbey administration buildings.  I walked around to the north side of the abbey where there was a open area and a wild flower meadow at the back.  Turning around, I looked up at the roof and there on the edge was a Peregrine, lording it over all below it.

I noticed that there were blood stains on the throat and belly of the falcon and reckoned that this must be the female, the stains getting on her as she dismembers the prey bought in by the male.

I am not sure where exactly the nest is but it seemed as if she was keeping guard and taking the chance to stretch and preen.

The stretching then resulted in turning around and looking on to the roof.

But also looking up, turning the head almost all the way around, something I only though owls could do.

Some extensive preening.

Wing stretching.

And here bringing the tail under the wing!

It also spent some time cleaning the talons, the dealy talons here covered up and held in a ball.

It called several times, looking out for the male but in the time I was there it didn't appear.

A good shake.

Then there was some wing stretching and then it took off and flew in the direction of Fishlake Meadows away to the north.  I picked it up a little later and then it cruised around the Abbey.

With the Peregrine not about I turned attention to the Swifts that were screaming around the surrounding buildings and the trees.  Swifts are never easy to photograph as they move quickly and switch sides so often following them is not a simple task.

From many shots I managed only a few acceptable ones.

With my car park time up I decided to move the short distance to Fishlake Meadows.  I walked along the Canal Path with Garden Warbler and Blackcap singing and out in the reeds Sedge and Reed Warblers churring away.  Crossing the centre path a Cuckoo called and overhead there was a Buzzard.

At the screens the Cuckoo flew over and two Great White Egrets flew across the open water.  A Hobby was hunting over the water, catching dragonflies on the wing.

There were at least two Hobbies over the reed bed and open water, but the light was awful and they remained very high.

We have now reached the doldrum time and it is all about catching up with the local specialties unto the end of June when hopefully the migrants will start to return

24th May - Portsdown Hill and Titchfield Haven, Hampshire

After the weather of the last few weeks the forecast for the weekend was not good, as a result Ian and I decided to go looking for orchids.  It was maybe a little early but we thought it was worth a chance, so we met at Portsdown Hill and made our way down the hill.  As we left the cars a Whitethroat was singing in a dead bush behind the cars.

It was overcast with a brisk breeze, but we managed to find this Small Blue sitting on a leaf huddled down in the grass.

We walked along the bottom of the cliff and into the grassland where last June we had found both Lizard and Bee Orchid.  It took some time searching through the grass and bracken and the search was looking quite fruitless until Ian found this Lizard Orchid spike.

It was a little surprising to see this Common Blue flying around amongst the grass.

A Five-spot Burnet moth nectaring on the buttercups.

As we started the climb back up to the top of the cliff we found this Small Blue, again, roosting on a grass stem.

The distinctive Portsdown Cliff along with the discarded toy scooter on the left hand side of the photograph.

Back at the cars we decided that with the weather it would not produce any butterflies elsewhere, and the orchids were would be after still had maybe a couple of weeks to go, so we headed for Titchfield.

After parking at Cliff Road we walked down to the new visitor centre where I renewed my subscription.  We decided to try the east side as there had been reports of Willow Emerald Damselflies around the boardwalk.

We stopped off at the "Walkaway" Pond and searched the reeds and Lilypads.  Ian then found this exuvia, the discarded skin of a Damselfly nymph.  These are sometimes also call carapace.

We found several more empty skins, but then struck gold with one where the damselfly was just emerging.

Dragonflies and Damselflies undergo incomplete metamorphosis; unlike other winged insects, such as butterflies, dragonflies do not have a pupal stage and transition straight from a larva to an adult. This transition, the final larval moult, takes place out of water. This metamorphosis is triggered by day length and temperature, and is synchronised in some species, such as Emperor Dragonfly.

The final-stage larvae sit in shallow water, near the margins, for several days, getting ready for their final moult and starting to breathe air. Most species leave the water during the morning, the larvae climb up emergent vegetation, although some may walk several metres over dry land before finding somewhere suitable to emerge. After finding a secure support, they redistribute their body fluids, pushing the thorax, head, legs and wings out of the larval skin. There is then a pause to allow their legs to harden enough for the next stage, when the abdomen is withdrawn. The wings, and then the abdomen, are expanded and start to harden. This process leaves behind the cast skin or exuvia, and the whole process lasts between one hour (Damselflies) to three hours (Dragonflies).

We decided to watch and see what happened.

Freeing itself from the exuvia.

Then edged away from the exuvia for the next stage.

Fluid was pumped into the veins on the wings, you can see the wings extending and firming up.

Extending the wings beyond the abdomen.

Then once the wings were complete the abdomen started to extend now beyond the wings.

Originally we thought this might be a Willow Emerald, but as the process went on we felt that maybe this was female Common Blue.  This was the last image we took and it looks like one from the markings beginning to form on the thorax.

The whole process took just over an hour, a time in which we had lunch!  We came back just before we left the reserve and the Damselfly had gone.  It was amazing to watch regardless of the species.

A little further along the boardwalk towards the Knights Bank hide, we found some orchids.  These were Southern Marsh Orchids, looking splendid amongst the emerging horse tails.

We headed back to the harbour where the drake Eider that has been around for a few months now.  Today it was sitting on the mud, something you only see along the north east coast, so quite a privilege to get quite close.

The Mallard all came over to us thinking we had food and the Eider seemed interested too.

Eventually taking to the water and swimming towards us.

It did change its mind and turned and swam with the current out of the harbour.

We walked around to the west side and had some time in the Meon Shore Hide.  There were the Avocets still with their two chicks and several more on some of the other islands.  Common Tern could be seen nesting too.  There was only one Black-tailed Godwit.

On the small island in front of the hide the Black-headed Gulls were either sitting on eggs or feeding chicks, this gull was sitting on the chicks and they came out from under the gull.

And food was regurgitated and fed to the chicks.

 

There was some Marsh Harrier activity around the scrape, but they did not come too close, the gulls and Avocet keeping them away.

The other point of interest over the scrape were the Swifts, at least half a dozen, maybe more were swooping over the scrape.

A day that was made interesting by the find of the emerging damselfly, whatever it was!