Wild Strawberries

Saturday 29th  June 2013

What a lovely day, blue sky and sunshine, in fact this afternoon it cleared off completely.

Summer's here!

We had a very nice walk at Stoney Cross this morning.  There isn't much to report about for  most of the walk then when we were not far from the car I spotted a few wild strawberries in amongst some brambles. 

They were the tiniest cutest perfect little strawberries, I don't remember seeing any of these before.   We took a few photos to try and show their size. 

Little and large - large is just a normal sized strawb!

Just a little further on, out in the open these fallow deer didn't seem at all bothered by us.

 Then a bi-plane flew over, it all happened at once!



Winnall Moors Nature Reserve - Near Winchester + Stag Beetle and Dead Mole!

Friday 28th June 2013

We went to another area new to us today, the Winnall Moors Nature Reserve   http://www.hiwwt.org.uk/pages/winnall-moors-r.html  We parked at Kingsworthy and walked through to the reserve, on a footpath that must be used a fair bit but the nettles were closing in big time.  One determined nettle managed to sting my stomach through my t shirt and oh did it itch!! (but then I am a drama queen).

Nettles encroaching.

A view across the nature reserve, another step further and I would have had a bootful!

At this point there was another information board stating this;  Winnall Moors Nature Reserve is at the western gateway to the South Downs National Park and it offers an almost unique glance at the range of habitats that have once been found throughout the Itchen Valley.  The reserve has the highest conservation status, protected as both a Site of Special Scientific Interest and a Special Area of Conservation.  Winnall Moors also boasts a rich historical and cultural legacy with close ties to medieval Winchester.  To this day, the reserve's proximity to the city means that it performs a vital role in storing water, helping to protect the city during floods.

Mole - unfortunately dead!

Sometimes the only way you see some animals is when they are dead - in this case today it was a mole - he was either dead or very good at musical statues as it was still there when we came back again!!!!!!  Another creature that we've been talking about lately is stag beetles.  I remember seeing these when I was young but I haven't seen one for years, until today that is.  Luckily this one was alive although it did play dead or musical statues for a bit until we used a stick to move it off of the path for it's own safety.

Apparently according to he who knows this wasn't a very big beetle but it was definitely a wow moment of the walk today.

Talking of wow moments and ahhhhhhhh moments, this was another one, baby swallows being fed sitting on branches of a dead tree.

I realise I say this a great deal about all sorts of birds, but swallow/house martin/swifts are definite favourites so to see house martins and swallows feeding babies was good.  This photo was taken by zooming in beyond the point of no return hence the soft out of focus look.  In actual fact these lovelies - about six of them - were very close.

As a final note from today's walk, we successfully found three geocaches, one of which has only recently been published and we were ....... second to find, one day maybe we'll be first to find. 

Tadburn Meadows Nature Reserve, Romsey

Thursday 27th June 2013

To get a walk in today we didn't go far, to a place I didn't know existed until today, Tadburn Meadows Nature Reserve in Romsey  http://tinyurl.com/tadburnmeadows   There was a useful information board which gave the following info:  Tadburn Meadows Local Nature Reserve covers an area of 12 acres owned by Test Valley Borough Council and is managed for wildlife conservation and informal recreation.  It is obviously used by dog walkers but it's a very peaceful place with lots of benches to sit near the stream - I'm sure I'll go back again.

A peaceful place to do a couple of geocaches.

The honeysuckle is out now, Honeysuckle and roses - hmmmmmm!

More roses (in the sunshine no less!)

Wade Hill Drove - Between Calmore & Ower

Tuesday 25th June 2013

We had a quick two mile walk this afternoon not far from junction 2 on the M27.  Despite being so close to the motorway it wasn't too noisy - until we crossed over it on a bridge!  We have seen a family of foxes playing in this area before, but not today.  However we did see millions and trillions of flies - on every available little puddle.  We haven't had much rain lately but there were still a few big puddles around, testing the leaking walking boots somewhat (really must get some new ones!)

Hmmmmm

I think we upset the cows by just looking over the gate at them.

There were lots of wild roses about, this one is a dog rose.

Along the hedgerow we spotted this ivy growing in a circle - it looked a bit wreath like, creepy!

Blue sky for once!  There were very friendly horses in this field last year, but this year it's planted with crops, I think it may be maize, but I'm no expert.



Baby Robin and Red Legs

Monday 24th June 2013

I had to post this quick note to say that we had the first baby robin of the year in the garden this afternoon.  I love robins and only mentioned yesterday that we haven't seen one in the garden for weeks.  This baby number was very cute and very independent, which was just as well as there was no sign of an adult.  He or she was still very baby like with a brown mottled chest - it will take a few weeks for it to go red - and quite happily searched out fallen seed bits under the feeder alongside the woodpigeons (a bit of a size difference going on  there, that's for sure!)

The other thing worth a mention is that last week we saw the red legs again (red-legged partridges that is) just down the road from us.  We had to stop in the car to let the pair of them dawdle across the road in front of us.  It was good to see two of them again as back a few months ago one was killed on the road and I thought that was the end of them.  They are a funny sight as I have said before, seeing them where we live on a housing estate.  They are very colourful round football like birds, but obviously fly well enough since I saw one on a rooftop a while back, now that did look odd.

Southampton Common - Family of Swans

Thursday 20th June 2013

This is just a quick post about our walk on Southampton Common this morning.  Luckily we took no notice of the weather forecast (as the predicted rain didn't happen all day and now the sun is out and it's a lovely evening) and went walking anyway. 

Look who we found on the boating lake, mum, dad and five cygnets.

The parents were quite protective and wary to start with but soon 'floated' the whole family across the lake to us (probably after food!)

Note the little chap front left - who appeared to be doing a form of swan yoga with his little leg in the air - this didn't look particularly comfortable.

Now, I realise our seasons are all a bit squiffy at the moment but fungus in June?

Very impressive though.

There were plenty of birds about - all the usuals, woodpigeons, crows, magpies etc and there were an unusual amount of robins all over the place. We also spotted a wren and a green woodpecker.  Good stuff.

Rufus Stone - New Forest

Wednesday 19th June 2013

This muggy afternoon we had a very short walk from the Rufus Stone in the New Forest.  It was very warm and muggy but there was no sign of the sun unfortunately.  We had to get a few clues from the inscriptions on the stone to enable us to locate a geocache, which luckily we found with ease. 

The Rufus Stone.

We came across this dead old tree, but growing out of the top of the right hand smaller trunk was a large clump of buttercups - odd!

Common cottongrass.  This according to my wild flower book grows in very boggy ground with peaty acid soils.  This area was definitely boggy, we know this because .........

...........of the state of our daughters walking boots!

A very typically oak shaped oak tree.

Shortly after taking this photo a couple of fallow deer ran across behind the tree then pronked their way into the trees.  Pronked, I love this word.  The dictionary definition:

pronk - verb (of a springbok or other antelope) leap in the air with an arched back and stiff legs, typically as a form of display or when threatened.  I didn't think we were at all threatening but there you go! 

One other thing of note that we saw this afternoon was a stonechat flitting about and another odd thing, a man wearing shorts and long black socks!

Rhinefield Drive

Monday 17th June 2013

We had a really good three mile walk this afternoon from the Blackwater car park on the Rhinefield Drive in the New Forest.  We saw plenty of wildlife and no people!  This is a very popular area at weekends, somewhere we would therefore avoid at weekends!  We saw various sized groups of deer and a couple out on their own, one of whom we didn't see until we were quite close to it - I'm not sure who was more surprised us or the deer. 

From the Rhinefield Drive road.

Foxgloves have started to come out - another favourite of mine.

In amongst the trees.

A very handsome common toad - nowhere near an obvious source of water.

A painted lady butterfly on a rhododendron flower.  Apparently some rhododendrons are diseased in the New Forest and are causing problems in other shrubs so are being destroyed.



We were very pleased to successfully find a geocache in the middle of a very boggy area, at one point it looked like we were going to have to give up but we found a way round in the end.  At the cache we were surrounded by cattle and ponies, lots of them, but they weren't interested in us in the least.  On the way back we came across a lovely toad who did make me jump, but no amount of coaxing would make it jump!  We saw a jay, a green woodpecker and various small birds, then it was back through the arboretum with the very tall trees to the car park.

Lee near Romsey

Saturday 15th June 2013

It was back to wearing coats for todays two mile walk on a footpath across part of the Broadlands estate.  It was threatening rain and blowing a gale - honestly! 

The estate workers have obviously been busy since our last visit a few months ago as some of the fields are now growing well.  In the first (very large) field we came to there were masses of runner beans (I think ) growing up wigwam constuctions - thousands of them - I have never seen so many of these in one place.

Runner beans anyone?

Rows and rows and rows of them!

Here we have another crop being protected by loads of flags - to keep the birds/deer off? As I said, the estate workers have been busy!

A couple of amorous harlequin ladybirds, the wiggling was good!!!!

The River Test.

There were lots of small birds in the hedgerows, especially chaffinches.  We also saw swifts and house martins near the old farm buildings and swooping low across the river - finding insects no doubt.  A buzzard was flying quite low overhead at one stage too.  Although the rain last night had made the river cloudier than normal we still managed to see trout stealthing about amongst the weed.  All in all, plenty spotted today in a relatively short walk.

Symphony of Flowers - Winchester Cathedral

Friday 14th June 2013

Today we had a girls trip out, me my mum and daughter!  We went to Winchester Cathedral to see the Symphony of Flowers - a flower festival - it was absolutely brilliant.  It's not really a nature note or observation of nature but I wanted to include a few photos in my blog anyway.  The arrangements were all around the cathedral, it was just full of flowers - (and people!).

Winchester Cathedral.

There were even flowers outside the cathedral.

An English Country Garden - pays tribute to Jane Austen whose tomb and memorial are in the photo.

It's amazing what you can do with lots of test tubes!

Masses of red roses with little gems intertwined.

Elegant lillies.

Abstract arrangements in the crypt. 

This was my favourite, we had to queue to get into the crypt as it only accommodated about six at a time but it was well worth it, very atmospheric and very calm. 

There were about fifty arrangements around the cathedral and these photos just show a handful.  My daughter nipped around and took these photos and we were both really pleased with them, especially as it was difficult to take photos without people in!

Itchen Navigation

Sunday 9th June 2013

We went back to the Itchen Navigation again today to find that the swallows have returned to nest on the bridge under the M3, but in smaller numbers than last year.  It seemed that everyone had the same idea as us (well, not quite everyone!) this morning as there were lots of walkers about. 

Along the Itchen Navigation.

Badgers were here. 

There is one field along the route where the grass has been torn up like this all over the place.  Apparently this damage is done by badgers looking for crane fly larvae in the grass.

And over the stile onto a quieter footpath away from the river.



Stile to nowhere?  Where on earth this footpath is supposed to go is anyone's guess!

A well shorn sheep and her not so little lambs.