Peter Jones Wildlife blog

Some #Bat analysis from this week. The top spectogram is a presumed Bechstein's Bat from the New Forest. At a known colony. Note the restricted frequency range from 40KHz to 80KHz, and slower call rate than the Natterer's Bat in the lower Spectrogram. But these species are notoriously difficult to separate with the Bat Detector Soundcloud files: https://soundcloud.com/pjnaturesounds/probable-bechsteins-bat https://soundcloud.com/pjnaturesounds/natterers-bat

With a mild overnight forecast, I ran the bat detector remotely in the back garden. Results were of limited quality due to the adjacent house wall, but species were identifiable. Both Common and Soprano Pipistrelle were recorded, the Common Pips triggering the detector frequently throughout the night. A Noctule was picked up commuting over the house which was good. Then best of all a Bat detected at 23:48hrs caused great excitement as it's peak frequency was 35Khz. This has now been analysed, and I'm 99% sure it is a Nathusius' Pipistrelle, but so distant that a lot of the components of the calls are attenuated out of range. (The only other option is a Savi's Pipistrelle, which would be pretty incredible with only a handful of UK records. I'd originally thought Batrbastelle, but this has been discounted by the county Bat recorder). Distant (Probable) Nathusius Pipistrelle sonogram below.  

Completed my Bat surveys for the year with a Waterways survey of Daubenten's Bats at the River Test. amazing numbers with over 600 "passes" during the two surveys. Many will be the same bat, but even so, that's a lot of activity! Also, plenty of Natterer's in the area, and the screenshot below of Daubenten's (top) and Natterer's (bottom) illustrates the more curved sonograms of Daubenten's, compared to the straighter Natterer's calls. Not much in it though, and it is fortunate that their behaviour differs so radically, with Daubenten's hovercrafting over the surface, Natterer's taking head shots at anyone walking near them!

Not a great deal of excitement around the campsites on our recent trip to Switzerland, a Noctule seen well flying over, and a Kuhl's Pipistrelle picked up on the detector being the best bits.

A camping trip to Luxemburg was enjoyable for wildlife, in a surprisingly forested country. Bats around the campsite were dominated by Common Pipistrelle, but each evening a flyover was being picked up on the detector. Took  a while to come to a conclusion, but the fairly regular chip-chop calls , with frequencies of 23Hz to 31Khz over open sky suggests Leisler's is most likely.

Ran the Bat detector overnight in the Calshot area. The detector was overlooking the Solent, and conditions were quite mild. I know there are Common and Soprano Pipistrelle in the area, and both of these species were recorded during the Evening, but later, two recordings looked pretty promising. The first, with a peak frequency of 35-36KHz matches Nathusius' Pipistrelle quite nicely. Only one call was close enough to show the typical hockey stick call shape, but the peak frequency and call lengths of all 4 calls looked good. Nathusius' Pipistrelle, is a highly migratory species which passes thru the UK each Autumn.

A youtube video highlighting the bat detector recordings of two recent Barbastelle sightings I made locally.

More bat detecting in the New Forest last night, with a visit to Pig Bush. An area famous for Leisler's Bat, but no joy for me on this occasion, sadly. I did, however, hear a distant Nightjar, and good views of both Common and Soprano Pipistrelle. Then towards the end of my search, in dense woodland, a small Bat flew very close in front of me with the faintest of calls being picked up on the bat detector. Even at less than 2 metres, the signal was incredibly faint. More likely a Brandt's due to the habitat, but will have to go down as a Whiskered/Brandt's due to the similarity of the two species. https://soundcloud.com/pjnaturesounds/whiskered-brandts

A couple of recent trips in what has been a relatively slow Autumn for birding. First was a visit to Dungeness, after seeing the Beluga whale on the Thames. Dungeness is a top venue, always with something out of the norm. Highlights were 5 Heron and Egret species within about an hour! (Great White Egret, Bittern, Cattle Egret, Grey Heron, Little Egret) including the 3 Egrets pretty much simultaneously.. Little being the last to be found amazingly. Garganey, and Ruff the other highlights, plus Great Northern and Red- throated Divers offshore. This was followed by a weekend around Cley in North Norfolk. Another premier location, but the going was tough this weekend with terrible weather on the Saturday (Great Skua, Arctic Skua, Great Northern and Red-throted Diver, Common Scoter, and Jack Snipe the highlights, plus 10 Ruff, and Pink-footed Geese). Sunday's weather was fine, with a hint of easterlies, and many migrants appeared on the coast throughout the day. My best was a Ring Ouzel...

A maxi-beast today! The Beluga, first seen on the Thames on Tuesday, fortunately stayed until the weekend when I could take a look, and showed well on Saturday morning. Seemed at home in the estuary, albeit hundreds of miles south of their normal range. Managed a short clip of it surfacing, which was extremely difficult. The fast current and infrequent surfacing made it tough. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-EWKCXrIvM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-EWKCXrIvM

Spent a couple of days in East Anglia. Willow Emerald Damselfly, and Water Shrew the targets. The weather took a turn for the worse before I left, which almost caused me to cancel, but I took the gamble. Saturday at Titchwell was very bleak, and it was starting to look like the Damselfly, known to have colonised part of the reserve, would not show. Luckily, late morning, the sun broke through, and after half an hour or so, the sun finally emerged into a patch of blue sky, and dragonflies suddenly appeared everywhere. A Willow Emerald soon followed, and I watched it land. Good views were had, not so good photos obtained, and it stayed on this branch all day, giving others the chance to see it. Very lucky! Sunday at RSPB Fowlmere failed to turn up a Water Shrew, but I did find Brown Trout and Signal Crayfish in the small river, and a Weasel near the car park.

A good week continues, with a nice Otter sighting locally, followed by Many Daubenten's Bats on my annual Waterways Bat survey. Daubenten's are quite distinctive in their flight style, skimming over calm waters just a few centimetres above the surface.

Took a break during my monthly Reptile survey in the New Forest, and walked to nearby Wilverley plain, which is good for Autumn Ladies Tresses, a late flowering Orchid. Took a few minutes to find one, then as often happens, you realise they are everywhere! a small number where coming into flower, some a straight, other corkscrewed. All just a couple of inches high in the short grass. Also saw Scarlet Pimpernel, and Bog Pondweed, plus Lesser Centaury, a regular flower in the New Forest it would seem. https://photos.app.goo.gl/quwk31rQLJ7Dxviw5

A quick visit to the new Wildlife trust reserve on the edge of Romsey, Fishlake Meadows. The area has always been good for wildlife, but now access is greatly improved. My highlight was an Otter, extremely close, but plenty of flowers were visible along the path. I think I have the photos correct. Also seen were Watermint, and Bittersweet. https://photos.app.goo.gl/9Eg1uWW7k4TMUjWJ6

News of Water Shrews showing well at RSPB Fowlmere had me heading there for Bank Holiday Monday. I managed to miss them first thing before I arrived, and spent most day fruitlessly waiting for them to reappear. Plenty of Dragonflies though with several Migrant Hawkers, and a Brown Hawker, plus Sparrowhawk and Hobby. Highlight of the day was a Stoat running wild outside the hide for a couple of minutes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8v7Crp_hss&feature=share

A week spent camping at Val de Bonnal in Eastern France. Lots of lakes and a river meant plenty of Dradgonflies, 14 or 15 species seen in the week, the best being Green-eyed Pincertail, and Goblet-marked Damselfly, both new for me, plus Scarlet Darter. Queen of Spain Fritillary and Heath Fritillary were seen well, plus a few Grasshoppers and Bush-Crickets which I think I have identified correctly. Common Wall Lizards allowed close up photos, one actually ran under the camera when it sensed danger! https://photos.app.goo.gl/GwYjkbfKt8r97gfWA

Spent a week in Eastern France at Val de Bonnal, a complex of lakes and a river. Although the immediate area was pretty intensively manicured, there were a few unkept areas with plenty of wild flowers. Hopefully most are correctly identified.. https://photos.app.goo.gl/sMSWyy5LQhCrQfbB8

No photos today, but started the day at the Most pond, Thursley Common. A renowned spot for Brilliant Emerald. Sure enough, saw three or four, high over the trees. Look like a dazzling insect, so hopefully better views one day. Also Downy Emeralds in the sky.. Slightly smaller, duller, and the elevated abdomen giving them a totally different appearance. Quite bizarre to be confidently identifying such similar species, at such long range. An Emerald was showing around the bank of the lake, but this was a Downy.

I visited Ladle Hill, which is renowned for the late flowering Burnt Orchid, but in two visits now, no joy. Will wait until next spring for the larger early flowering variant. Did however take some pics of some other flowers which I have identified on the PC, and with the Collins Wildflower guide back at home. Also popped into Greywell Moors, and saw Water Forget Me Not, and Brooklime https://photos.app.goo.gl/fAJUBkrptTzqijuT9

Very lucky living in Hampshire. We seem to have some incredible diversity for all wildlife groups. Orchids are no exception with a good selection in the county. Marsh Helleborine and Broad-leaved Helleborine seen yesterday in Wildlife Trust reserves. https://photos.app.goo.gl/6W1D2AUY6KabdZL79

Success in my search for Bog Orchid. Matley Bog is pretty dry at the moment. Stories of people going under to their waist in this bog seem hard to believe judging by this summer. In fact I struggled to find any wet boggy areas, which made the orchid hunt easier once I found water. Took about 30 minutes to see my first one, then realising there were at least double figures in the vicinity. A tiny Orchid, about 6-7cm high. I suspect in wetter summers, this particular area of the bog would be impossible to get to. https://photos.app.goo.gl/4q6V9PMwuRF6CBh47

A couple more flowers seen recently. Ladies Bedstraw at Ladle Hill, and Lesser Centaury at Baddesley Common. Both took me an age to identify!

I spent two dubiously enjoyable afternoons searching in vain for Bog Orchid. New Forest is a stronghold for this plant, but these Orchids are tiny, and in the middle of bogs, so not easy to find. I did, however, see some other cool plants typical of boggy habitats.. Sundew, Marsh St.John's Wort, Common Cottongrass, Bog Asphodel, and Bog Pimpernel https://photos.app.goo.gl/MUuAY4WDa2LbELmb9

Some very smart Green-veined Whites at Ladle Hill this week.

Plenty of Butterflies out in the New Forest. Silver Studded Blue, in good numbers on the heaths. Photo shows the "silver studs", i.e. tiny blue dots inside the black circles on the hindwing. A test of how good your eyesight is for sure. I'm also seeing Sundew, in the boggy areas, an insectivorous plant, so counts as a mini-beast!

Originally shared by Peter Jones Plenty of Orchids this week, with hundreds of Common Spotted and a few Chalk Fragrant on Pewsey Downs, and a nice assortment of Bee, Common Spotted, Pyramidal, and Greater Butterfly at Collard Hill. https://photos.app.goo.gl/PvSiS6XtFHfGPAb39

Originally shared by Peter Jones Plenty of Orchids around, a few hundred Heath Spotted in the New Forest during my Reptile Survey a week or so ago.

I've renamed this collection to include wild flowers and plants seen in Hampshire and the UK mainly. This should breathe some new life into the collection as I see a lot more flowers than fungi!

Spent a hot Sunday afternoon on a Nature reserve near Alton, which was packed with Orchids. Common Spotted and Pyramidal were most numerous, plus a small number of Fragrant Orchids. New species for me were Common Twayblade, which were in decent numbers, a Fly OPrchid which was sadly just past it's best, plus the tiny Musk Orchid, which is about 2 inches high, and the similarly diminutive Frog Orchid. Two other Orchid watchers kindly showed me the Fly and the Frog. I'd have never found them on my own! https://photos.app.goo.gl/zRZ6SVWNtNuY3GCi9

Ventured into Devon through the week to hopefully catch up with three new Butterfly species for me. All so rare, that realistically you have to travel to known colonies to see them. Heddon Valley, is managed for High Brown Fritillary, and I eventually saw a handful. Difficult at first to nail the key features, but managed to get photos verifying the extra row of underwing spots, and the off-centre dot on the upperwing. Very smart Butterflies. I also saw a Small Pearl Bordered Fritillary, Smal Copper, and Green Hairstreak. On to Haddon Hill, where the Heath Fritillaries were quite abundant, managed 1 cracking photo of a pretty smart individual, which was lucky, as they weren't the easiest to photrograph. Finished off at Collard Hill. Plenty of Large Blues at this introduction site, and also Common Blue (Beware!), Painted Lady, and Small Tortoiseshell. Not often you get a 100% success rate when "twitching"! https://photos.app.goo.gl/GoGwrJfWcm1CJC957

A failed attempt for Common Clubtail Dragonfly on the River Thames, but I was treated to nice views of a Little Owl hunting. Don't see many in the Test Valley, they are about, but not often as blatant as this one.

A Narrow-bordered five-spot Burnet Moth, in Brittany

The most memorable New Forest Reptile survey I have done so far, this morning. An Adder on top of one of the survey refuge sheets gave me good photos, while I decided how I'm supposed to look underneath the sheet! Fortunately, the snake moved on. Also, my first Smooth Snake, a young one only about 15 cm long, and a first for the survey area, which was a big surprise. 3 Grass Snake, Common Lizard and Slow Worm too, so 5 out of the 6 native Reptile species seen in one morning. Also Dartford Warblers and Nightjar.

A nice surprise in the garden yesterday as a female Demoiselle landed briefly in our small apple tree, before flying up into Wysteria where I got the photo. Unlike the males, female Demoiselles are pretty difficult to identify. I'm pretty sure, with the brown wings, that this is a Female Beautiful Demoiselle. Nearest population of this species, that I know of is about a mile down the stream which runs past the house. They would be more than welcome to colonise the stream outside our house! Also, two Large Red Damselflies were in the garden yesterday.

Water Vole in a small stream in Campsite, Brittany https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WL9vcv0A_Ek&feature=share

Have just returned from a family holiday in Carantec, Brittany. Spent some time searching for wildlife around the campsite, which was fairly intensely farmed, with a couple of small lakes, streams, and seashore. The weather was also pretty changeable which made things difficult, but I found a small selection of birds and insects throughout the week. Actually, the best of the wildlife was seen on the round trip to and from France.. a Nightjar over the car park at Newhaven just after dusk was a super start to the week, and Bottlenose Dolphins on the return ferry (out of St. Malo were also pretty good) Best of the birds in Brittany were Serin, Turtle Dove, Med Gulls, and Cetti's Warbler. Butterflies were fairly thin on the ground with Red Admiral, Painted Lady and Speckled Wood the most numerous. A stream running thru the fairly large campsite had a family of Water Voles. I think we were the only people who saw them out of the dozens of other tourists! The nearby lake had both Marsh F...

Another Reptile survey in the New Forest, my license runs for the 1st half of the month, so I get a break now until June. Today's survey was quiet sadly, with just a fleeting glimpse of a Common Lizard. Hot days perhaps not the best for surveys. I did, however, find a couple of nice insects: a Pine Ladybird, which is a fairly small species, with comma shaped red marks; and also a Dor Beetle.

Another moth trap session last night, but with fairly limited results. 1 Brimstone , a couple of worn looking pugs. Smartest moth was a Small Phoenix, photo below, and a Micro moth which I initially struggled to identify. However, shining a torch on the moth brought out all the colour, and I was able to identify it as an Esperia Sulphurella!

Mild weather recently, so I have run the moth trap in the garden a few nights. Haven't ran the trap so early in the year before, so I got a few new ones. A selection of pics below.. Satellite, Lunar Marbled Brown, Brindled Beauty, Frosted Green, Lesser Swallow Prominent, and Muslin.

A pretty good reptile survey in the New Forest this morning. My allocated survey is 3x1 km with 40 artificial refugia to look under, so it takes awhile. The weather today was furiously hot! so not ideal, and I was conscious of this when I started out. With hindsight, I started a little too early, and also spent too much time surveying into the sun. But these are little mistakes I can iron out through the season. Best of the sightings under Refugia were an Adder inches away from a Toad! and several Slow Worms. A fast moving stream had a Palmate Newt, and what I presume was an Eel!, and a nearby pond was packed with Palmate Newts. Nice to watch them under the surface. There is something relaxing about Newts! Elsewhere, a Common Heath Moth was a first for me, and plenty of birds including Dartford Warbler, Curlew, Snipe, Lapwing, Hobby, Tree Pipit and Willow Warbler.

Lots of photos from Goa

4. Cavelossim The final 3 nights of my trip were spent at the small town of Cavelossim in the South of Goa. Relatively few Birders have visited this area, although some good reference reports exist, identifying places with potential. One thing I did notice was the landscape changes quite frequently here, and areas marked as good in November, were pretty dry by March. There was however, good opportunities in a small lake on the edge of town, and the fields surrounding the town had a good assortment of birds. The large scrubby area north of the town was good, although hard work, and the beach all the way down to the River Sal estuary was productive, with the bonus of superb Humpback Dolphin sightings at the estuary on the morning I explored the area. I chose a long walk checking the fields either side of the Assolna Bridge, Lake Velim, and on to Betul Lighthouse. The plan being to mop up the common species I had missed during the week. I didn't quite make it on foot to the Lighthouse...

3. Zuari River: This was an eagerly awaited trip in the middle of the holiday. The Zuari river is home to Marsh Mugger Crocodiles, and two species of Kingfisher unlikely to be encountered elsewhere in Goa: the Collared Kingfisher and Black-capped Kingfisher. Both were seen well, although difficult to photograph. This was a relief as the Black-Capped seems to have become scare recently, and what a stunning bird this was. Crocodiles were seen well, along with Striated Heron and Western Reef Heron, plus the other common Herons and Egrets. Orange-Breasted Green Pigeon, Lesser Adjutant, and Stork-billed Kingfisher completed an enjoyable morning boat trip. Sightings: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1zJWmiNz4iIohs0nEliua325TtPfQ6nmN

2. Western Ghats: This was to be where the bulk of the exciting sightings were made. I spent 4 nights at Nature's Nest camp, and their resident guide Ramesh proved to be excellent at finding a large number of birds in the 3 days we had available. Sri Lankan Frogmouth, Indian Pitta and Malabar Trogon were seen well, and many other highlights were seen during the trips into the forests including Brown Fish Owl, Crested Hawk Eagle, Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher, and Yellow-browed Bulbul. I could go on and on. Night safari's produced good sightings of other highlights such as Jungle Nightjar, Jerdon's Nightjar, and Indian Scop's Owl. The camp area had 4 Sunbird species, plus Little Spiderhunter, Puff-throated Babbler, and Tickell's Flycatcher, plus a brief Orange-headed Thrush, and Indian Tit. Sightings: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1H_9Agx_uHA3hlIJQEXMZ1HN0djPHffa-

1. Carambolim After a long tiring trip, I spent the first morning in the Carambolim lake area. What a place this is, with some incredible wetlands south of the main lake. As the sun rose, I was seeing more and more small flocks of many species of waders, plus a stream of Herons and Egrets overhead. New Indian species for me included Blue-tailed Bee-eater, Black Drongo, White-rumped and Scaly-Breasted Munia, Wire Tailed Swallow, Stork-billed Kingfisher, and Spot-billed Duck. Many of the birds I was familiar with were species I had gone so many years without seeing. These were also big highlights, including Citrine Wagtail, Temminck's Stint, Marsh Sandpiper, and White Breasted Kingfisher. An incredible start to the week. Sightings list: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1EZ9apHl4lG3NHEP2GUENpBwgo_83wEAM

Intro: I spent a week in Goa, wildlife watching, from 8th to 15th March 2018. Flights were with Thomas cook both ways, Gatwick to Goa. Transport within Goa was by taxis. The wildlife watching can be divided into 4 parts: 1. A morning birdwatching at Carambolim lake, and surrounding wetlands 2. 3 days in the Western Ghats, based in Nature's Nest camp, and guided around the area's forests 3. Zuari river boat cruise 4. Final 3 days of the week, based in Cavelossim, birding the local area, mainly fields and coast. I will add a separate post for Mammal and Bat sightings. plus a post dedicated to the photos taken during the week.

Fairly long walk around Keyhaven / Pennington / Normandy a couple of weeks ago. A red-necked Grebe was the star bird, found the day before, and relayed to me when I was less than 100m from the shoreline which spoilt a surprise slightly! Plenty of waders around with quite a few Avocets in the area. Spotted Redshank was another nice surprise, plus a Red-Breasted Merganser on an inland lagoon. Ruff, Golden Plover, Marsh Harrier, and Bearded Tit rounded off a nice morning.

Originally shared by Peter Jones Review of 2017 and goals for 2018! 2017 was a pretty good wildlife watching year, with a few good trips around England, and into Europe for some decent wildlife. It started well with the Humpback Whale showing well off Devon. A week on Ile D'Oleron, Western France, was excellent with some good Dragonflies and Damsels, plus some good birds including Melodious Warbler and Scops Owl heard. Our main Summer hol to Switzerland had more good sightings including Nutcrackers, and Bonelli's Warblers. Smooth Snake Surveys in the New Forest, although unsuccessful in seeking the prime target was at least good for Adder, and Bog Bush Cricket. A bat survey on the River Test was overshadowed by an amazing close up sighting of an Otter. 2018 will likely be dominated by a week in Goa in March, which should get me a lot of good bird sightings, being my first trip into Asia proper. Hopefully, in addition to the Tropical species, will include some of the rarer Weste...