Peter Jones Wildlife blog

A hot sunny day, so I went to Beaulieu Heath in search of Reptiles, hoping very optimistically to find a snake, but not today. I did see a couple of Common Lizards, and plenty of Dragonflies.. Southern Damselfly being the highlight. Others included Broad-bodied Chaser, Large Red Damsel, Beautiful Demoiselle, and a Southern Hawker

A short trip to Dorset this morning in search of Sand Lizard at a known site. Weather wasn't brilliant but the sun broke through long enough for two Lizards to come out and bask on some discarded roof tiles. Also, some video of the male, not really doing much! https://youtu.be/JlcOXRn8toA

Headed to Fishlake meadows after lunch for the best of the sunshine. For once the area was quite alive with insects, and I recorded several dragonflies and Damsels. A Hairy Hawker was the highlight, seen pretty well weaving through reeds. Other species included: Banded Demoiselle and Beautiful Demoiselle; Blue-tailed, Azure, Common Blue, and Large Red Damsels, plus probable 4-spotted Chaser. Ladybirds included 24 spot, 7 Spot and Harlequin. Best of the birds were Hobby, and Cuckoo, plus another Cetti's sighting. These birds seem easier to see when I am not looking for birds, i.e. at a slower pace!

Field Vole recorded in the last week.. Originally shared by Peter Jones Short-tailed Vole the highlight of the latest Mammal cam. This time deliberately set well away from woodland, although the triggers were still dominated by Wood Mouse. Elsewhere, the dormouse tubes are all empty, but a Firecrest is still holding territory in local Woodland. A couple of walks round Fishlake haven't added any interesting insects.. Just Azure, and Large Red Damsels. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXGNU0gdY9g&feature=share

Short-tailed Vole the highlight of the latest Mammal cam. This time deliberately set well away from woodland, although the triggers were still dominated by Wood Mouse. Elsewhere, the dormouse tubes are all empty, but a Firecrest is still holding territory in local Woodland. A couple of walks round Fishlake haven't added any interesting insects.. Just Azure, and Large Red Damsels. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXGNU0gdY9g&feature=share

Hairy Hawker gets 2016 finally up and running! Whilst Bank Vole and Wood Mouse continue to be recorded pretty much everywhere I set the mammal cam. Originally shared by Peter Jones A tiring day seawatching at Hurst beach, then searching for stuff at Keyhaven. Seawatching seemed pretty slow, but I did see Great Skua, plus Arctic Tern, Common Scoter and Little Tern. Keyhaven was good with a roosting Spoonbill, plus Little Tern and Two separate sightings of Cetti's Warbler. My main reason for visiting was to hopefully catch up with a Hairy Dragonfly.. I eventually saw one, but with awful views. Only identified by virtue of the fact that the Hairy is the only hawker/Dragonfly on the wing! Still it is a start! Mammal cam has been deployed in a few locations around the village now, with the same results at each venue: Bank Vole, Wood Mouse, and the occasional Brown Rat. I've set it in a totally different habitat this week, but still the Wood Mouse persist! https://youtu.be/1s-F5AZZT...

A tiring day seawatching at Hurst beach, then searching for stuff at Keyhaven. Seawatching seemed pretty slow, but I did see Great Skua, plus Arctic Tern, Common Scoter and Little Tern. Keyhaven was good with a roosting Spoonbill, plus Little Tern and Two separate sightings of Cetti's Warbler. My main reason for visiting was to hopefully catch up with a Hairy Dragonfly.. I eventually saw one, but with awful views. Only identified by virtue of the fact that the Hairy is the only hawker/Dragonfly on the wing! Still it is a start! Mammal cam has been deployed in a few locations around the village now, with the same results at each venue: Bank Vole, Wood Mouse, and the occasional Brown Rat. I've set it in a totally different habitat this week, but still the Wood Mouse persist! https://youtu.be/1s-F5AZZTZE

A nice 3 month break from birding, although 4 Redpolls visiting the feeders in the garden have been pretty cool. Have spent the time making Dormouse tubes, for a survey in woods close to home. All 33 are now in place and marked in the GPS. My "targets for 2016" are all pretty dormant, or not present in the winter months so nothing really to do on that front either! However, the Spring has brought a few nice sightings: An early Willow Warbler during a trip to Devon at the beginning of April, and my first local morning walk round local horse paddocks was a cracker: Two hawfinches being the highlights. I have never known them to be recorded round the village in my time here, although they must fly over occasionally, as they are regular in the Test Valley and New Forest. Also a few Whitethroats singing (they love this field!) and an early Garden Warbler. Garden Warbler is a bird that often takes me well into the summer before I see one. Two Wheatear completed the highlights for a...

Originally shared by Peter Jones Plans for 2016 I'm aiming for something a little different in 2016. Almost a break from Birding, although I'm sure birds will feature heavily at some point. Instead, I am going to attempt to find as many "#mini-beasts" as I can, especially those which I have never seen before. So Grasshoppers, Dragonflies, Ladybirds, Amphibians, Reptiles, Bumblebees, and Mammals (in particular the small Rodents) are all on the hit list. Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of the species are insects, and present only in the summer months, so this year is likely to get off to a slow start. I can start the year looking for likely places for the rodents though, and maybe setting the trail camera in mild spells. The full and very long wish list is below... Butterflies: Chequered Skipper - Carterocephalus palaemon Large Blue - Maculinea arion Northern Brown Argus - Aricia artaxerxes Heath Fritillary - Melitaea athalia High Brown Fritillary - Argynnis adippe Bu...

2015 review For me, 2015 was a superb year, with many highlights. As in recent years, the bird highlights were not so close to home. Hampshire seems to have stopped giving me unusual bird sightings for the last few years, but this was made up for with some excellent sightings abroad.. Portugal: A trip to Donana was a brilliant day with Savi's Warbler and all the classic Donana birds showing well. Even better for me was a trip inland and a brief sighting of Polecat in the car headlights. Scandinavia: My 2015 trip to Lapland was the best so far for me in terms of self-found species. Only White-billed Diver eluded me from my wish list, and I had plenty of bonuses too: Ural Owl, Hawk Owl, Pine Grosbeak, Siberian Tit, Siberian Jay, Little Bunting, Jack Snipe, the stand out birds, along with Orca plus Sperm Whale. 100 in a day: Finally broke this barrier with an exhausting romp around Hampshire. No surprises, but most of the regular birds showed up for me, and I crept over the finish lin...

Had a good look around the pond in Rownham's Wood during the hottest part of the afternoon today. Two Southern Hawkers were new, and the Emperor that had previously been patrolling the pond looks to have gone. Also a couple of Common Darters. Two Dragonflies along the brook near my house this afternoon too, but I wasn't able to identify. They appeared quite small, possibly Darters

The Autumn migration seems to be slowly getting underway... Hurst Beach on Saturday morning had a good trickle of Sand Martin heading West, and Common Tern seemed to be purposefully heading out South into the Channel. Closer to home, I started my regular vis-mig watch this morning. A few House Martins and Swallows moving South were the only true migrants. Woodpigeons heading North , and two Red Kites more likely to be local commuters. Looks like the Swifts have gone already, while I was busy checking Dragonflies.

No pics again, but a couple of areas visited over the weekend. Keyhaven / Pennington had plenty opf birds, but I was surprised not to see any Dragonflies, round the main lakes. I didn't check the inland ponds though. Balmer Lawn is renowned for Southern Damselfly, but no joy for me. Did see a Golden-ringed Dragonfly, and Common Darter. A decent sized pond at Dunbridge, surrounded by woodland, and hefty wire fencing. The water was covered in Damselflies though. I needed the scope to eventually identify them as Large Red-eyed Damselflies, which was cool. Even better was proper flight views of Brown Hawker. At least two patrolling and fighting over the water. I ended up near Mottisfont, a stronghold for Southern Damselfly, but couldn't even find suitable habitat.. Back to the New Forest for them I suspect.

Common Dolphin during the Marinelife SWSurvey, 18th August, 2015. Also seen: Harbour Porpoise, Sunfish, Manx Shearwater, Sooty Shearwater, Balearic Shearwater, Mediterranean Gull, Kittiwake, Fulmar, Great Skua. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwVPO-oyMGU&feature=share

Originally shared by Peter Jones An excellent couple of days looking for Dragonflies.. Friday Lunchtime in Rownham's Wood, where a new pool has been dug: 1 Beautiful Demoiselle, a Brown Hawker briefly swooped in from the canopy, several Common Darter, a Golden-ringed Dragonfly, and a Hawker that evaded identification (probably a Migrant Hawker). Saturday at Shatterford was superb with my first Small Red Damsel, and my first Black Darter. Also present were Emerald Damselfly, which for some reason I'm finding impossible to photograph. Common Darter, Emperor, many Keeled Skimmers, Azure Blue Damselfly, and Blue-tailed Damselfly.

No photos today. A quick venture to the local lily pond at Chilworth at lunchtime. Two Emperor Dragonflies were fairly prominent initially, and it was when one of these landed in the reeds that I caught a glimpse of my first Emerald Damselfly thru the scope. A pretty smart insect, and I'd have liked a better view, but couldn't relocate. A Common Darter was on the bank, and a few Azure Damselfly. Also a good view of a Hobby overhead.

Saturday morning at Blashford was quite productive with a few birds close to the hide overlooking Ibsley Water.. As well as Common Tern, Lapwing, and Egyptian Goose were Turnstone, Common Sandpiper, and Dunlin,  Egyptian Goose numbers seem to be exploding at this site with a decent sized flock.. 30 or 40 birds?

Originally shared by Peter Jones Headed to Blashford Lakes for mid-morning, but despite plenty of Common Blue Damsels, and Azure Damsels, it was pretty quiet. Not helped by the only decent sized Dragonfly flying before I had clocked it.. Looked like a Brown Hawker, and certainly headed into the tree tops. Midday, and it was good to see more species emerge in the sunshine. Common Darter, a Female Emperor, egg-laying. Then best of all a definite Brown Hawker swooped by the pond, called out by a man to his Wife, or I'd have missed this one. Then I headed to Eyeworth Pond, where both Red-Eyed, and Small Red-eyed Damselfly were present on the lilypads. Also present were Emperor Dragonfly, Black-tailed Skimmer, Keeled Skimmer, and another Brown Hawker.

Originally shared by Peter Jones Visited Hatchett Pond, and Hawkshill in the New Forest on a very hot, but windy Saturday lunchtime. Initially I was just seeing Emperor and Black-tailed Skimmer at Hatchet, but later found Blue-tailed Damselfly, Broad-bodied Chaser, and Keeled Skimmers which appeared smaller than the Black-Tailed Skimmers, and quite easy to distinguish with a little practise. I then headed to Hawkshill where I saw my first Golden-ringed Dragonfly, Large Red Damselfly, and more Keeled Skimmer.

Originally shared by Peter Jones Ruddy Darter and Southern Marsh Orchid from Baddesley Common and Emer Bog. Also 2 Black-tailed skimmer seen.