Peter Jones Wildlife blog

Always wanted to see one of these, and on today's dog walk, the route I have taken for several years, I noticed a small group whilst picking up after the dog! Pretty sure it is Collared Earthstar, despite the lack of a collar, due to the fairly big size, and the fact some of the other Earthstar species are as good as extinct in the UK. Still finding Fungi a real nightmare to get to grips with.. This my 22nd species! I suspect I've seen the same number again which I haven't been able to put a name to.

Experimenting a bit with my torch. Works a treat, and may come in handy a couple of evenings later this year ;) .

I don't upgrade my Binoculars or Scope very often, and tend to go several years with the same pair. My main binoculars are Leica Duovids, which weigh a tonne, but give a nice sharp view, and have the bonus of both 8x and 12x. The 12x come in handy when seawatching or on Marinelife ferry surveys. Insects and Reptile surveys, however, the Duovids really aren't practical as the closest focusing is about 4 metres, causing me to step back from many interesting animals. This has led to me using an old pair of Opticrons for such surveys which have a very close focus, but must be 20 years old now! My search for an upgrade took me far and wide. I'd have preferred an 8x42 or even 10x42 with close focus, to replace both my current binoculars, but after many searches, I found myself trying a pair of Zeiss Victory 8x25 pockets. Other compact binoculars I had tried were awful for me, a pair of Leica 8x20s I couldn't even line them up against my eyes without weird double barr...

A nice end to 2019 as I flicked through an insect field guide and solved a mystery from the summer family holiday.. a Grasshopper sp. in France, finally identified as a Large Conehead. A species I didn't know about until today.  (I was only familiar with Long Winged and Short Winged, neither quite fitting this one, which I first notice in the campsite shower block) Then driving home after dark this evening, I saw a Barn Owl on a roadside post, about 100yards from where I suspected hearing nesting Barn Owls 18 months ago when I was finishing a Bat survey! This is the first time I have actually seen one in this area. I occasionally see one closer to home on the other edge of the village.

Decided to break a long journey with a morning in Rutland Water. Reserve seems to have quadrupled in the 15 years or so since I last visited, and like so many lakes in England is now colonised by Great White Egrets. Up to 6 seen from a hide near the reserve centre. Also 2, possibly 3 Smew was a nice surprise. 31 hides! that must be a record in the UK

After last week's "Pom in the storm"! at Keyhaven, I could have expected to drift back to quieter birding, but I had an even better afternoon finding two nice birds at Pagham Harbour. First up was a Short-eared Owl being mobbed in broad daylight. It later settled on the marsh and showed well. Then on my return journey.. (implying I'd walked past this one), a Wryneck flew across the path and fed in the long grass for a few minutes. Managed to get the scope on it, and a photo too.. must get into the habit of taking my camera out, the phone-scoping is terrifyingly tense! Met another birder on the way back and shared the news, so hopefully he got to see it too. Sunday morning, I headed to MedMerry. Lots about including 2 Ring Ouzels, amongst the more routine Corn Bunting, Stonechats, Yellowhammers etc. I did miss a Yellow-browed Warbler, but wasn't complaining. Bumped into yesterday's birder, who did indeed see the Wryneck which is always go...

I've had a few local trips in the Campervan recently, all to the Hampshire coast, which I reckon is my best chance to find rarer birds. So far, I've walked over 30 miles, and had two extreme soakings! but finally today my luck seemed to improve along the coast at Keyhaven. I was actually thinking, "birding has got harder over the years, I never seem to find anything these days, are my expectations too high etc". Passing the spot where I did once find a Grey Phalarope, in similar crappy weather. I'm not unrealistic, I don't expect firsts for Hampshire on my walks, but a Scarce or two would be nice. Then I resigned myself to the fact that at least these walks are good for the mind, and ridding myself of all that work throws at me through the week. No sooner had I had these thoughts, a Great Skua passed just off the saltmarsh, and landed out of sight. More like it! Seawatching in Hampshire is not the easiest of choices with the Isle Of Wight placing most o...

My Oregon 450 GPS was about 10 years old, and starting to look it's age. A shame as it had OS maps for GB, and still worked pretty well. The battery life wasn't too good though, and I was having difficulty seeing the screen as my eyesight isn't as good as it was 10 years ago. I was contemplating replacing with the Montana, which is a huge GPS, and expensive too, but fortunately settled on an Oregon 700, with decent battery life, and a very sharp clear screen. This model came without maps, (apart from the basemap which is not very good at all). But I am downloading compatible Open Street maps free from  http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/ , which are absolutely fine, and the reason I insist on Garmin devices. most other brands charge a lot of money for detailed maps. All works fine. a very accurate GPS, weather info, Barometer, and custom profiles for different activities, which is handy. Birding, Bat surveys and Snake surveys all need different data, and this can...

Spent a few days birding the Hampshire coast between Hurst and Calshot. Such a superb bit of coastline with plenty of wader habitat. The days started well with 2 Smooth Snakes on my final survey for 2019, both Juveniles. The smarter of the two photo'd below. Over the days, I covered more than 20 miles in total, and it was hard going at times. Waders were fairly low in variety, Spotted Redshank probably the highlight. Peregrines were regular along the coast, along with Marsh Harrier sightings, and a few Wheatears, and Yellow Wagtails the best of the Migrants. Great White Egret was a nice surprise at dusk amongst a big flock of about 50 Little Egret.

Spent a weekend in Norfolk at the beginning of September. The weather wasn't particularly promising for migrants, but sometimes birds don't follow the rules, so I was reasonably hopeful of good birding. I also walked to Blakeney point, something I have long threatened to do. Birdwise, it was quite tame with Spoonbills continuing their expansion in Norfolk, and a Great White Egret also seen, plus Wood Sandpipers. A Hobby snatching a Swallow out of the sky was impressive, and the typical common species were seen on a seawatch from Cley. (Great and Arctic Skua, Kittiwake, Fulmar etc.) Bedstraw Hawkmoth was a nice surprise on Blakeney point, and a Chinese Water Deer at Titchwell, also showed well. https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ty5gcHDFCxMCEQ829

Some sightings from a family holiday in Lot /Dordogne region of France in August. Stayed at the campsite chateau de fonrives. Yelloh village, so a busy and family-friendly site. To be avoided if birds are your main passion! But some other wildlife was seen around the campsite. Bird wise, it was incredibly poor with Collared Dove, Starling, Green Woodpecker, and Robin, the only species I can recall seeing. The journey down at least had Hoopoe and Turtle Dove! Plus Great Skua, Gannet, Kittiwake and Fulmar on the ferry crossing . Mammals were similarly thin on the ground, although I'm told Red Squirrels are seen in quieter months, and it was good for bats.. Noctule, Leisler's, Serotine, Daubenten's, Kuhl's, Common and Soprano Pipistrelle, all detected in a 30 minute walk. Reptiles and Amphibians, got me 2 new species with Parsley Frog, and Spiny Toad, plus plenty of Wall Lizards, and an Edible/Marsh frog best left alone as both species, plus the hybrid are pre...

A very busy weekend in June, starting with a reptile survey in the New Forest. I checked out Lesser Butterfly Orchids at wilverley, before the long drive to Kenfig. Kenfig is a superb place for Orchids with many Southern Marsh, and Early Marsh Orchids, plus a few Pyramid Orchids. The star species is Fen Orchid, which I eventually found. Like many Orchids, even with a grid ref, the plants can be elusive until you find one.. Then dozens more can often be nearby. album

Travelled to Pewley Down on the edge of Guildford, where Man Orchids have been reported. Took a while to track them down, more unlucky than incompetence today! But eventually found some nice plants. Some other nice wildlife in this small area with Small Blue butterfly the highlight. Closer to home, I made the dog walk across Baddesley Common this evening, where I was just too late last year, finding Orchids too far gone to identify. I suspected Southern Marsh, and confirmed today, 11 month later! with 4 small spikes just coming into flower.

This was probably one of my best weekends ever watching wildlife.  We always go out with targets in mind but rarely see them all, (bar one!), plus more. I set off Friday night, slept in the campervan and was at Hartslock Saturday morning. I  failed to see a Clubtail Dragonfly on the way to the orchid site, but once at Hartlock the spectacle was superb with tiny Monkey Orchids and huge Lady-Monkey hybrids. On my way back to my van I was lucky enough to find a Clubtail Dragonfly emerging out of the River Thames. Had superb views of it's wings enlarging for an hour and a half. Hunger got the better of me and I left it to finish the process alone. Next stop was Homefield wood where the Military Orchids were showing very well, also Fly Orchid White Helleborine and Birds nest Orchid was a bonus, although the latter wasn't very well developed. My final destination for Saturday was Knocking Hoe nature reserve near Luton. This is a superb little reserve with Pasque flowers in the hundr...

Very pleased, after finding over a dozen old larvae cases, to find a Clubtail Dragonfly emerging from larvae on the bank of the Thames at Goring. A slideshow illustrating the rapid growth, especially of the wings below. The wings grew from stumps to full size in about 40 minutes. https://youtu.be/V_1GperniCU

Quite a common, widespread flower, which I couldn't find in flower this year, but stumbled across a couple locally just turned to seed. One to visit earlier next year.

A morning walk at Martin Down. I happened to be in the area. Burnt Orchid is fast becoming a jinx for me. This the 4th time I have failed to find. Did hear Turtle Dove, which was nice, and a few clumps of Star of Bethlehem.

Tried another reptile survey this morning. My survey square is very unpredictable, and can either be crawling  with reptiles, or in today's case, totally devoid of any. Picking the ideal weather is hard with a day job, but this must be a key factor. So, onto Corfe Mullen, where at least the Green-winged Orchids were out in full force. A very impressive sight, and one species, I've always wanted to see. (Are there any orchids that don't rank in the most wanted lists!)

Dog walks can be enjoyable when they involve a lifer! My first Cream spot Ladybird

A pretty good dog walk this afternoon, a loop through woodland south of where I live. The dog is pretty useless when I'm searching for birds and animals, but he is yet to flush a flower, so we both benefit. Lots about today, the highlights being Solomon's Seal, quite common round these parts, Lily of the Valley, and Yellow Pimpernel, see pics. I had heard, via the local Facebook page, of Orchids along the woodland paths in May, but a search today didn't yield any results. Plenty of Bugle, which could be mistaken I guess, or maybe I'm a little early still.