I'm busy with the Salisbury Christmas Market at the moment (do come down!) but did manage to meet up with some friends and potter around Langford Lakes Nature Reserve this weekend.
It's definitely best in the winter, with an interesting and diverse array of wildfowl present on the old gravel pits. Although it's a small reserve, it's very quiet, unlike the larger complex of gravel pits Blashford Lakes, which we visited a few weeks ago.
This meant that we had most of the hides to ourselves - I'm no twitcher, and can only identify a handful of species out there. Lots of tufted ducks of course, but also gadwall pootling about, male wigeon looking resplendent in their chestnut heads and creamy facial stripe, many rear-ends of shovellers, the obligatory cormorants and grey herons and a possible kingfisher sighting.
One hide mostly looked out onto bird feeders, with great tits, robins, dunnocks and even a goldcrest flitting about. However, the real star of the show was mammalian. I have never seen such fat rats, for such an extended period and so close-up. They really are much-maligned. Can you blame them for hanging around a free and easy food source?!
One of the people in a hide told us of a male goldeneye on one of the lakes. We really didn't expect to find it but lo, there it was. It seemed to have befriended a black-headed gull, and looked very lonely. It really is a beautiful bird - crisp black and white patches, almost like black dominoes, and with that startling golden eye. Sadly no pics due to lack of telephoto lens!
Now, I said I am no twitcher, but that was a new 'tick' for me!
Tuesday 28 November 2017
Sunday 12 November 2017
Winter is coming
Yes, I know, somewhat predictable - but with most of the leaves finally on the ground, and autumnal wildlife on the wane, there's definitely a sense of things winding down to wait out the forthcoming cold snaps.
Although it was a tad muddy and drizzly yesterday, I dragged us out for a walk around Bramshaw Wood in the New Forest. It's near Nomansland (which has a pub, so hardly lives up to its name), on the northern end of the Forest, and hence not many people visit. It's a lovely mix of ancient woodland, with small streams and ancient Saxon boundary banks among other earthworks.
There are numerous paths - it being Open Access - making plotting a route rather difficult. An OS map isn't that useful BUT GPS is - on several occasions yesterday I was just pointing us in the right general direction. It was rather slow progress - negotiating extreme muddiness - it having rained a lot the night before - and tackling the holly bushes - but we were rewarded with beautiful mossy, gnarly beeches and oaks, fern-lined streams, and beautiful golds, oranges and yellows of the leaves falling around us. We saw one set of amazing fungi (look - don't pick, following the clear signage on most Forestry Commission car parks, to safeguard the amazing richness of fungi here), but apart from that, the fungi season appears to be over.
This morning was a different picture - sunny, with a cold biting wind on our walk into town along the river. Again, very muddy, but the beech and field maple leaves seemed to sparkle in the wind, and on our way back, we saw a kestrel hovering and had a fantastic view of a red kite effortlessly circling above us. So great to see these once-rare birds becoming a frequent sight in Salisbury.
Oh yes, and we also saw a red admiral butterfly - here we are in November, and without a really hard frost yet, some surprising species are hanging on! This week may bring an end to that :(
Although it was a tad muddy and drizzly yesterday, I dragged us out for a walk around Bramshaw Wood in the New Forest. It's near Nomansland (which has a pub, so hardly lives up to its name), on the northern end of the Forest, and hence not many people visit. It's a lovely mix of ancient woodland, with small streams and ancient Saxon boundary banks among other earthworks.
There are numerous paths - it being Open Access - making plotting a route rather difficult. An OS map isn't that useful BUT GPS is - on several occasions yesterday I was just pointing us in the right general direction. It was rather slow progress - negotiating extreme muddiness - it having rained a lot the night before - and tackling the holly bushes - but we were rewarded with beautiful mossy, gnarly beeches and oaks, fern-lined streams, and beautiful golds, oranges and yellows of the leaves falling around us. We saw one set of amazing fungi (look - don't pick, following the clear signage on most Forestry Commission car parks, to safeguard the amazing richness of fungi here), but apart from that, the fungi season appears to be over.
This morning was a different picture - sunny, with a cold biting wind on our walk into town along the river. Again, very muddy, but the beech and field maple leaves seemed to sparkle in the wind, and on our way back, we saw a kestrel hovering and had a fantastic view of a red kite effortlessly circling above us. So great to see these once-rare birds becoming a frequent sight in Salisbury.
Oh yes, and we also saw a red admiral butterfly - here we are in November, and without a really hard frost yet, some surprising species are hanging on! This week may bring an end to that :(
Sunday 5 November 2017
Blowing Autumn away
I've really noticed the pace of the season lately - all of those autumnal gusts are really blowing the beautiful leaves off the trees, seemingly before they've really had a chance to change properly!
This weekend I've tried to catch some good autumn colours before it's too late, firstly via a loop starting from Hinton Ampner, and then today at Stourhead.
Some of you may recall I HATE a 'there and back' walk i.e. not a loop. Therefore, I managed to construct a loop, starting from the road to the ancient and pretty village of Hinton Ampner (off the A272 towards Petersfield, about 30 mins from Winchester). I had inadvertently also taken in part of the Cheriton battelfield from the Civil War, which has various interpretation panels dotted about - very interesting. It was a rather grey and cold day - very autumnal. The walk took us down ancient old droves with beautiful thick hedges laden with berries (refer to my post about mast years!), towards the Open Access of Cheriton Wood. I'd never been before - it's an interesting mix of native broafleaves, various conifers, and wide glades being planted up with new trees. Lovely colours, particularly from the beeches. On battling our way to the edge of the wood (no paths!) to pick up a footpath back, we came across a sign welcoming us to the wood. Unfortunately, it then turned out that the open access excluded August - Feb - whoops! The path then took us to the village of Bramdean via some fields of what looked like Phacelia (good for farmland birds and often planted as part of a Stewardship scheme) - not much to it apart from an enormous manor on the road, but not even marked on the map! Bramdean Manor itself was tucked away up the hill on our route, nestled next to a 12th century church being renovated, and with stunning views back across the valley towards Hinton Ampner. Here, we're at the very top of the Itchen catchment, and indeed, Cheriton is where the springs forming the source of this amazing river can be found. In the gathering gloom we quickly yomped back along a beautiful ridge towards the car.
And then today we braved the crowds and headed to Stourhead. It was chocker but, it seems to absorb the vast hordes well and we were able to enjoy the stunning autumn colours (perhaps a week or two too late?) without too many people blocking views! I'd not been before, but the constantly changing light made for some beautiful photos. The low autumn sun caught the edges of the tulip trees, planes and beeches, seemingly setting them afire. Beautiful but fleeting - some patience required!
So get out there (a recurring message of mine!) before this brief spectacle is over!
This weekend I've tried to catch some good autumn colours before it's too late, firstly via a loop starting from Hinton Ampner, and then today at Stourhead.
Some of you may recall I HATE a 'there and back' walk i.e. not a loop. Therefore, I managed to construct a loop, starting from the road to the ancient and pretty village of Hinton Ampner (off the A272 towards Petersfield, about 30 mins from Winchester). I had inadvertently also taken in part of the Cheriton battelfield from the Civil War, which has various interpretation panels dotted about - very interesting. It was a rather grey and cold day - very autumnal. The walk took us down ancient old droves with beautiful thick hedges laden with berries (refer to my post about mast years!), towards the Open Access of Cheriton Wood. I'd never been before - it's an interesting mix of native broafleaves, various conifers, and wide glades being planted up with new trees. Lovely colours, particularly from the beeches. On battling our way to the edge of the wood (no paths!) to pick up a footpath back, we came across a sign welcoming us to the wood. Unfortunately, it then turned out that the open access excluded August - Feb - whoops! The path then took us to the village of Bramdean via some fields of what looked like Phacelia (good for farmland birds and often planted as part of a Stewardship scheme) - not much to it apart from an enormous manor on the road, but not even marked on the map! Bramdean Manor itself was tucked away up the hill on our route, nestled next to a 12th century church being renovated, and with stunning views back across the valley towards Hinton Ampner. Here, we're at the very top of the Itchen catchment, and indeed, Cheriton is where the springs forming the source of this amazing river can be found. In the gathering gloom we quickly yomped back along a beautiful ridge towards the car.
And then today we braved the crowds and headed to Stourhead. It was chocker but, it seems to absorb the vast hordes well and we were able to enjoy the stunning autumn colours (perhaps a week or two too late?) without too many people blocking views! I'd not been before, but the constantly changing light made for some beautiful photos. The low autumn sun caught the edges of the tulip trees, planes and beeches, seemingly setting them afire. Beautiful but fleeting - some patience required!
So get out there (a recurring message of mine!) before this brief spectacle is over!
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