What did you see in the woods today?

[Jack Bounder]

One of the main reasons my family and I go out into the woods is to see wildlife. So, I thought it might be nice to start a thread for folk to record the sightings they make.

During a 5 hour walk around the New Forest today we saw a King Fisher, several Elvers and a Bee Fly. We saw other wildlife too, but these were the highlights of the day.

 

[Toddy]

Plants mostly the first lesser celandines are in bloom here saw two woodpeckers too though, and a pair of mallards down the burn. Badger in the front garden early this morning as well (we live next to the woodland nature walk).

M

 

[ProjeKtWEREWOLF]

We were in Neuborough forest on Anglesey on Saturday. No wildlife around but we (daughter age 5 and my partner) had a great day. It's a beachside Corsican pine plantation. It was way too busy though. Bank holiday weekend and all.

 

[Laurentius]

Well what makes anyone assume I have been in the woods today as I have not? I took an afternoon's bimble alongside the canal instead (is that a sin?) I saw a swan and mallards landing. Besides that people a painting and a polishing of there canal boats.

 

[Toddy]

We were in Neuborough forest on Anglesey on Saturday. No wildlife around but we (daughter age 5 and my partner) had a great day. It's a beachside Corsican pine plantation. It was way too busy though. Bank holiday weekend and all.

Are those the ones that the pine nuts come from ? I know they do from stone pines, but I'm sure someone told me that other Mediterranean pines do it too.

M

 

[andibs]

I saw polar bears, lions, tigers and leopards, wallabies, zebra, ostrich, meerkats and loads of other critters but unfortunately I was at work

Andy

 

[Harvestman]

Mallard, moorhen, chaffinch, goldfinch, blackbird, wren, woodpigeon, jackdaws, crows and gulls along the canal. Heard toads calling. Sheep, horse and geese don't really count as wildlife.

On the lane between the canal and work there were at least three species of hoverfly, lots of other flies, and numerous spring plants.

In work itself (yes I worked today, and the weekend) I saw my first three butterflies of the year (2 peacocks and a small tortoiseshell), more hoverflies, some immature wolf spiders, more flies, an Early Tooth-striped moth, a bumblebee (didn't see which sort), a wasp, and a bee-wasp (a nest parasite of mining bees). Also a mushroom that I couldn't identify. That plus grey squirrel, rabbit, robin, and lots of molehills. Heard loads of chiffchaffs and also my first willow warbler of the year, and greater spotted woodpecker drumming.

Thing is, recording species is what I do, most days, so I end up with a long list all the time. Pleased about the butterflies and the bee-wasp today.

 

[ProjeKtWEREWOLF]

Are those the ones that the pine nuts come from ? I know they do from stone pines, but I'm sure someone told me that other Mediterranean pines do it too.

M

No idea. There were small pine cones on the trees but I didn't notice any thing else. Quick google of Corsican pine is a bit vague.
I was going to liberate some firewood but it was too busy!! Naughty ideas.

 

[Harvestman]

Are those the ones that the pine nuts come from ? I know they do from stone pines, but I'm sure someone told me that other Mediterranean pines do it too.

M

Pine nuts are usually from Monterey pine, Pinus radiata. My book recommends an hour in a hot oven for the cones to get good edible seeds out of.
Stone pine, Pinus pinea, are used to get the seeds for pesto, and are also used in confectionary.

 

[ProjeKtWEREWOLF]

Harvestman

Thanks for that. Is the Corsican pine good for anything other than cheap lumber and holding sandy soil together?

 

[Jack Bounder]

Plants mostly the first lesser celandines are in bloom here saw two woodpeckers too though, and a pair of mallards down the burn. Badger in the front garden early this morning as well (we live next to the woodland nature walk).

M

Yes, we saw Lesser Celandine, Wood Anemone and Primroses too. The Bluebells are almost in flower, but not quite yet. We saw our first Brimstones of the year and a Speckled Wood. There seemed to be a lot of ants out and about today too....the warm weather, I guess. We also saw several Notiophilus sp. beetles running through the leaf litter. We heard Robin, Wren, Great Tit and Chiffchaff.

We rarely follow paths in the forest, rather we follow other features in the landscape...fence lines, water courses and woodland edges, etc. So, even on the busiest days, we can get away from the crowds. Of course, the deer use the same tactics so we often follow their pathways through the forest and, as happens just about every time we go out, we spooked a couple of herds of Roe.

 

[Harvestman]

Harvestman

Thanks for that. Is the Corsican pine good for anything other than cheap lumber and holding sandy soil together?

The only use suggested by my book is, sadly, cheap lumber. For pine nuts, you essentially need big cones. Big cones = big nuts. You can probably eat the nuts from a Corsican pine (in fact I'm 100% sure you can) but you wouldn't get much for your efforts and it probably wouldn't be worth it.

 

[ProjeKtWEREWOLF]

Thanks Harvestman.....I found some stuff about the turpentine from its resin being useful.

 

[MartiniDave]

I saw a treecreeper while walking the dog, and had a close fly-by from a barn owl whilst driving to a nearby market. Sadly didn't make it to the woods, but visitors to our garden included a spotted woodpecker, goldfinches, greenfinches, blue tits, great tits, coal tits and long-tailed tits and of course a load of robins.

Dave

 

[Joonsy]

we saw several Elvers

Elvers, you are referring to baby eels I presume?, if so nice one.The last few years has seen elvers running up our rivers in good numbers again, last year was the best elver run for many years and our rivers certainly needed them to boost the low population of eels. Nice spot. ---- Today I laid down in the grass watching and listening to skylarks and peewits, the countryside is bursting with life a this time of year and it’s the best time to hear the dawn chorus.

 

[Jack Bounder]

Yes, baby eels in the same brook as we saw Kingfisher (Blackensford Brook). My wife spotted them.

 

[GGTBod]

Yesterday whilst cycling through the woods i seen 3 frogs, 4 robins and 7 bags of dog feces in pretty little baggies hanging from the trees

 

[Jack Bounder]

Had a nagging doubt that the elvers were actually lamprey. Checked some images on google and confirmed they were elvers due to the very evident head.

Interestingly, it seems the EU have pumped some money into the NF, in recognition of its importance in Europe as a haven for wildlife and the habitats it contains. They appear to have been doing restoration work on many of the watercourses in the Forest. We recently became disorientated in the forest when a brook wasn't where it should have been....I thought this was a flood prevention measure but it may have been related to the EU initiative (called LIFE 3). Anyways, I've just found a document online (clicky) which shows the work they have been doing and ecological surveys performed before and after the restoration. It appears they did not find elvers in Blackensford Brook. Of course, this doesn't mean they aren't there as any survey is an estimate of the community and populations present. Moreover, I believe the surveying was completed in 2006, so further improvement in the fisheries may have occurred over the last 9 years.

I might take time to give the document a more thorough read. My wife and I are both trained field biologists...so this sort of stuff is of interest to us

 

[Dave]

I often walk slowly through the woods, staring up, which the dog is getting used to now. Theres so much to see. Identifying all of the trees, then trying to remember their uses, nibbling on hawthorn leaves, or whatever else is seasonal. Also deer are a common site where i go, which is great, as its very metropolitan.

Also, play 'air' hunting, to see what I could have got, if Id had a rifle. [and permission!]Yesterday it was just a wood pigeon.

I see most wildlife when walking/stalking up and down a river fly fishing for brownies though.

 

[Jack Bounder]

Took a late afternoon walk on Burton Common, near Bransgore. It's a SSSI, presumably for its lowland heathland. The highlights of the trip were sightings of a Common Lizard, a Slow Worm and a Stone Chat. Managed to take a snap of the worm. It was hiding under a sort of plastic sheet.

Slow Worm