You Made Us Feel Like We Could Fly...

Work, work, work, life and work. It seemed like I was never going to have five minutes to get out for a walk with my binoculars, camera and my own thoughts.
But as they say, it all comes to thee who waits...and so it was.
I was to meet up with Jon this time. My good friend and usual walking companion Chris was away and I had arranged with Jon not only to enjoy a walk but for him to record me as I went.
Jon volunteers for Southampton's local hospital radio and also Southampton's Local Hearing News and he was to document the nature in the area to those who are blind or of restricted sight. I felt humbled to be put forward by my good friend Karen.

We had agreed to meet at Swanwick Lakes Nature Reserve. It was once a clay workings, dug out to supply the local brick making works which ended in 1974, now taken over by the unstoppable force of nature...

The pits that were dug, now form the myriad of lakes here and support a huge biodiversity of natural life.
Jon and I spent almost 2 hours walking and talking about what we could see and hear.

I had been given a hand held microphone, so to use my camera and binoculars at the same time was a little difficult, so after our walk I decided on another circuit to photograph the beautiful surroundings here.
Swanwick Lakes is managed by The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust which is the local branch of the nation wide charity and has financial contributions by the air traffic control centre adjacent to it.
I bid Jon farewell. I thoroughly enjoyed our walk and imparting my knowledge to people who might gain some enjoyment from nature they were unaware of.
I walked around the main lake by the visitor centre and up the hill to the woods. A Jay, usually inconspicuous at this time of year sat in the branches above me...

At the top of Yew Hill above the main lake which was formed by the spoil of the clay workings back in the seventies, I looked below, the eyeline was almost level with the canopy of the trees and I heard the call of a Whitethroat in amongst the scrub below me..
A summer migrant from Africa, it was now setting up a territory for the spring and coming summer...

I sat on the hill and waited for more photographic opportunities.

In amongst the flowers I saw a Bee Fly feeding on the very few early flowers before me...

A nectar feeding insect with a very long proboscis,  it has a unique way of laying it's eggs. It flicks it's abdomen into holes in the ground of homes of solitary mining bees. It also coats it's eggs with sand or dust to either provide camouflage or weight when laying them.

I descended the hill and made my way back into the meadow by the wood.
There were many cuckoo flower here or also known by the name of Lady's Smock.
A favoured flower of the Orange Tip butterfly and also the Green Veined White.

The Orange Tip's lay their eggs just under the flower head and when I looked closely I saw the pin head yellow eggs.   

Around me the Common Carder Bees went about their business..

The woods behind me gave a great back drop to my surroundings...

Ahead of me the lakes looked resplendent in the spring light. I love the contrast in colours here.

The cry of a Buzzard took my attention to the sky above ...

As I walked back towards the visitor centre, the sound of the another warbler attracted my attention. A favourite of mine, the Blackcap sang its staccato song just above me. I edged myself forward and tried to be as inconspicuous as possible and fired off a few shots through the foliage...

As the Blackcap sang I noticed the Willow catkins above me flowering in the Spring sunshine. Such a time of new growth and renewal. Blink and it's gone....

Retracing my steps over Yew Hill, the Whitethroat still sang it's heart out across it's land...

Cowslips are abundant around here. So good for the butterflies. I hope they are around long enough to take advantage of them.

I walked back down the hill and the view across to the visitor centre was very special. I could hear the sound of the Reed Warbler on the island in the middle of lake along with Song Thrushes, Blackbirds, Wrens singing too.

The parting shot as I sat in the van having a well deserved lunch was the Grey Heron on the opposite side of the lake.
I hadn't been to this place for so long but had so enjoyed my time here, especially being able to share it with people not able too easily disposed to do so... one of the reasons I took the decision to create this blog.

My lunch finished, I pondered over my next destination...
I had decided on Acres Down in the New Forest once again.
Now I know I have been here so many times in the past but this is such a wonderful place and really does produce many amazing sightings and walks.
Spring being the best time to visit, the summer migrants are here in force so the sights and sounds are worth the journey.
I parked up, gathered my thoughts and began the walk along the ride through the magnificent tall trees.
One of the migrant birds I had hoped to encounter was the Redstart. No sooner had I left the confindes of the car park than I found the aforementioned bird singing high in the tree tops, and I mean high!

Such a stunning multicloured bird, but it does love an elevated position in which to proclaim it's territory,so my lens was at full magnification...

I carried on through the forest to see what other delights it had to deliver...

Mid way through the ride a moth caterpillar dangled precariously in front of me on a silk thread. It was a challenge enough just to focus on it !

I had now reached the young conifer plantation midway through the ride. My first Willow Warbler of the year was audibly evident amongst it. I took the decision to make my way through it to try to find this delicate little warbler.
Having reached the centre point in the trees here I called the bird in the hope of attracting it's attention. Incredibly, it worked and it flew around my head calling in perplexity and confusion. I rattled off a few shots only slightly with a sense of guilt. I wish I knew what it was saying and what exactly what I was replying?   

My own sense of guilt having got the better of me, I left the poor bird to contend with it's own life through the season and wished it well. I wondered how it will get on here this year?

Next stop was the famous landmark dead tree on the corner. Always difficult to get a decent shot through the trees...next down was to Highland Water and the possible sighting of a Kingfisher?

High above, the tree canopy had that fresh light green leaf emergence I so love at this time of year. In my mind it is all downhill to autumn from here, decay setting in all too soon, or maybe it's just me? 

In the fresh canopy my ever decreasing hearing managed to pick out the piping whistles of the Firecrest. 

I watched it, enthraled as it picked off invisible insects from the bough....

I ventured further and deeper into the forest. I had another date with another warbler I know spends it's time making a home here in the summer months, but could I find it within the darkest parts of the forest?

The best way to find what you are searching for is to listen and be able to recognise what you are able to hear.
Some way along the ride I did hear it... Bingo!

A real specialist forest bird, the Wood Warbler. Very rarely seen in Hampshire and declining rapidly, I had found one and actually, two. It breeds in dense woodland away from decent viewing opportunities so a good camera, luck and knowing where to find one all come into play.

It rarely makes it's way into the sunlight, especially as the canopy is rapidly growing in foliage ...

It's song however, is a dead giveaway of continuous tuneful trilling, so once tuned in, you know exactly what it is and where to find it...

Having spent a good hour in it's exalted company, I left it and continued my arboreal journey.

Along the rides the Butterflies had begun to emerge. It was now mid afternoon and warm enough for them to show very well. My first sighting was of a Green Veined White

Then a Red Admiral. I lay flat on the forest floor to get a better view as it basked in the warm sunlight through the trees . A passing jogger gave a funny look but I cared little...

Any sudden movement and it would flick it's wings up in annoyance...

Nearby, a Tawny Mining Bee buzzed around me looking for a decent home...

I carried on through a set of pine trees that overlooked a clearing. I sat and had a cup of green tea watching the wildlife go by in silence. A Roe Deer sauntered through as I sat. It carried on unperturbed by my presence. I love these moments. What seems like a moment in time unaffected by any outer unnatural influence as it carries on with it's day trying to survive. Or is it unnatural if I discount myself, we are all part of nature after all. I pondered that thought as I sipped my tea...?    

I packed up and headed back down the ride. All around me I noticed the beautiful Wood Sorrels in bloom at my feet...

At this point in my walk I was turning to head back to the car park,.Occasionally, I could hear the call of a Cuckoo but could I find it?

I reached another clearing in my search for the cuckoo and as I did so I stumbled across a group of Fallow Deer, completely unaware of my presence at first....

My next few steps drew me into one of many boggy areas in places you would think would be bone dry but the ground here has a propensity to hold water and soak your feet at every turn. I know this all too well so I know to look out for Sundew too. Their sticking protensions ready to capture any unwary prey. They are carnivorous plants as the soil is so low in nutrients they need to capture insects in their sticky substance to feed their lack of protein. 

I carried on trying not to step on the many sundew surrounding the area and not step ankle deep into the bog at the same time ...the same goes for the emerging ferns. They look so fresh in the sunlight I feel so guilty crushing these new borns....

Not newborn but newly emerged from their winter domecile was the Peacock Butterfly. A little tatty around the edges but wouldn't you be after a winter in hibernation?

Up high in the oaks was the Nuthatch, calling as it went

Below at the river in Highland Water the sunlight made dapples and gave some wonderful light on the water. A Kingfisher made a few passes, peeping as it did so, just too fast for some decent shots. Clearly there was a nest somewhere close by but try as I might I couldn't locate it. 

On the surface of the water the pond scaters made impressions like stars in the night sky...

and up in the trees the coal tits called in almost obscurity...

Being on the cusp of spring, the leaf growth was only half way through it's emergence on some trees and a little later than normal I thought? Especially the Beech trees

I was nearing the end of my walk. As I rounded the last bend I heard another call of another Cuckoo. Try as I might,  I thought I was right next to it, but could I see it? Could I heck, it remained hidden. A treecreeper did show as a way of recompense so I can't be too disappointed. And as as I always say, a walk in nature is always a time well spent....

I had finally reached the van and reflected on a grand day out especially looking back over these photos. It may have been a while but the wait was worth it.....



The title of this post is a lyric taken from Radio Ga Ga by Queen.