Wildlife Blog by Ron Allen – 1 March 2023
Red kites, buzzards. Deer, hares, newts and early insects.
No apologies for starting with our splendid red kites and buzzards.
Red kites have been putting on some dramatic shows in the sky over the village. I could hear one repeatedly calling loudly from a nearby large oak tree Kiiee-k-k-k and from where it flew out (image 1) soon to be approached by a second (image 2) and a few minutes later by a third. They were clearly associating with each other and flying close although I only managed to photograph two in the same shot. A buzzard soon appeared and initially joined in but later flew off in a different direction (image 3).
In my last blog I mentioned having seen a red kite aggressively dive down on a buzzard at Park Hill near East Meon. However, looking out of our window while watching four red kites flying along the hanger woodlands and across the fields towards Rothercombe Farm, we saw two buzzards on the ground close to each other, one apparently pecking at prey it must have caught, and when a red kite appeared above them and dived down fast straight onto one of the buzzards and repeated the attack several times. Then another kite did the same thing and eventually the buzzards were forced to fly off. About an hour later, the two buzzards re-appeared in the same place, one apparently pecking again at whatever prey it had been forced to leave and now with no attention from the kites.
Taking a walk into Petersfield along the footpath from Langrish School, I could see a group of four distant roe deer (image 4) and then two equally distant brown hares (image 5).
Our garden pond has its contingent of palmate newts, now displaying to each other by sidling up side by side and wafting their tails towards each other (image 6). Hopefully they will soon be egg laying and we will see the young larval newts soon. Despite frog activity in the pond we have yet to see any spawn. However, visiting the wonderful Flood Meadows in Alton it was good to see masses of spawn (image 7).
The approach to Spring has mainly been very cold and cloudy but on one good sunny warm day early insects appeared. Reports of red admiral butterflies having been coming in and we had one in our garden a few days ago. Until recently most red admirals appeared later in the spring as migrants from Europe but it seems that many are now overwintering in the UK and appearing when the sun shines to warm them up. Reports also of brimstone butterflies, but we have yet to see one.
I have seen my first drone hover-fly, a honey bee mimic (image 8). Buff-tailed bumble bees are feeding on the early sallow flowers (image 9) along with honey bees (image 10). Spring moths continue to appear at the light trap on less cold nights and good to see the warm colours of the chestnut moth (image 11), the rather beautiful oak beauty (image 12) and also the dotted border (image 13).
I saw my first blackthorn flower on 19th of February (image 14) and as I write this, some blackthorns are already coming into full flower. Elder bushes have been coming into leaf for a while but also on the 19th, I was surprised to see elder forming its flower buds. At the moment hawthorns and hazels are producing their first new leaves, snowdrops are putting on fine shows and lesser celandines are beginning to flower.
