Salmon on the River Test

Brilliant wildlife encounter yesterday, two adult salmon on the River Test. They were dark pinky red, which is their spawing colour and were enormous! They were heading downstream and at this later time of year had probably spawned. The largest one must have been two feet long, with a huge wide jaw, it was very impressive. I managed to take a video clip of it swimming under the bridge where I was stood, photos are hard to take through water but I hope I caught it well enough on video.

Autumn Leaves

The trees are turning a glorious golden yellow. I've went to the New Forest today to see the autumn colours at the ancient woodlands at Bramshaw. The oaks are turning yellow and the beeches are well on their way to rich brown.

Garden Spiders

Early Autumn is the best time for observing Garden Spiders, their webs appearing stretched between whatever takes their fancy, in this case my garden fence. The intricate patterns on their backs are worth a closer look. The female spider lays eggs at this time of year and protects them until she dies, later in the Autumn. The spiderlings will hatch out in May of the following year. 

New Forest Beech Pollard

I went on a trip to the New Forest today and came across an ancient beech pollard. This beech must be over 300 years old as pollarding of beech and oak was made illegal in the New Forest in 1698, following the ‘Act for the Increase and Preservation of Timber in the New Forest’, which aimed to preserve timber for shipbuilding. Pollarding produces multiple stems at head height, out of the reach of livestock and deer and prior to the Act, beech, oak and holly were often cut in this way by commoners.  Pollarded specimens like the one below, can be considered with a degree of certainty to predate the Act and therefore have the status of being some of the oldest trees in the Forest.

Ancient Beech Pollard, New Forest

Fly Agaric

The end of September is a good time to go in search of the fungus, Fly Agaric.  Fly Agaric is the toadstool of folklore and its bright red colour and white spots make it very distinctive. The fruiting bodies can be seen in the summer months but the best time to find them is from the end of September to mid October. Fly Agaric is poisonous and likely to cause severe stomach upset if eaten.  It is often found in pine woodlands at the base of trees because it has a nutritional association with tree roots, especially birch.

Here is a nice example I found this weekend. This a round young cap, in a couple of days it will open up to form a flat cap.

Fly Agaric

Hedgerow Berries

Today I went in search of ancient hedgerows near Winchester and I was not disappointed. Ancient hedgerows may be defined as those which were in existence from the 18^th century. They are species rich, typically having more than five woody species per 30m of their length. They are important in terms of biodiversity as well as being of cultural, historical and landscape importance. September is a great time to appreciate hedgerows as many of the trees and shrubs are laden with berries. Today I saw all my favourites including bright red hawthorn berries, the deep purple sloes of blackthorn as well as pink spindle and shiny black elder bunches. I saw wayfaring tree, privet, spindle, wild apple, rose hips, buckthorn and also field maple, yew and whitebeam trees, a very satisfying trip.

Ancient Hedgerow

Heather in September

August to September is the best time to see heather out in bloom. There are three common heather species, Cross-leaved heath, Bell heather and Ling, all of which can be found on the open heaths of the New Forest. This weekend I went to Beaulieu Heath in the Forest, which was covered in purple heather from all three species.

New Forest Ling

Gentians in August

Late July to early September is the time to see gentians, one of the rarest, the Marsh Gentian, can be seen in Hampshire in a few locations, most famously the New Forest but also Bartley Heath in North Hampshire. Marsh Gentians can be hard to find as their flowering can be sporadic but if you look in wet heathlands amongst the Ling you might be lucky. This weekend I searched for them at Bartley Heath and was rewarded with a fantastic display!

The Marsh Gentian is 10-15 cm tall, it is upright and the flower is a bright blue colour.

Marsh Gentian

Welcome to my Wildlife Blog

I've named my blog Traveller's Joy for a couple of reasons, firstly because it describes the purpose of my blog, a narration of travelling with the intention of finding, witnessing and enjoying the best wildlife in my home county, Hampshire and secondly because I simply love hedgerow plants!

I hope you'll find my travels interesting and if you have any suggestions about places to visit and wildlife to spot, i'd love to hear from you. I'm seeking out local wildlife but all species and habitats are of interest and luckily for me, a great variety can be found right here in Hampshire. My aim is to find and see the best local wildlife in every month, for a year, starting now!