Wildlife and Conservation News - May 2008

May has been a busy month that has provided lots of New Forest wildlife stories to tell. Full details will be published soon, and also news and notes for June 2008. Here are a few snippets, though, together with full links to relevant national news items.

A pair of foxes raised 7 cubs on the edge of a local badgers' sett, with rabbits in residence, too. The fox cubs have been really confiding, and have been regularly watched playing like puppy dogs, rolling and tumbling about their grassy hillside. Two separate dens have been used, each around 100 metres apart, with at times the family split between the two. The parents have been rarely seen - they've been too busy away hunting for food to feed the rapidly growing litter.

The nearby badgers do not seem to have done so well, however - only one youngster has been seen at this sett.

A pair of nightjars has taken up residence in a relatively recently cleared conifer block in the local woods, woodcock have taken to roding across the newly created open space, and a noctule bat is regularly to be seen at dusk hunting across a corner of the clearing.

Bat news generally, though, remains of concern - on regular transects, numbers detected have increased slightly during the month, but there are still far fewer about than in previous years.

Tawny owls seem to have had a very poor breeding season, too. As at the end of May, there is very little evidence of many fledged youngsters in the woods.

A red-footed falcon has been showing really well at Shatterford, though, and with a little patience, good views have been obtained. But a surprise treat on one falcon visit was provided by a family of crossbills that showered pine cones down to the ground as they fed for almost 1 hour in the branches above.