• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Site requests - New Forest birding? (1 Viewer)

S

Stuart Gray

Member
Dear all

Off to New Forest for middle of May and struggling to find reliable sites for some lovely birds I'd like to catch up with. Any advice or guidance as to good sites for these would be greatly appreciated.

Already planning on visiting - Beaulieu Station / Denny's Area, Pitt's Wood Inclosure and the Bolderwood Area.

TARGET BIRDS
- Nightingale
- Willow Tit
- Dartford Warbler
- Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
- Grasshopper Warbler??

Any help gratefully appreciated!

Stu
 
ill be following this post, as we are also over due a trip to the new forest.

ive never done particularly well on my visits to the new forest, but i admit that is probably down to the fact we always use that trip as an excuse to visit my partners brother so we end up chatting all the way round instead of sitting quietly somewhere.

the best success ive had down that way was actually beyond the new forest on the coast and marshy pools just outside of 'Lower Pennington' and 'Woodside'. Get to the Chequers pub and walk south along lower Woodside road for 1/4 mile (plenty of parking available round there) and take the footpath off to the left when the road bends (its just beyond where the google map street view finishes). this footpath will take you into an obvious loop route down along the coast, but also offering pools, paddocks etc ending back up at the campsite on lower pennington road, and then you can complete the loop with a footpath back overtowards lower woodside.

saw my first Black-wits down on that patch a few years back. great place.

apologies this is not actually IN the new forest like you asked, but you might be interested.
 
Last edited:
I think you are on a loser for most of those, and I'd be quite surprised if many people are disposed to mention sites in the breeding season for several declining species. Dartfords are probably the commonest of the mentioned species on your list and a good place to see them, under serious public scrutiny, is Hengistbury Head - outside the New Forest but easy viewing and well policed by rangers and plenty of birders.

John
 
Stuart Gray said:
Dear all

Off to New Forest for middle of May and struggling to find reliable sites for some lovely birds I'd like to catch up with. Any advice or guidance as to good sites for these would be greatly appreciated.

Already planning on visiting - Beaulieu Station / Denny's Area, Pitt's Wood Inclosure and the Bolderwood Area.

TARGET BIRDS
- Nightingale
- Willow Tit
- Dartford Warbler
- Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
- Grasshopper Warbler??

Any help gratefully appreciated!

Stu
Click to expand...


Probably too late but I don't think you'll have any luck finding anything but Dartford warbler and lesser spotted woodpecker in the NF. For those last two, they are still difficult, the woodpecker extremely so.

It would be great if grasshopper warbler and nightingale were regular in NF because they would both be life birds for me.
 
Last edited:
Willow Tit and Grasshopper Warbler do not occur in the New Forest in the summer, though the latter does at least on Autumn migration, but only as trapped birds in mist nets.

Nightingales only occur at the margins of the New Forest and are now rare.

Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers are widespread but very low density and only really findable in about Feb-March when they are calling / drumming.

Dartford Warbler is common and widespread in suitable habitat although this changes very quickly after a hard winter.

cheers, alan
 
i had a great day in the forest yesterday. parked up in a spot north of the A31 and was straight on to 3 Woodlarks. then during a scan i latched on to a goshawk sat up in a pine tree, then i noticed a bird in the sky above it. got it, one of my holy grails, a Honey Buzzard. well happy i took a trundle into Lyndhurst for a sarnie and a visit to the local church to have a nosey around. first thing i bumped into in the churchyard was a fine Hawfinch. it couldn't get any better, or so i thought. getting back to the carpark i noticed a raptor soaring above it. whoohoo ! another Honey Buzzard which gave me amazingly good views in the clear blue sky until it finally drifted away. then i had a walk in the woods nr Bank which just turned up the expected species, i.e. Redstart, Wood Warbler etc. i stopped of a spot near Burley on my way home and saw another Goshawk, Crossbill, and heard a few Firecrests in different locations to end the day. p.s. i don't know if its just me, but i see/hear more Firecrests in the forest these days than Goldcrests.
 
Good to hear that honey buzzards do still exist in the NF. I've still not seen honey buzzard after living in the New Forest and specifically birding known sites for well over a decade. It is never easy to find unless you are working with the forest (same for certain other species that I won't mention here).
 
Last edited:
West End Birder said:
Saw some last Saturday in the New Forest (probably 3 birds), courtesy of one of the above posters
Click to expand...

Great to hear that. I've met a lot of birders in the New Forest but I haven't met anyone who says they have seen HB there -- doesn't mean everyone was being truthful though I guess. They are certainly around but if there are known locations they are kept seriously quiet.

EDIT: Dartford warbler is indeed relatively easy at certain places. I had up to 6 birds at one site during a few hours, was a good day.
 
Last edited:
Silverwolf said:
Great to hear that. I've met a lot of birders in the New Forest but I haven't met anyone who says they have seen HB there -- doesn't mean everyone was being truthful though I guess. They are certainly around but if there are known locations they are kept seriously quiet.

EDIT: Dartford warbler is indeed relatively easy at certain places. I had up to 6 birds at one site during a few hours, was a good day.
Click to expand...

I understand the key NF raptor watching site is a good bet.

John
 
Farnboro John said:
I understand the key NF raptor watching site is a good bet.

John
Click to expand...

Yes, indeed - two very different males (one white and one very dark) have shown well on previous weekends. This weekend looks another good bet with the predicted weather.

In recent years I have noticed that a tendency for the Honey Buzzards to be the first birds in the air, even as early as 8.15am. Perhaps, speculation only, to minimise interactions with Goshawks?

cheers, alan
 
If you want to see a Honey Buzzard in the NF then I suggest you stick very close to the above poster, worked for me last weekend (although now I ignore him of course ;) )
 
As long as aren't talking about "A.D."...;)

As I've already mentioned to other users I've apparently been there 20-30 times and haven't seen more than common buzzard, kestrel, a one-off possible merlin and too many woodlarks. That place is always flocked with people though, especially birders, though none admit to ever having seen honey buzzard there or anywhere in the forest.

And I won't get into the speculation and controversy about the site...at least not now.

Wasn't intending to start a debate on HB locations but I guess that was the only direction this could have gone anyway.
 
At "A well known site in the New Forest" two weeks ago, we watched a HB doing its wing-shivvering routine for about 10 minutes. While it was doing this, it didn't look very much like a Common Buzzard!
 
Silverwolf said:
As long as aren't talking about "A.D."...;)

As I've already mentioned to other users I've apparently been there 20-30 times and haven't seen more than common buzzard, kestrel, a one-off possible merlin and too many woodlarks. That place is always flocked with people though, especially birders, though none admit to ever having seen honey buzzard there or anywhere in the forest.

And I won't get into the speculation and controversy about the site...at least not now.

Wasn't intending to start a debate on HB locations but I guess that was the only direction this could have gone anyway.
Click to expand...

I was talking exactly about that place: I ticked HB there nearly thirty years ago and I've seen them there many times since. One or two of the regulars will not give you any gen, you are expected to know what you are doing.

Over the years I have seen Merlin, Kestrel, Red-footed Falcon, Hobby, Peregrine, Red Kite, Black Kite, Buzzard, Honey Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Goshawk, Hen Harrier, Marsh Harrier and Osprey over Acres Down. If there is a finer raptor watchpoint in Southern England I have no idea where it might be.

I'm seriously considering going there tomorrow.

John
 
Farnboro John said:
I was talking exactly about that place: I ticked HB there nearly thirty years ago and I've seen them there many times since. One or two of the regulars will not give you any gen, you are expected to know what you are doing.

Over the years I have seen Merlin, Kestrel, Red-footed Falcon, Hobby, Peregrine, Red Kite, Black Kite, Buzzard, Honey Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Goshawk, Hen Harrier, Marsh Harrier and Osprey over Acres Down. If there is a finer raptor watchpoint in Southern England I have no idea where it might be.

I'm seriously considering going there tomorrow.

John
Click to expand...

That's a pretty good turnout...I suspect many of the rumours surrounding the site are spread by people like me who can never see anything there or anywhere else in the NF ;)

Having said that I'd consider that a good turnout if I found that many birds in a lifetime of birding all over the UK.
 
Last edited:
Today at the best-known secret New Forest raptor-watching site:

John
 

Attachments

  • 20150606_Honey_Buzzard (800x533).jpg
    20150606_Honey_Buzzard (800x533).jpg
    133.5 KB · Views: 199
Warning! This thread is more than 9 years ago old.
It's likely that no further discussion is required, in which case we recommend starting a new thread. If however you feel your response is required you can still do so.

Similar threads

S
Texas/New Mexico Birding
Replies
8
Views
906
01101001
01101001
birdboybowley
Birding around Glasgow sites
Replies
5
Views
270
birdboybowley
birdboybowley
Larry Sweetland
Florida sites for specialities
2
Replies
21
Views
1K
Larry Sweetland
Larry Sweetland
cwpbirder
Birding Banff/ Jasper areas
Replies
2
Views
722
cwpbirder
cwpbirder
P
New Forest a bit quiet recently!
Replies
1
Views
684
pppppvvvv
P

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top