pduxon
Quacked up Member
Thanks to those of you who suggested birding locations. The trip was highly enjoyable and the Forest will see me "trundling" round again at some future date.
For those who don't know this part of Britain an intro....
The New Forest is one of the most beautiful parts of the country. It has a landscape that is unique within the rest of the South East. Drivers have to get used to New Forest Ponies sitting in the middle of roads taking there own sweet time to move. It was William the Conqueror's hunting ground and was where his successor, William Rufus, was killed. Hampshire reminds me a little of Essex. In Essex you are aware that as you travel North from London that you've left the South East and entered East Anglia. In Hampshire as you travel South West you suddenly realise you've left the South East. In both cases exactly where is hard to pinpoint but it just happens.
Dorset is a wild county. It contains no motorways (and few dual carriageways) and no cathedral (although it has 4 of the best non cathedral churches in the country). It has few towns of any real size and one of those(Bournemouth) it inherited from Hampshire in the boundary changes of the 1970's. The Isle of Purbeck maybe attached to the mainland but it is still feels like an island.
Anyway Birdman wanted some good birding sites.
Arne - Car park contained lots of common birds (tits, Finches, Nuthatch, Song Thrush). The heath supports 60 pairs of Dartford Warblers and I saw 4 as I walked around. Most views were fleeting but one kind bird perched to let me get a good view (my admiration for Andy Bright's pics of Darfords from a few months back has grown immensely). There were Meadow Pipit but no Wood Lark about. The hide supplied Black Tailed Godwit, Oystercatcher, Curlew & Little Egret (surprisingly common down here, I saw one in the river running through Blandford Forum and another at Beaulieu).
Eyeworth Pond (Nr Fritham). - Lovely spot real picture post card stuff. Lots of common birds which were very tame. The pond supports Mandarin Duck which were present on both my stops here. I also watched 3 Kingfishers, 2 adults (fishing) and a juvenile all out in the open - great to see.
Radipole - lots of Cormorants, Herring, Lesser Black Backed and one Greater Black Backed gulls, Reed Bunting but annoyingly no Cetti's. Probably the wrong time of year to visit Weymouth as it was packed with tourists so I ducked out of Lodmoor for.....
Worth Matraver - St Aldhelm's head.
St Aldhelm's head is 2.25 miles from Worth and my visit had nothing to do with birds. I was here to visit the Norman chapel that sits next to the coastgaurd station. The walk turned out to be a good one for birds. Lots of Common Birds more Goldfinch than I'd seen in one place for a while and if you want to know where your House Sparrows are...... I also got Yellowhammer and Linnet. There was a Peregrine (I think, I'm not good on raptors I only got a brief glance as one dived at a pigeon but wing shape and size suggested Peregrine). The fields were alive with Birds including Skylark(well I'll be honest I didn't get a great view but one started singing and went straight up til out of sight of my bins, which suggests skylark doesn't it?)
Beaulieu Road Station (Satterford? car park) - get there early and avoid Sunday's ( I drove past at midday and the car park was packed). On an early Tuesday morning it was quiet. Very enjoyable walk, no Dartford's, Woodlark or Crossbill about but Reed Bunting lots of Stonechat(great views) and Tree Pipit. I got excited at one point by this lovely bright yellow warbler with a strong yellow supercillium. Ooh Wood Warbler I thought but I'm going to have to accept it was a juvenile Willow Warbler since it didn't appear to have a clear white yellow divide(hey if one of you is the bloke with the dog and the Swaro's and you saw a Wood Warbler that morning let me know and I might count it - cluches any straw!) lovely bird though. A super walk very enjoyable.
For those who don't know this part of Britain an intro....
The New Forest is one of the most beautiful parts of the country. It has a landscape that is unique within the rest of the South East. Drivers have to get used to New Forest Ponies sitting in the middle of roads taking there own sweet time to move. It was William the Conqueror's hunting ground and was where his successor, William Rufus, was killed. Hampshire reminds me a little of Essex. In Essex you are aware that as you travel North from London that you've left the South East and entered East Anglia. In Hampshire as you travel South West you suddenly realise you've left the South East. In both cases exactly where is hard to pinpoint but it just happens.
Dorset is a wild county. It contains no motorways (and few dual carriageways) and no cathedral (although it has 4 of the best non cathedral churches in the country). It has few towns of any real size and one of those(Bournemouth) it inherited from Hampshire in the boundary changes of the 1970's. The Isle of Purbeck maybe attached to the mainland but it is still feels like an island.
Anyway Birdman wanted some good birding sites.
Arne - Car park contained lots of common birds (tits, Finches, Nuthatch, Song Thrush). The heath supports 60 pairs of Dartford Warblers and I saw 4 as I walked around. Most views were fleeting but one kind bird perched to let me get a good view (my admiration for Andy Bright's pics of Darfords from a few months back has grown immensely). There were Meadow Pipit but no Wood Lark about. The hide supplied Black Tailed Godwit, Oystercatcher, Curlew & Little Egret (surprisingly common down here, I saw one in the river running through Blandford Forum and another at Beaulieu).
Eyeworth Pond (Nr Fritham). - Lovely spot real picture post card stuff. Lots of common birds which were very tame. The pond supports Mandarin Duck which were present on both my stops here. I also watched 3 Kingfishers, 2 adults (fishing) and a juvenile all out in the open - great to see.
Radipole - lots of Cormorants, Herring, Lesser Black Backed and one Greater Black Backed gulls, Reed Bunting but annoyingly no Cetti's. Probably the wrong time of year to visit Weymouth as it was packed with tourists so I ducked out of Lodmoor for.....
Worth Matraver - St Aldhelm's head.
St Aldhelm's head is 2.25 miles from Worth and my visit had nothing to do with birds. I was here to visit the Norman chapel that sits next to the coastgaurd station. The walk turned out to be a good one for birds. Lots of Common Birds more Goldfinch than I'd seen in one place for a while and if you want to know where your House Sparrows are...... I also got Yellowhammer and Linnet. There was a Peregrine (I think, I'm not good on raptors I only got a brief glance as one dived at a pigeon but wing shape and size suggested Peregrine). The fields were alive with Birds including Skylark(well I'll be honest I didn't get a great view but one started singing and went straight up til out of sight of my bins, which suggests skylark doesn't it?)
Beaulieu Road Station (Satterford? car park) - get there early and avoid Sunday's ( I drove past at midday and the car park was packed). On an early Tuesday morning it was quiet. Very enjoyable walk, no Dartford's, Woodlark or Crossbill about but Reed Bunting lots of Stonechat(great views) and Tree Pipit. I got excited at one point by this lovely bright yellow warbler with a strong yellow supercillium. Ooh Wood Warbler I thought but I'm going to have to accept it was a juvenile Willow Warbler since it didn't appear to have a clear white yellow divide(hey if one of you is the bloke with the dog and the Swaro's and you saw a Wood Warbler that morning let me know and I might count it - cluches any straw!) lovely bird though. A super walk very enjoyable.
