November Update: a Time to Remember

 

The Sway War Memorial stands at the corner of Durnstown and Pitmore Lane, and usually marks the start and finish of our weekly patch walk. For the month of November it becomes adorned with poppies and wreaths as the focal point of the local Remembrance commemorations. Thankfully, a brief interlude between storms Ciaran and Debi allowed this event to be marked in the Traditional way, although that weekend was one of just two occasions where the clouds parted and floods receded for long enough to enable completion of our full patch circuit. Unsurprisingly there were no new birds to be added to the list, which still stands at 97 for the year, although on both visits we matched our meagre ‘November record’ species count of 44. As usual, the full lists can be found on e-Bird at https://ebird.org/hotspot/L12697095 .

A large influx of Winter thrushes was a welcome sight on our first walk on November 11^th – flocks of Fieldfare, totaling around 150 were seen overhead, accompanied by smaller numbers of Redwing. Reports from other sites included in the New Forest Winter Bird Survey that weekend suggested that this was mirrored across the region, with larger numbers being apparent than in 2022. Significant movements of Woodpigeon, Skylark and Lesser Redpoll were also noted that weekend, suggesting that it was not just the humans that were taking advantage of the calm between the storms. A male Ring Ouzel was reported by another birder that day at Longslade, and I managed to find it again on the 12^th, feeding in the Hawthorn at the Western edge of our patch, by the old railway line. This is our third patch sighting of this passage migrant thrush this year, and our latest record to-date.

A drop in the temperature in the second half of the month brought a more wintry feel to the birding for our second full patch list on the 25^th. The resident Grey Heron was joined by a pair of Canada Geese, 7 Mallards and 5 Cormorant at Setley Pond; a Kingfisher (fig 1) added a flash of blue to the traditional Autumnal colours. I was also pleased to find a pair of Goosander tucked in at the back of the pond on 26^th, after our earlier first patch record back in February. Hopefully these will continue to visit regularly through the winter, perhaps with some more exotic wildfowl and heron species.

Fig 1: Kingfisher in the trees close to Setley Pond

As usual, our heathland birds became more difficult to find as the wind turned to the North, with smaller numbers of Linnet, Stonechat and Dartford Warbler than were evident earlier in the autumn. The large flocks of Meadow Pipits seen at the beginning of the month had also dispersed, but Lapwing and Snipe returned to their regular winter roost sites of previous years. Lesser Black-backed and Black-headed Gulls started to rejoin the resident Herring Gulls, after their customary summer break. Collared Doves were still notable by their absence, as previously documented, due to their tendency to stop calling or singing in October and November. We will anticipate the return of this familiar sound in early December. Raptor sightings were limited to singles of Buzzard and Sparrowhawk, with no seasonal Hen Harrier or Merlin to report so far.

While November 2023 was certainly not memorable from a birding perspective, the fungi seem to have flourished in the damp conditions. The New Forest is one of the few sites in the UK where the Octopus Stinkhorn, or 'Devil's Fingers' (figure 2), can be found, and Setley Plain has proved to be a reliable location in recent years. Originally from Australasia, it has been suggested that the spores may have arrived with ANZAC troops stationed in the Brockenhurst and Sway area during World Wars 1 and 2 - some of whose names now appear on the aforementioned War Memorial.

Fig 2: Three stages of emergence of the 'Devil's Fingers' Fungus on Setley Plain

The short, dark days of December will soon be upon us, no doubt bringing some cold early morning starts and a need to dig out the thermal undergarments. With just one month of the year remaining, it looks like our patch list will fall disappointingly short of the 103 species we found in 2022. The autumn passage migrant season has gone, and with it our hopes of a Pied Flycatcher or Wryneck, for another year. However, the recent influx of Waxwings in the North East is giving us some cause for optimism, along with all the excitement of a New Year, just a few weeks away. Roll on 2024!