A Patch of New Forest Heathland

  The cool, wet weather that started in March continued through much of April, curtailing the opportunities and dampening our enthusiasm to get out on the patch. However, when conditions allowed we were rewarded with the sight of the gorse in full bloom as well as a welcome increase in the numbers and diversity of species across the heath and woodlands. Arrivals of our summer migrants were all slightly later than last year, but by the middle of the month we were regularly hearing the sound of Blackcaps, Willow Warbler, Common Whitethroat and Cuckoo in their usual locations. Swallows were the first Hirundines to reappear, on 2 nd April, with a single House Martin passing overhead on the 16 th , but no Sand Martin this year and no Swift so far. A small group of Wheatear touched down in their favoured area of burned gorse behind the football pitches on the 17 th , enjoying a bit of rest before continuing their journey to their Northern beeding sites. A single Yellow Wagtail p...

  The appearance of the 'ground nesting bird' warning signs, at various locations across the heath, heralds the arrival of Spring - although the weather over the past month did not quite live up to expectations. March is often a month of great hope and expectation – combining the remnants of the winter birds with the arrival of some spring migrants. Sadly, the northerly winds and relentless rainfall led to some disappointing species counts early in the month, but a late surge brought a new March record of 53 species on the 25 th . The patch year list is now up to 63 species, although there were no additions to the life-list this month. All checklists can be found on the ebird site at:   https://ebird.org/hotspot/L12697095/activity?yr=all&m= The last of the winter Redwings hung around until the 19 th after which they vanished – two weeks earlier than in 2022; Fieldfares , which were seen well into April for the past 2 years, have also departed, with no sightings at...

  February usually heralds the arrival of wildfowl on the patch, and our regular Canada Geese did not disappoint us, first appearing on the 4 th and continuing to be recorded in every week of the month. The pair of Goosander first seen in mid-January returned to Setley pond on 4 th February, this time staying just long enough to enable a rather distant record shot. On the same day a group of 4 Mute Swans over Setley Plain were a new bird for the patch, bringing the life-list up to 111 species.  Sadly, that was as good as it got, as far as Setley Pond activity was concerned – even a few early starts hoping to arrive before the dog walkers and remote-controlled boats-people couldn’t produce more than a few Mallards , or an occasional Grey Heron and Cormorant . A Little Egret , overhead on the 25 th was the only other water bird of note this month. Goosander Pair on Setley Pond The heath and woodland areas were similarly quiet, although Song and Mistle Thrush were in good...

  January is never the greatest month for inland birding in the UK, and this year’s weather didn’t help with our New Forest patch sightings. Heavy rain early in the month, followed by freezing temperatures, limited the opportunities to get out and about, with only 5 full circuits being completed since the New Year. Our peak monthly species count of 43 on 15 th January was well short of last year’s January record of 46, and dipped to 35 on the 21 st.  Overall, 53 species have been recorded so far in 2023 (full details on the link below – as before please note that Dartford Warbler sightings are suppressed by the eBird site so do not show in these data) https://ebird.org/hotspot/L12697095 The heathland areas of the patch were particularly quiet, with very small numbers of Meadow Pipits and Skylark; it took until the 29 th of the month to see our first Stonechat of the year, which is unusual even for January. Hopefully this just reflects movement to different locations rat...

Many birdwatchers will be familiar with the concept of ‘Patch Birding’, where a small area or ‘patch’ is observed over a period of time to log bird species and counts. When lockdown arrived in 2020, the need to remain within walking distance of my house for ‘exercise’ encouraged me to start birding on an area of heathland close to where I live, in the New Forest National Park. I soon discovered that another local birder had been patch birding on this site for a number of years; when the easing of covid restrictions allowed, we decided to join forces and conduct a weekly walk around the area, recording our sightings on the eBird website.   ‘The Patch’ (see map above - red line indicates usual route) Starting at the stile at the South end of Manchester Road in Sway (bottom left hand corner of the map), close to the Hare and Hounds pub, we walk through a small area of scrub, crossing the road and following the path alongside the football pitches and behind the allotments. We...