A Patch of New Forest Heathland

  An impressive summer bloom of Bell Heather has – quite literally – turned large areas of the heathland purple this month, although birding in July has, as usual, been somewhat less colourful. A Crossbill  at Hincheslea Woods was our only new bird for the 2023, bringing the patch year list up to 85. Weekly species counts ranged from 44 to 53, which were slightly lower than in July last year. As usual, all checklists are available on eBird at https://ebird.org/hotspot/L12697095/activity?yr=all&m= Male Crossbill - the only addition to our patch year list in July On a positive note, the seed eaters seem to have had a good year, with large feeding flocks of Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Linnet including many juveniles, being seen regularly across the patch. Stonechats have also done well, with second broods of young emerging later in the month, and there seem now to be plenty of Dartford Warblers on the heath, after successful breeding in several locations. House Martins have b...

June 2023 has been one of the warmest on record in the New Forest, but was a relatively quiet month on the patch birding front. Weekly species counts ranged from 48 on 3 rd to a peak of 59 on the 10 th , with just two additions to the year list, which now stands at 84. No new patch records were recorded during this month. As usual, all checklists are available on eBird at https://ebird.org/hotspot/L12697095/activity?yr=all&m=  . Our first Swifts of the year appeared overhead on 2 nd June, accompanied by higher numbers of House Martins than in recent years, with several breeding sites being identified around the margins of the patch. A flying ant swarm day on the 10 th brought an influx of Gulls, including two Mediterranean Gulls which have been a regular patch sighting each June for the past few years. Good numbers of Silver Studded Blue butterflies in the warm sunshine on the heath were a welcome sight after noticeably lower insect numbers in the cooler conditions earl...

  To coin a football phrase, May was a month of two halves: the ongoing cold damp conditions in the first two weeks eventually gave way to dryer, warmer weather, which was much better for birding.   The blossom on the ‘May Tree’ Hawthorns didn’t reach its peak until the end of the month, but was more spectacular than in previous years, covering the scrub over Longslade and along the old railway line. The arrival of a few more summer migrants also helped to boost our mood – and the weekly species count, peaking at 56 on the 27 th  - although  numbers continued to be lower than in 2022. Last year’s May record of 66 species was never in danger of being broken  The yearly list now stands at 81 with a total patch count of 115. Full lists and counts can be found on eBird at: https://ebird.org/hotspot/L12697095 - as mentioned on previous posts, some species are suppressed by this site which explains the slight discrepancy in the reported numbers. Raptors provided many...

  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...