ORIOLE BIRDING TOUR REPORT THE NEW FOREST 5 th 9 th JULY 2011
Tuesday 5 th July The group met at our B&B in Lyndhurst around 1700 for check in before we had an enjoyable meal out at the Fox and Hounds pub in the adjacent village of Lyndhurst. Wednesday 6 th July We awoke to blue skies this morning and a variety of species were seen around our B&B base before breakfast by some members of the group including COMMON REDSTART, Eurasian Siskin, Roe Deer, SILVER-STUDDED BLUE and a party of COMMON CROSSBILLS flying over. After breakfast the weather looked grim and we set off in the rain towards our first destination near Burley hoping things would brighten up. At our main Damselfly site here, Mill Lawn Brook, we spent a couple of hours exploring the narrow channels, pools and flushes but the cool and overcast conditions made things initially difficult. Nevertheless, odd breaks in the cloud allowed us to find SMALL RED DAMSEFLY quite easily with around five seen, and SOUTHERN DAMSELFLY gave very good views allowing us to observe the characteristic mercury marking on the first abdominal segment. Two Green-veined Whites and a Meadow Brown were also noted but then a long spell of cloudy weather left us feeling that we might miss our target species, the SCARCE BLUE-TAILED DAMSELFLY. Perseverance paid off though and around a sheltered pool we found two individuals, a smart male and the rare aurantica form of the female which was a lifer for a very happy Adrian! This made up for the fact that he had given up on his water filled wellies and rolled up his trousers to wade in almost up to his waist to find the creatures for us while we stood and watched from the bank! Quote of the morning was quite possibly If anyone s interested, there is a Freshwater Shrimp on my sock!. A pair of Broad-bodied Chasers almost stole the show, with the male coupulating with the female and then standing guard while she first selected a suitable spot before ovipositing her eggs onto floating debris in the water. A male KEELED SKIMMER was also dashing about here and birds noted included two Green Woodpecker, Common Buzzard and Common Stonechat. After welcome cup of tea we headed over to Upper Crockford Stream to continue searching for odonata. The winds were now well over 20mph but fortunately the stream was along the sheltered edge of the woods. Almost immediately we located male BEAUTFIUL DEMOISELLE here with two or three on the wing, and the most common damselfly was the SOUTHERN DAMSELFLY with about twenty noted. Five SMALL RED DAMSELFLY, two Broad-bodied Chaser, three KEELED SKIMMER, one Common Darter and five Large Skipper were also seen. A highlight was provided by superb views of a female SILVER-WASHED FRITILLARY perched on the path and then feeding on bramble blossom. Some of the group later watched her identify the preferred foodplant before ovipositing on an adjacent tree. SILVER-STUDDED BLUES were also seen among the heather here with both males and females noted, and we eventually located some female BEAUTIFUL DEMOISELLES too, away from the water and the attentions of the males. Our final target species here was the impressive GOLDEN-RINGED DRAGONFLY and we had fantastic views of one patrolling a short stretch of the stream, a spectacular animal indeed. Common Linnet, Stock Dove and Willow Warbler were also noted here. At Hatchet Pond, we called in to check for Downy Emerald but the winds were just too strong and we only managed to pick up another male Broad-bodied Chaser and a Blue-tailed Damselfly. So finally we called into Denny Lodge and spent an hour wandering through the beautiful ancient deciduous forest. Birds noted here included a couple of COMMON REDSTARTS, Spotted Flycatcher, European Nuthatch, Common Treecreeper, Blackcap and Marsh Tit, rounding off a very successful day in the field. Thursday 7th July Another nail biting day with the weather as the forecast didn t look good and we awoke to torrential rain that had caused a flood outside! By the time we d had breakfast though, it had stopped and we decided to take a real chance and head north into Wiltshire and try Bentley Woods, not knowing whether the weather would ever improve over the coming days and it might be our only chance. We arrived there under heavy cloud and cool temperatures, but a wander around the meadow soon produced a few hardy Ringlets and our first MARBLED WHITES with about five seen. Large and Small Skipper were just about on the wing too and the temperature started to rise as one or two breaks in the cloud appeared. Leaving the group with Adrian in the meadow Ashley wandered back to the car park to keep an eye out for butterflies there, and incredibly a male PURPLE EMPEROR was sat in the grass by the edge of the car park! After running back to alert the others the group re-assembled and had amazing views of the animal, Adrian even getting it to climb onto his finger to move it from
the edge of the track out of harms way. It eventually took flight to the lower canopy and remained there for the rest of our coffee break. Our walk through the main wood then began to add more species with about twenty Large Skipper, one Small White, one Large White, ten Green-veined White, two Red Admiral, two Comma, one Meadow Brown, two hundred Ringlets and two Speckled Wood noted. SILVER-WASHED FRITILLARY numbered around fifty, including some superb close views, and we managed a single WHITE-LETTER HAIRSTREAK which shot off into the canopy. At the two small ponds, we found two SOUTHERN HAWKER dragonflies newly emerged, hardening their wings among the waterside vegetation. We saw one take its maiden flight and we must have seen twenty exuviae of recently emerged specimens, which was fascinating. Common Blue, Large Red and Azure Damselfly were also noted here. Birds were thin on the ground but a couple of COMMON CROSSBILLS flew over and we also noted Common Buzzard. On the walk back, the sun was shining and SILVER-WASHED FRITILLARIES reached their peak. Among these was a fantastic specimen of valezina, also known as the GREENISH SILVER-WASHED FRITILLARY. Back at the car park for lunch, we had a brief fly by from a PURPLE HAIRSTREAK which pretty much wrapped up the butterflies for the day! Heading back into the New Forest, we called next at Matley Bog to look for odonata. Two Small Heath and huge numbers of SILVER-STUDDED BLUES were seen on the walk down to the small ponds, where we almost straight away found a female Emperor Dragonfly ovipositing in the floating vegetation. A slow wander around the various small pools from here produced large numbers of SMALL RED DAMSELFLIES [including a female of the black form melanogastrum] and quite a few KEELED SKIMMERS, while we also noted Common Darter and found several exquisite EMERALD DAMSELFLIES. This was a very productive area, and birds noted included a family of Common Stonechats, three Great-spotted Woodpeckers, Garden Warbler and a stunning male COMMON REDSTART at close range perched out in the open. After tea and cake, we made one more quick stop at Hatchet Moor to look for Red-eyed Damselfly. One specimen was noted, but a combination of the time of day and increasing wind meant that we saw little else and returned to Lyndhurst feeling very pleased with how the day had panned out. Friday 8 th July A difficult day today with the weather as winds picked up in excess of 40mph and we were plagued with heavy cloud and some rain. We decided to spend most of the day birding and headed for the Hampshire Wildlife Trust reserve at Blashford Lakes. This was a very pleasant reserve, and we noted many new trip birds here. From Tern Hide we noted Egyptian Goose, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebe, Common Buzzard, Common Tern, Sand Martin and Great Black-backed Gull amongst others, and the walk through to the visitor centre produced a brief flash of a Common Kingfisher and three Green Woodpeckers. We wandered a couple of the trails and tried two different vantage points to look for a Great White Egret but failed to find the bird, though we did see many more Common Terns, Common Sandpiper and Willow Warbler as well as Common Blue and Azure Damselfly. Moving on we headed down to the coast to Keyhaven and had lunch before walking out around the edge of the harbour and along the saltmarsh fringe. The weather conditions were awful here but we actually managed to note quite a few birds. A drake Common Scoter was a surprise, sheltering from the rough sea in one of the creeks. Eurasian Curlew and Common Redshank were over the marsh and we located a couple of Little Terns which eventually gave very good views. Sandwich Tern was also seen and five nice Grey Plover flew in. On the landward side, a large pool held many Common Shelducks and surprisingly two Common Raven flew past giving great views. A Common Ringed Plover and the first Gatekeeper butterfly of the tour were added as we retraced our steps, while a variety of saltmarsh plants included Sea Thrift, Sea Sandwort, Sea Campion, Lesser Sea Spurrey, Frosted Orache, Grassleaved Orache, Common Sea Lavendar, Glasswort, Red Glasswort and Scarlet Pimpernel. After a cup of tea we decided to chance our arm and head back into the forest, calling at Beaulieu Road Station for short walk across the heath. Again the conditions prevailed against us but we did see a female COMMON REDSTART by the car park and several families of Common Stonechats on the heath. A probable Dartford Warbler seen very briefly by Ashley couldn t be relocted and the only Lepidoptera on the wing were two Meadow Browns and a SILVER-STUDDED BLUE. Nevertheless we felt as though we had done reasonably well today given the weather and the group enjoyed a final meal at the Fox & Hounds pub in Lyndhurst. Saturday 9 th July
For our last morning we made the short journey to nearby Acres Down and took a stroll through the mixed woodland west of the car park. We relatively easily located two WOOD WARBLERS here and got some great close views, while male FIRECREST began singing nearby and put in a brief appearance, even chasing off a juvenile Goldcrest. European Nuthatch and Eurasian Siskin were also noted and six COMMON CROSSBILLS flew overhead calling. Heading up onto the down itself, large numbers of Mistle Thrush were feeding among the Rowans and two Bullfinch showed well. We also had very good views of a juvenile COMMON REDSTART feeding along the edge of the woodland, before we reached the watchpoint and spent an hour or so looking for raptors. A big female NORTHERN GOSHAWK drifted through the treetops carrying prey and then a male appeared, circling right overhead before drifting off to the North. Single Common Buzzard and Eurasian Sparrowhawk were also noted before we retraced our route back to the car park. From here we called in at Acres Down Farm for tea and cake before returning to Lyndhurst and saying our farewells before the onward journey home. Systematic List Birds 1. Grey Heron 2. Little Egret 3. Mute Swan 4. Black Swan 5. Mallard 6. Tufted Duck 7. Common Pochard 8. Common Scoter 9. Greylag Goose 10. Canada Goose 11. Egyptian Goose 12. Common Kestrel 13. Common Buzzard 14. Eurasian Sparrowhawk 15. Northern Goshawk 16. Common Pheasant 17. Common Moorhen 18. Common Coot 19. European Oystercatcher 20. Northern Lapwing 21. Common Ringed Plover 22. Grey Plover 23. Common Curlew 24. Common Redshank 25. Common Sandpiper 26. Black-headed Gull 27. Herring Gull 28. Lesser Black-backed Gull 29. Great Black-backed Gull 30. Common Tern 31. Sandwich Tern 32. Little Tern 33. Woodpigeon 34. Stock Dove 35. Collared Dove 36. Common Kingfisher 37. Common Swift 38. Great-spotted Woodpecker 39. Green Woodpecker 40. Skylark [H] 41. Meadow Pipit 42. Pied Wagtail
43. Barn Swallow 44. House Martin 45. Sand Martin 46. Winter Wren 47. Dunnock 48. European Robin 49. Stonechat 50. Common Redstart 51. Common Blackbird 52. Song Thrush 53. Mistle Thrush 54. Blackcap 55. Garden Warbler 56. Willow Warbler 57. Wood Warbler 58. Common Chiffchaff [H] 59. Goldcrest 60. Firecrest 61. Spotted Flycatcher 62. Coal Tit 63. Blue Tit 64. Great Tit 65. Marsh Tit 66. European Nuthatch 67. Common Treecreeper 68. Eurasian Jay 69. Black-billed Magpie 70. Rook 71. Carrion Crow 72. Western Jackdaw 73. Common Raven 74. Common Starling 75. House Sparrow 76. Chaffinch 77. Greenfinch 78. Goldfinch 79. Linnet 80. Eurasian Siskin 81. Bullfinch 82. Common Crossbill 83. Yellowhammer Odonata 1. Azure Damselfly 2. Common Blue Damselfly 3. Southern Damselfly 4. Blue-tailed Damselfly 5. Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly 6. Large Red Damselfly 7. Small Red Damselfly 8. Red-eyed Damselfly 9. Emerald Damselfly 10. Beautiful Demoiselle 11. Broad-bodied Chaser 12. Emperor 13. Southern Hawker 14. Keeled Skimmer 15. Golden-ringed Dragonfly 16. Common Darter Butterflies
1. Large Skipper 2. Small Skipper 3. Small White 4. Large White 5. Green-veined White 6. Purple Hairstreak 7. White-letter Hairstreak 8. Silver-washed Fritillary 9. Red Admiral 10. Comma 11. Silver-studded Blue 12. Speckled Wood 13. Ringlet 14. Meadow Brown 15. Gatekeeper 16. Small Heath 17. Marbled White 18. Purple Emperor