Wow.... What a first week on the job. Having spent a lot of time in the last few weeks being able to explore, survey and just generally work on a site that hasn't been surveyed for quite literally centuries. It was obviously going to be a whirl wind of an occasion. It has honestly at times felt like being back in Costa Rica with quite literally not knowing what's going to be around the corner and with the ability to go to areas of the reserve that aren't open to the public I have been able to spend time out in nature without having to worry about Covid, people, dogs, litter etc... Ok it's not perfect but if there was ever a site in the UK to go birding on this is it. (It's worth saying that there is a single byway that run's through the middle of the reserve, but currently this is the only access to the site this will all change once survey work and the local tip has been caped with a new Visitor Centre and car park due to open sometime in 2030 - So unfortunately unless you were to join me or my colleagues on a guided walk there is no access to most of the wildlife in this blog post! - Which to be honest is a shame) So without further-a-do I am going to try and summaries the last week or so into a decent sized blog post....! Tuesday 4th May: On Tuesday morning I went up to the new forest for an introductory site visit. What does that actually mean? Well in this case it means quite simply walking around birding and looking for suitable locations to deploy camera traps. Now I had been told by the reserve staff that I was extremely unlikely to hear or see a Wood Warbler on the reserve as two years ago there was only a single pair which didn't return last year. I hadn't walked very far and all of a sudden one burst into song followed by a second bird on the opposite side of the track. I was over joyed to say the least, especially since I had never seen or heard Wood Warbler before and I was standing watching two birds fighting for territory. They are such bright birds with a cracking song and it was interesting to watch their hunting techniques as they are quite easy to pick out amongst chiffs and willows as Woods tend to float from tree to tree. Its quite extraordinary. I have no clue how they do it, but it is quite incredible to watch. Above: Wood Warbler Continuing into the main reserve the place is full of life with a back drop of singing Firecrest, Goldcrest, Treecreeper, Blackcap, Blackbird, Robin, Wren, Song Thrush and Mistle Thrush. It's just incredible you can kind of tell that the site has been left to it's own devices for a long time. In fact we have the highest density of Firecrest, Goldcrest and Treecreeper for any site in the New Forest. With somewhere in the region of 250 to 350 pairs of Firecrest. I mean it's so ridiculous that first thing in the morning you can stand in certain parts of the reserve and can't even count the number of singing Firecrest on the fingers on your hands. They are quite literally everywhere. Infact to be quite honest I strongly suspect the above estimate is hugely underestimating the size of the population. Above: One of the many singing Male Firecrests I continued my walk around and stumbled across a small mixed flock of Crossbill and Siskin before heading out into a clearing where a Tree Pipit was singing from a nearby tree. As I did a family almost Redwing like tsip and a pair of Hawfinch flew over. Just an incredible place. (Scenery images to be saved until the end) I then headed along a nearby track just before calling it a day and broke my Odonata duck for the year with my first Large Red Damselfly. Above: Large Red Damselfly Wednesday 5th May: On Wednesday morning I decided to head up to the reserve early to see if the Wood Warblers were still singing and also to go and set up some camera traps on site. Of Course the Wood Warblers were still in place and seemingly holding territory which was great news, however I recently learnt that Wood Warblers in the new forest are on a spiralling trend by which in just a few years time there many quite literally be none left at all. 10 years ago there were around 120 pairs in the forest this year it was though to be just 5 pairs until I found these two. But to go from 120 pairs to 7 pairs in the space of 10 years, surely must be sending the alarm bells ringing. These birds despite being called Wood Warblers are infact ground nesters and thus makes them vulnerable to a whole host of threats from over grazing, tourism/ people walking off footpaths, lack of suitable woodland, lack of insectivorous prey the list goes on. It would be really sad to see a species like this go from the UK, but the decline has been catastrophic to say the least and no one in the forest seems to care with the exception of the RSPB and Wild New Forest! Sound recording of both birds here: XC645882 Wood Warbler (Phylloscopus sibilatrix) :: xeno-canto Above: Wood Warbler Moving on I stopped to look at a pair of Marsh Tit when I spotted two birds chasing each other around a nearby dead tree. To my surprised it was a pair of Redstart and the male was in absolutely cracking spring plumage. Above: Marsh Tit Below: Wren It's interesting... I am told this site possibly has a pair of Willow Tit around but so far I am yet to find them on my walks and surveys. Moving on I walked through Firecrest corridor and as I did so a huge Goshawk flew out of the trees. I then followed a track a little way until I felt a pin cone hit me on the head. I stopped and looked up to unsurprisingly seeing a huge flock of Crossbill feeding in the pines above me. In fact there must have been easily 50 of them tearing Pine cones apart and once done quite simply chucking them to the ground. Its perhaps the easiest way to find them when they aren't calling. The crossbill weren't alone though as they were with at least 15 Siskin and 4 Lesser Redpoll. Just before the flock took off I noticed another Redpoll feeding in the canopy that was noticeably bigger, plumper and paler than the others. Which had my mind suggesting Mealy/Common Redpoll and infact that is what I am pretty sure it was but as soon as I lifted my camera the whole flock flew as one of the Goshawks was up and about. After sometime a few Crossbills returned to drink from a nearby puddle, but unfortunately no Siskin or Redpoll were to be seen. Above: Crossbills Moving on into the more open areas and my first Small Copper of the year was basking in the sun. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was feeding in a nearby field and well Goldcrests and Firecrests were ridiculously numerous as always. Several Common Buzzards soared over head while my first Noon Fly of the year was on a nearby log. I chose this time as an opportunity to have my lunch and as I did so I noticed a pair of Marsh Tit rushing in and out of a nearby tree trunk attending their nest. Above: Small Copper Below: Great Spotted Woodpecker Above: Goldcrest Below: Common Buzzard Above: Noon Fly Below: Marsh Tit entering it's nest hole It was soon getting late and so I decided to head for home, but not before coming across another Crossbill flock and also a tonne of Deer. Above: Crossbill Below: Fallow Deer (?) Thursday 6th May : Thursday was a day off and to be honest I was quite fortunate as the weather was extremely poor. I went for a quick walk in the afternoon, but not much birding was done. Sandwich Tern and Gannet were the most notable alongside accidently finding a Red-throated Diver just off Boscombe Pier. Above: Sandwich Tern Friday 7th May: Friday saw a ridiculously early start as it was the only day for the foreseeable that had light winds at dawn. And so I was on the reserve for a 4am start in order to sound record the dawn chorus. The A338 and A31 were ridiculously busy for the time of morning but even so the journey went without a hitch. As soon as I got out the car the first sound I heard was odd and I couldn't quite recognise it. Then it happened again and again and it suddenly occurred to me that the noise I was listening to was infact Roding Woodcock. Quite frankly a ridiculous noise. Imagine trying to sleep listening to that. This was the first time that I had actually ever heard Roding Woodcock and it was awesome. And it was all to the back drop of a hooting Tawny Owl and the first few Robins singing. I then headed out into the reserve by torch light to set up the gear and of course suddenly realised that I had forgotten to turn the microphone on, so I hadn't recorded the Woodcock, bother! Either way two lovely hours were spent listening to the dawn chorus with plenty of species including Hawfinch, Crossbill, Goshawks, but not the hoped for Lesser Spots, infact I am having a really difficult time trying to survey them as I just can't find any. I am told that there should be several pairs on the reserve, but it's not looking good at the moment to say the least. As the sun started to shine through the gaps in the trees and thaw both my self and the ground from the frost. I decided to go and have a look at one of the last remaining parts of the reserve for me to explore. Treecreeper's and Firecrest were especially showy this morning, presumably due to just how cold the night had been trying to show their neighbours that they were fit enough to make it through the bitter night. XC645418 Common Firecrest (Regulus ignicapilla) :: xeno-canto Above: Treecreeper and it's nest... Yeah that's right under the bark in that tree lies tiny tiny Treecreepers. Below: Firecrest dispute (two males) Moving on and I got to a set of fields and chain of grassland and shrub habitat unlike anywhere else on the reserve. A Cuckoo sang invisibly from the nearby Woodland. This area was quite incredibly full of Garden Warbler. I mean quite literally the out numbered Blackcaps here by perhaps 4 to 1. They just sat singing in the warmth of the May sunshine. My first Red Kite on the reserve circled over head along with 4 Common Buzzards that weren't pleased to see it. Above: Garden Warbler Below: Red Kite Just before I headed for home I stumbled upon some recently fledge Robins and I couldn't resist another look at the Wood Warblers. Cracking birds! Above: Young Robin Below: Wood Warbler Saturday 8th May: Another quite truly horribly autumnal day. Was spent catching up on emails and laundry. However the weather soon cleared and so I decided to head over to Poole for a rather blowy walk. Poole Park was rather quiet with the exception of around 20 Oystercatchers and it was good to see some of the ringed Greylags returning to the park just in time for their moult. Above: Greylag U056 Moving on I headed round to Baiter Park where again it was unsurprisingly quiet in the wind. However both Oystercatcher and my first Turnstone of the year showed quite well and some of the Turnstone were even in their quite splendid summer plumage. Above: Oystercatcher Below: Turnstone I then headed back into Poole Park and found some tiny Greylag Goslings and Mallard chicks sheltering near the car park. In fact the Goslings appear to be from my mate U089 who I ringed back in June 2019. good to see he is still doing well. Above: Greylag Goslings Below: Mallard Ducklings Since there was very little about and I still had plenty of time before my evening meetings (Yes, meetings on a Saturday are a thing at the moment) I decided to head round to RSPB Lytchett Fields. Upon arrival there was a noticeable trickle of Swallows funnelling through the bay on their way North with a few House Martin and Sand Martin for company. Starling's and Robins were feeding young and a pair of Shelduck, a Whimbrel and an Oystercatcher sat by the first pool. Above: Starlings Below: Robin I then headed out onto the main reserve and the main wader view points and was surprised to find a complete lack of people. Infact I had the whole reserve to myself which was quite unusual. Reed Warbler, Chiffchaff and Blackcap sang from the bushes as I headed down. I sat scanning the pools for around 30minutes bringing up very little however a flock of Whimbrel appeared out of the bay and circling over the fields as a Curlew dropped in. As the Curlew dropped in I noticed it flushed several smaller waders from where it landed and this brought two Little Ringed Plover into view. Above: Whimbrel And so after that with very little else around I decided to head for home and called it a night.
And so ends part 1 of this blog post.... Part 2 to follow soon
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It's been over 6 months now since I last left London and so at 4pm on the 1st May I set off to Dorset where I will be spending the majority of the next 3! For a Bank Holiday weekend the trip down was quite spectacular with the roads absolutely deserted (yes, even the M25) and so I arrived in Bournemouth at just after 6pm. No sooner had I arrived I set about scanning the sea outside to look for a year tick or two. It didn't take long and I soon had several adult Gannets fishing offshore alongside 4 Sandwich Terns. After an evening of unpacking I decided to get an early nights sleep ahead of an early start so off to bed at 9pm. The alarm sounded at 330am and I was out the door at not long after 4 in order to head up to Durlston Country Park for some ringing. Unsurprisingly the roads were deserted however I saw numerous foxes and even had to stop for a Sika Deer to get out the road near Stoborough. I was unsurprisingly the first person to arrive at Durlston at just gone 5 and so I decided to sit and listen to the dawn chorus for a bit whilst I waited for the others. It was of course International Dawn Chorus Day and so there was no shortage of birds on offer. Robins, Blackbirds, Song Thrushes and Wrens were giving their all and were soon joined by Blackcap, and Great Tits. A Redshank was a dawn chorus surprise as it could be heard flying East not far offshore. Eventually once everyone had arrived we went and set up the ringing station. Throughout the morning we caught a few birds but not as many as we had hoped for. The highlight of the session just as we were packing up was a Cracking Male Swallow with some of the Longest tail streamers any of us had seen (They measured just over 70mm long!). A Lesser Whitethroat was also good bird to see in the hand amongst the Willow Warblers, Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Whitethroats that we caught. Whilst we were ringing we had a Yellow Wagtail come in off the sea over our heads, along with plenty of Swallows, House and Sand Martins. However what was more bizarre was watching a Swift do the complete opposite. It came from inland and quite simply headed back out to sea. Obviously didn't have the right Brexit papers! We packed up at around 10 since the birds had virtually dried up and so I thought I would make the most of the day and head round to see what I could find in the rest of the park. I have to admit I thought there would be more migrants around. In the hour of searching I ended up finding Lesser Whitethroat, Blackcap, Whitethroats, Chiffchaff, and Stonechats, but not the hoped for Whinchat or Garden Warbler. There were however plenty of Rock Pipits busily attending to nests in the area around the lighthouse which was nice to see. Above: Rock Pipit I decided to walk a little way along the south west coast path and it wasn't long until I was overlooking the colony of Guillemot that inhabits the cliffs here. The cliff and the surrounding sea were full of Guillemots. It was an incredible sight to see. Eventually after a while I picked out 12 rather Chunky and much darker Razorbills. This is the first time I have properly had a chance to look at the two species side by side. It was interesting to see Guillemots are a sort of Chocolatey colour rather than the strong black that Razorbills have and actually makes them nice and easy to separate. There were a few pristine Shags sat in and amongst the Mots and Bills while several Fulmars glided effortlessly up and down the coast and a few Gannets passed miles out to sea. Above: Shag Below: Guillemots (oh and yes some of those are standing on eggs.) Above: A slightly out of focus Fulmar (It was way too close!) Below: Assorted images of Razorbill and Guillemot. (Should be quite a nice set to see the ID differences!) Above: Distant Gannets After spending far too long watching the seabird spectacle I decided it was probably time to head off back to Bournemouth and get some shopping before the shops shut! I had completely forgotten that it was Sunday. Now onto this morning and a lie in. I decided that I would try and find a nice quiet place to go to as Bank Holidays down here can be hectic and so I drove half way to Longham Lakes and decided to walk the rest of the way, but not before adding Whimbrel to the flat list with one steaming through on it's quest West! I found my self heading out into the Stour Way at just after 830am. The entry track near the Dudsbury Girl Scouts Camp was filled with birdsong. With Goldcrests, Treecreeper, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Blackcap, and Chiffchaff all going at it. Then I heard a familiar call and as I spun round a Firecrest burst into song and flew right at me landing in the tree just above my head. XC645128 Common Firecrest (Regulus ignicapilla) :: xeno-canto Above: Male Firecrest in the brief second it sat still. The Male Firecrest didn't sit still for long and quickly set off in pursuit of a female, whilst I attempted to sound record the action. After this I decided to head further along the path to the edge of the woodland. As soon as I could see the sky 2 Swifts screamed past and this was a little taste of what was to come. A Blackcap sang from the first patch of Gorse just before the steep decent down the hill to the valley... Well except it didn't, for it sounded different. The song was pure and bubbly and didn't get thrown all over the place like a Blackcaps and too my delight the Garden Warbler gave itself up and sat briefly on top long enough for me to confirm what my brain was telling me I was listening to. I then proceeded to sound record the song pleased that I had seen the bird! Listening to the recording now although Blackcap can mimic Garden Warbler you can quite easily tell the difference in the two: XC645130 Garden Warbler (Sylvia borin) :: xeno-canto Moving further on and the river valley was full of life, Reed Buntings, Reed Warblers, Cetti's Warblers, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Common Whitethroat all sang from the vegetation either side of the Stour. Infact one tiny patch of Reeds had 6 Reed Warblers busy chasing after one another. Then the family squeaky call of a Kingfisher and a tiny Little Blue Bullet shot past me heading down river, before being followed by another in quick succession. As I got near the lakes the amount of Swifts over the nearby golf course started to increase as did the number of Swallows. After 50minutes of walking I had finally made it to the lakes and finally I could see just how many Swifts there were. I mean every inch of the sky had one in it. There must have been somewhere in the region of 4 to 500 birds. All of a sudden they started to bunch up and scream as not one but two Hobbies whizzed about in search of a meal. Presumably they were after the Hirundine that were much lower down over the reservoirs with a flock that featured good numbers of Swallow, Sand and House Martins. XC645127 Common Swift (Apus apus) :: xeno-canto Above: Hobby Below: Swifts The photo's probably don't quite do the shear amount of Swifts justice. Anyways I headed round North Lake first to see if the wind had brought anything in. However apart from unseasonable numbers of Tufted Ducks there wasn't really anything of note. Reed Warblers, Blackcaps and Cetti's Warblers sang from the lake margins however it wasn't until I got round to the cause way that I found my first Sedge Warbler singing. A Kestrel was a nice addition to the day list as it hovered over the hedgerow looking for some breakfast. I then made a quick detour out into the Hampreston meadows to see if there were any Egrets lurking with the cattle. Unfortunately I suspect the fields are still just about to dry at the moment for them. However the detour wasn't wasted as a Cuckoo started singing in the distance and the hedgerows were full of Whitethroat, Blackcaps and Reed Buntings. And so I headed back to up to the reservoirs and started my journey around the south lake. I have to admit I had forgotten that what is presumably the same Ring-necked Duck I saw back in the autumn here was still around and so when I picked up the silhouette of it in a nearby flock of Tufted Duck the thrill was cut short by a local bird who simply said 'that has been here for ages'. And so it had but it was nice to see all the same and I am glad that I decided to make the visit. It showed quite well at times as it bobbed up and down on the surf. Above: Ring-necked Duck with Tufties There is something special about seeing a Ring-necked Duck and I am not sure what it is. A Cracking bird!
Anyways I continued round the lake without adding much to the list bar yet more warblers, a chunky female Peregrine circling the lake and 2 fine drake Gadwalls. And so with the wind starting to pick up I decided to head home for lunch. Since the weather had deteriorated I decided to spend most of this afternoon sea watching from the window picking up a Gannet and a few Sandwich Terns in the process. However much more impressive was when scanning close to Boscombe pier I picked up a fine summer plumaged Great Northern Diver along with a not so smart bird and a Great Crested Grebe. A bit odd for May, but this year has been anything but normal! And so tomorrow is the start of a new adventure, the first site visit to RSPB Franchises Lodge of the year. I wonder what tomorrow will bring.... Hopefully Goshawks and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers!!! |
AuthorI have been a birder since I was 8 however only really started to be able to go out to places by myself in Summer 2016 (Blame the parents) My blogs will be from all over the place, but mainly from RSPB Rainham Marshes and Totteridge Valley! Photography done by Samuel Levy aged 20. ArchivesCategories |