The Big Day

Xander only arrived from France late last night but we still managed a hectic birding schedule taking in some of the best sites the New Forest has to offer.

Things kicked off at dawn with Rory McGrath (Bearded Tit) at Pennington Marshes and finished with Nightjars at Fritham Plain.

In between were plenty of highlights, the pick of which were Long-tailed Duck and Avocets on Keyhaven Lagoon, nesting LRPs and GSWs at Blashford, Turtle Doves at Martin Down and Redstarts and Wood Warblers around Nomansland.

Full species list:
Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe
Cormorant, Little Egret, Grey Heron,
Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Brent Goose
Shelduck, Mandarin, Mallard, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Long-tailed Duck,
Buzzard, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk,
Red-legged Partridge, Pheasant,
Coot, Moorhen,
Oystercatcher, Avocet, Little Ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Lapwing, Dunlin, Redshank, Curlew,
Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great black-backed Gull, Herring Gull,
Common Tern, Little Tern
Collared Dove, Woodpigeon, Stock Dove, Feral Pigeon, Turtle Dove
Swift, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker,
Skylark, Sand Martin, House Martin, Swallow, Meadow Pipit, Tree Pipit,
Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Redstart, Stonechat,
Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Blackbird,
Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Cetti's Warbler, Wood Warbler,
Spotted Flycatcher, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Bearded Tit, Nuthatch, Treecreeper,
Magpie, Jay, Rook, Jackdaw, Raven, Carrion Crow,
Starling, House Sparrow,
Chaffinch, Siskin, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Bullfinch, Linnet,
Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, Nightjar

A huge 95 species seen. Birds heard only were Goldcrest, Crossbill, Tawny Owl, Lesser Whitethroat.

Also saw Roe and Fallow Deer to cap off a massive effort. Pictures to follow!

Grey Wags

This is a Grey Wagtail family from Franchises Wood. The two adults were making a big fuss and I realised why as the recently fledged juv. burst out from under my feet. I could sense things were about to kick off, so I got out of there fast.

Juvenile


Adult Male


Adult Female

Cetti

Had a bash around Fishlake Meadows at dusk this evening. There were more singing Cetti's and Reed Warblers than you could shake a stick at. Fair play given the cold winter. I had at least a dozen singing Cetti's. This is the best site I know for a bird which is gradually creeping northwards.

Plenty of Cuckoo activity to. Not surprising given the big supply of Reed Warbler nests to parasitise. These weren't the target species, though.



Neither was this gang of drake Mallards.

Or this 'some kind of goat'.



It was the gropper I was after. Fishlake offers perfect habitat for this skulker, but on this occasion, I didn't manage to catch sight nor sound of it. There's a few other places I might try locally. Birding would be too easy if you always saw what you were after anyway.

I had a hobby fly over in the dying light to end a pleasant evening walk.

Franchises Wood

I had a few walks through Franchises Wood in the winter and found it a bit devoid of bird life. This isn't the case at the moment. I ran through there this evening and the wildlife was of such quality that i was soon regretting not bringing bins and camera.

There were Kestrels and Cuckoos on the edge of the wood, a superb singing Grey Wagtail and the biggest concentration of butterflies I've seen yet this year. I heard and subsequently saw a group of 4 Crossbills fly overhead and then refound the 2 singing Wood Warblers I'd noticed yesterday. A dozen Fallow Deer and another Wood Warbler later, I emerged out of the wood and returned to Nomansland via Bramshaw Wood where a Marsh Tit and a very angry Green Woodpecker escorted me home.

Fire and brimstone

Bashed out a big 14 mile run in the Sun this afternoon, taking me over FranchisesWood, Islands Thorns Enclosure and Holly Hatch Enclosure. I wasn't birding, but still heard 5 Wood Warblers over the course of the run. Also, the usual - Redstarts, Blackcaps and Garden Warbler amongst the more common fare.

Had a cuckoo over the horse paddocks at The Gate House this afternoon. We've got a pair of Swallows nesting in the Stables, and there were plenty of Brimstones in the garden today.

Nightjar Run

A perfect evening for Nightjars last night so I ran across Fritham Plain with my camera hoping to catch up with them again. The Forest was still alive with bird song at quarter past nine with Cuckoo and Dartford Warbler being the pick of the dusk chorus. There was also just enough light for me to pick out a Woodlark on the heath only a dozen yards from the track.

I reached the spot where I had heard a Nightjar churring in a few nights ago, and didn't have to wait too long. I picked out a ghostly shape in the distance heading straight towards me. The bird flew within a couple of metres of me - perhaps just checking me out, or perhaps mistaking my pale arms for the display of another male Nightjar? Either way, I wasn't complaining after great views of an elusive bird. After 5 minutes of quiet, I then heard the classic churring of a nearby Nightjar. Managed to glimpse the silhouette of a bird on a dead branch and catch a bit of video before it flew off.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnoZtKQ31S8

As I ran back, I heard at least 2 more birds churring, and got reasonable views of another. They should be still around for the X-man's visit next week. Check out the video compilation of sights and sounds!

Strange Sounds of the Night

Fritham Plain is only a few miles from Nomansland so I've headed there a few times for evening runs. On previous times it had been cold and windy, but yesterday at dusk, it was warm and still, excellent conditions for certain crepuscular heathland birds.

I parked by the Oak and headed onto the Plain at about 9 p.m., greeted by a dusk chorus of Song Thrushes, Chaffinches, Robins and a Redstart. When the Sun went down, though, it was a stranger chorus alltogether. First the bubbling call of a Curlew, a few pairs of which breed on the bogland in these parts. Then a bizarre 'drumming', which signalled the presence of some displaying Snipe, another breeding wader.

I'd about given up on the true target species, though, when i heard a very faint churring sound.
My imagination? No, there it was again. A quick scramble across some heather and there it was agian, but louder this time, and now unmistakeable. Nightjar. The goat sucker. The last time I'd encountered this species was in the Cevennes many years ago, and that memory has almost faded. I crept across the heather towards the constant churring, and was rewarded, as in the dying light, the bird's silhouette appeared above the skyline. In the few seconds it was in view, it gave a wing-clapping display and then dropped away and began churring somewhere else.

The goat sucker is a summer visitor and another New Forest speciality, the old name deriving from an old belief that they sucked Goat's milk at night. A very mysterious bird, I'll hopefully get a few more chances to catch up with them this spring.