OWN TRANSPORT TRIP TO NEW FOREST - Thursday February 8th 2007
Thursday, 8 February 2007
Despite overnight snow enveloping much of the country, Salisbury and surrounding districts got away with only a light covering fortunately. The day remained dry, cold and sunny. However, only 8 hardy souls arrived at Cadman's Pool for a morning investigating the mostly beech woodland here. An excellent start, even before we left the car park, had us enjoying 2 first winter Goosanders with the Mallards on the Pool. We walked only 200 yards down into the wood before discovering a ground feeding flock of about 100 birds. These were mostly Blue Tits, Great Tits and Chaffinches, although a Marsh Tit, several Coal Tits and a Nuthatch paid intermittent visits. The hoped-for Brambling was eventually found amongst an even larger flock several hundred yards further along the path, when an elusive female, feeding with probably 150 Chaffinches, put in a appearance long enough to allow us all a view. One participant also had a brief look at a male bird. A generally rectangular walk, remaining out of the wind, and always above Dockens Water allowed us good views of many of the regular woodland species, and shortly before turning back uphill to the car park 7 Hawfinches were seen in flight, with four obligingly perching up to allow good looks through the telescope.
The post lunch session took in Broomy, and was much quieter, only Fieldfare (a single bird with 40 Redwings), being added as a new species for the day. However, Hawfinches were again in evidence, both at the beginning and end of the walk.
Additional species :- LT Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Wren, Robin, Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, Treecreeper, Herring Gull, Moorhen, Goldcrest, Rook, Jay, Crow, Jackdaw, Magpie, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Wood Pigeon, Stock Dove, Meadow Pipit, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush (35 species in total).
Reported by Steve Oakes
