APRIL'S SPRING VISIT TO DENNY WOOD

The sunshine had begun to draw visitors to the New Forest and, as we drew close to the pines

surrounding Shattertford car park, a gaggle of back-packing ramblers staggering along the road-side

was probably the cause of the sudden flight of a pair of Curlews. They rose from the marshy heath,

where they had been feeding, probably calling noisily but we, in the car were unable to hear them.

This is one of the few sites in the New Forest, where they still breed. Unfortunately for the rest of

our group, that was the last we saw of these birds but, for the next few weeks, a visitor to this area

can hope to see the Curlews in their circling display flights, trilling their wild songs.

Denny Wood Ahead (John Hawke)

In the car park, people were already listening to the high-pitched song of Goldcrest wheedling

through the needles and were craning necks, trying to catch a glimpse of it. The glimpse was

provided as it moved to another tree to disappear again. High over our heads, a Peregrine circled

against the blue as it drifted slowly towards the east. We listened for Crossbills, too, at this regular

site for them, but no luck, this time. The ground was strewn with crunchy pine cones but I could

find only squirrel-gnawed, rather than Crossbill-levered ones. We saw no squirrels during our visit,

though. I wondered if their winter survival rates have been affected by the poor acorn and mast

crop, last autumn. In many places, they cannot have found much to store in the leaf-litter .

Chaffinch

The track leading from the car park, parallel with the railway, is, in springtime often a reliable place

to find House Martins collecting mud from puddle edges but, so far, this year, when so many things

seem to be a little late, there are few House Martins about and none were seen during our visit, only

a lone Swallow. From the station, though, came the descending silvery song of Willow Warbler atop

a leafless tree and bright Chaffinches hopped about the car park, in search of fallen pine seeds...or

any crumbs left by human visitors.

We set out, in the direction of Denny Wood, our group of 14, straggling through open heath and

scanning horizons for bird-life.

Nothing.

In this place, I've watched a Hobby catching migrating Painted Ladies or small flocks of them,

chasing damsel and crane flies; more than once, there has been a Red-footed Falcon associating

with them. One might see seagull-grey male Hen Harriers floating over the heather, looking for

Meadow Pipits. This winter, again, a Great Grey Shrike has been chasing small birds, crunching

beetles and bees and pouncing on lizards (and was reported in the area the day after our visit!).

Stonechats and even Dartford Warblers may sing from the heather while Tree Pipits spring into the

air for their song flights and parachute back to their tree-top perches. I once missed seeing a Little

Swift by only a few minutes, at this site, but, this day, the heath seemed innocent of visible birds.

Even the Curlews, seen from the road, earlier, had now disappeared.

Far-off, there were circling Buzzards, distant Kestrel, Crows and a passing gull, or two. We were

optimistic, though and, as we approached the eaves of Denny Wood, we began to hear birdsong

welcoming us from the interior and, from around 100 metres away, we could distinguish the loud

voices of Blackbird, Great Tit and, one of our target-birds, Redstart.

Close to the wood, a short-turfed area had attracted a lone male Wheatear, which ran, athletically,

after spiders and flies. A pair of Meadow Pipits showed that the heath wasn't quite a bird-free zone,

after all.

Passing through the beautiful fringe of Birches, we were immersed in bird-sound. There was the

base-note drumming of a Greater Spotted Woodpecker, hammering on a resonant tree; a Green

Woodpecker called briefly then, eventually, allowed itself an echoing cackle; a Stock Dove gave an

owlish coo. Wood Pigeon, Robin, Wren, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Bluetit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Tree

Creeper, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Lesser Redpoll and chuckling Jackdaws were all heard

and seen, eventually, by most people as we spent some time trying to get more than twig-screened

glimpses of singing male Redstarts. It was in trying to see these birds that we found many of the

others. I watched a pair of Greater Spotted Woodpeckers mating on the ground then foraging there.

Other tree-trunk scalers, such as Tree Creeper and Nuthatch were difficult to pin down but were

found, eventually. A Mistle Thrush rattled a warning but wasn't seen and a Song Thrush sang,

distantly. A pair of Marsh Tits moved quickly through, their black caps gleaming in the sunlight, but

didn't give good views to many.

The loud, short songs of the Redstarts were coming from several places but the long-distant

migrants which bring a touch of tropical African colour with them were not easy to get a good view

of. One male persisted in singing from thickets of twigs through which we had to obtain a tiny

window of visibility. As soon as this had been done, off he went, to sing again from a similarly

difficult-to-see position. Off trooped the group, to begin more manoeuvring for position and calling-

out instructions to each other. “Behind that branch.” I heard someone say as we stared into the

thickly-grown crown of an Oak Tree. Some directions were more helpful.

Male Wheatear Female Redstart Male Redstart

Eventually, though, the Redstarts rewarded our persistence by giving great views and all were able

to watch their tail-quivering and occasional flashes of rusty-red, when the tail was spread. We

watched a male showing his mate or prospective mate the local real estate, for her critical eye to

approve or reject.

There were plenty of holes to choose from. The local woodpeckers had been busy and much timber

in this wood has been allowed to age and die, naturally, providing holes and crevices resulting from

the snapping of dead limbs and trunks and fungal invasion. It was noticeable, though, that there is

little sign of natural recruitment of new trees; most seedlings are quickly grazed out by deer, ponies

and cattle. We found a huge, ancient Silver Birch. A large Birch tree isn't enormous when compared

with the likes of mature Beech or Oak but, this one was truly impressive...for a Birch. They are

first-comers; germinating and growing quickly, whenever their wind-borne seeds settle on bare

ground, with little competition. After a fire, perhaps. Later, they are overwhelmed and

overshadowed by bigger, true forest species and undergrowth and die. They generally live just a

human life-span, so, for this individual to survive so long probably indicates the lack of competition

it has experienced, from invading forest trees, thanks to grazing.

Certainly, there has been no shortage of Jays or squirrels to plant mast and acorns. Only on the open

heathlands, amongst the heather, were saplings common. These, though, are invading Scots Pine

which, if left unchecked by fire and manual weeding and cutting, would quickly turn many heaths

into dense pinewoods. The New Forest Commoners want open ground for livestock to graze and

conservationists want to keep and extend the lowland heath, a rare and threatened habitat, for the

benefit of many species, from Emperor Moths to Dartford Warblers.

Once, I encountered a collection of people walking from this heath, carrying sacks or pushing

wheelbarrows loaded with just-dug pine saplings. Apparently, they were members of a bonsai tree

society who had obtained permission to collect some raw material for their hobby. A useful coming

together of aims.

We met a couple of birders who were glowing with the pleasure of finding a Tawny Owl (yet

another bird which usually nests in tree-holes) so we changed our plans to incorporate a search for

this well-known but seldom-seen species.

We pressed on into the wood, through a glade of what had been monumental Beech Trees, to judge

from the size of the remaining, mouldering stumps. One of them, though, remained upright and

alive. Unlike many of the older New Forest trees, this one had never been pollarded and soared

magnificently to around 40 metres. A tree of this size must be well over 200 years old. It was

showing signs of old age, though and Jackdaws hung around various crevices and holes up near the

crown. A nearby broken-off trunk was being used as a probable nest site by a pair of Kestrels and

Stock Doves were nearby, also users of such sites for their nests. Hence the name: the dove which

nests in stocks, i.e. tree stumps. The lack of old trees in the countryside (they are so frequently

removed or lopped as soon as they show signs of old age) is probably a significant factor, limiting

Stock Dove numbers. They can be versatile. I once saw a pair emerging from a Rabbit hole, on the

Isle of Sheppy. Such ground-nesting birds must be more vulnerable, though.

Our route took us close to one of the many New Forest camp sites. The pony-cropped lawns about

the camper-vans and caravans were just the thing for a Pied Wagtail to sprint over. Those familiar

commensals of people, Starlings were poking around and visiting nest holes and a pair of Jackdaws

was seen to carry nest material into an old woodpecker nest, from which they emerged into

everyone's view. It seemed to be a very tight squeeze. A couple of Rooks were digging pick-axe

beaks into the turf. Next to a roadside stall, a bird feeder attracted another pair of neat Marsh Tits,

which everyone saw, this time.

The directions, we had been following were beginning to seem a little vague and ambiguous. There

were many parked vehicles of the kind we had been told to look for and we could see any number

of trees with bits of wood leaning against them so we began to retrace our steps. This was lucky: we

hadn't gone far when we spotted our helpful birders staring up into another large Beech Tree. There

was the Owl. We were all able to closely examine the beautifully intricate mix of white, brown,

cream, fawn and black of the Tawny Owl's plumage. As a bonus, unlike so many owls seen in

daylight, it's eyes were wide open and it looked about. It demonstrated the famously owlish ability

to turn its head all the way to the rear. With a deceptively gentle, dark gaze, seemingly unconcerned

about the cluster of people below, it looked at us and we made an anthropomorphic connection with

this genuine Olly Beak. Perhaps its tolerance of us was because it was used to people from the camp

site walking nearby.

Oh, come on, surely I'm not the only one who remembers hand-puppet, Olly Beak who, with his

friend, the shaggy dog, Fred Barker, starred in the mid 1960's “Five O'Clock Club” children's t.v.

programme? It was a real hoot!

These are very much woodland owls, though tree belts and wooded lanes through agricultural lands

will serve their purposes. Yet again, a species which needs old trees where it is more likely to find

suitable nesting holes. I wonder whoo wins in a confrontation for the same site between Jackdaw

and Tawny Owl. Is the owl ejackted and shown the daw or is the Jackdaw given the bhoot?

Tawny Owl (John Hawke)

Anyway...we eventually tore ourselves away and moved on, through the wood. Progress was less

difficult than in many woods elsewhere because the ponies (mostly) have cleared much of the

undergrowth one normally expects in such places, even creating a browse line of open space, above

head-hight. This allows good visibility and ease of walking but reduces cover and food supply for

much wildlife. Areas in the Forest which have been fenced to exclude grazing animals show a

dramatically increased amount of undergrowth and woodland flora.

Jackdaw Wren Stonechat Cuckoo Willow Warbler

Nuthatch

O.k. not all of these images were taken during our walk but all were actually taken in and around

Denny Wood and all, in one way or another, were encountered by us.

A small area of bog, not far from the camp site was being dabbled by a pair of Mallards, which

departed as we approached. A Green Woodpecker bounced through the air and a couple of Jays

were seen. Near the edge of the wood, we heard, far off and briefly what was, for most, if not all,

our first Cuckoo of the year.

The Wheatear, was perched in a tree as we emerged into the open and posed for photographs before

spotting something edible on the track below then returning to the same place we'd spotted it on the

way in. Linnet and Skylark were noted. At the edge of the heath we found, at last, at least 2 male

Stonechats, though the warmth of the sunshine was making their images wavery. While most of the

group hurried back for lunch, two people, trailing at the rear, saw a Common Snipe in flight.

The detour occasioned by the quest for the Tawny Owl had altered our original plan, of completing

a circuit to take in some marshy heath, streams, coniferous woodland and a walk alongside the

railway as we returned to the car park but I don't think many were disappointed with what we

found. I suppose, there could have been a Lapwing, or two, possible Firecrest and Siskin and even a

wintering Great Grey Shrike, which was reported as still present, the next day.

Great Grey Shrike; one we missed. This, the Ashley Warren bird, from 2012.

After returning to the car park, most decided to return home, some visiting other sites, on the way.

Our car was driven back, along the Beaulieu Rd. with a stop to view north, over a wide heath, to

wards the Beaulieu River Valley, in search of Dartford Warblers. None seen, but a very distant egret

near the small river, was probably a Little Egret.

We headed for Lower Test Marshes, and a Sparrowhawk was spotted, en route. Our exploration of

the marshes consisted of parking on the old bridge and scanning the horizons. It was a surprise to

find no waders in sight. The most numerous bird seemed to be feral pigeons which displayed, with

puffed-out necks and “pouted” breasts and seemed to be finding something of interest in the short

turf or on the mud. One Little Egret was seen, stalking shrimps, a pair, or two of Shelducks and

Mallards showed, in brief flights, one pair of Canada Geese and Black Headed, Herring, Lesser

Blackback and one Greater Blackback Gulls were seen, in the air. One possible Yellow-legged Gull

was with them. A disturbance amongst some distant Black-headed Gulls drew our attention and a

dot, circling and rising, rapidly, on thermal draughts was identified as a Peregrine Falcon, high over

the pylons. I remember seeing a Peregrine on those pylons during a group visit two or three years

ago. Eventually, the falcon made a huge stoop but the result of this dive is not known.

Atop one of the pylons, we made out the shapes of a pair of Ravens. It may very well be the case

that they have a nest on one of the pylons nearby. Another bird I remember seeing during the

previous RSPB group visit.

Raven, Peregrine, Little Egret; all birds I would have been very unlikely to see during a similar

visit, when I first came to Basingstoke, in the early 1970's, yet, now, they may be expected. Even

the Buzzard was unlikely outside the New Forest and Sparrowhawks were scarce. Some success,

then, as all were on this day's list.

We'll save the Goshawk, Honey Buzzard and Montagu's Harrier for next time.

Doug Kelson