Ten of us including three younger members, turned up today for a fantastic sunny walk in the New Forest. As soon as we all paid the new parking charges, we made our way down a gravel path where Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff were singing and we could hear a Cuckoo in the background. We came into a large area of Gorse in full bloom here and we immediately started to see birds flitting around, Robins, Blackcaps and Stonechats were observed. We heard a Chaffinch singing away and Jane pointed out it was odd because they do not like the spiny shrub. After a lot of searching we finally saw it perched in a single tree. We walked on further to a large clearing and many Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush and Meadow Pipits were observed. A Cuckoo was heard many times and finally after some bubbling trills (female) we saw one flying between trees. A raptor was spotted giving us all a debate on a Hobby or Sparrowhawk, but Hobby won. We made our way up the hill over a log across a stream and through the Gorse to have our picnic. Robin went looking for butterflies and spotted an Adder. After lunch we made our way back along the gravel path and were overjoyed when we saw a Dartford Warbler. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any Redstarts but Firecrest, Goldcrest and Treecreeper made up for it. Just before we got to the car our final bird was a Wheatear. A great list of 40 species and a lovely day. Thank you Jane for leading this fabulous walk and thank you all for coming so far. Caron Thornton -Trippit