Friday 26 July – Acres Down, New Forest Leader: Jane Cumming

Were the five members who braved the heavy traffic on the first school holiday weekend foolhardy, or did the hope of New Forest specialities make up for the lengthy drive? Well, we did have two distant views of Goshawk although the wished for Honey Buzzard failed to appear. Spotted Flycatchers performed well as did the Stock Dove in their display flights and Ravens flew nearby with their raucous ‘kronking’ calls. Further on a pair of Bullfinch flew from the heathland into the trees, while Stonechat and Linnet moved between the bushes. The woods proved to be more productive giving two Firecrest, four each of Marsh Tit and Nuthatch and a single Treecreeper. After a late lunch we fought with the traffic on the A31 and made our way to Martin Down just south of Salisbury with the idea of searching for Turtle Dove and Grey Partridge. Neither were found with the grass being too high to see the secretive partridges but the songs of Yellowhammer and Skylark brightened up the afternoon. Hobby and Kestrel appeared along with about 100 Swift feeding and soaring high above the woods. Overall 43 species were seen. Thanks to Jane for leading. Keith Williams