Sunday 23rd April – New Forest Leader Jane Cumming

Six members gathered at the entrance to Ashley Walk in the New Forest for this all day walk on a somewhat cloudy morning. A distant cuckoo set us off to a good start while others subsequently notified us of their presence by ‘cuckooing’ and occasionally showing well. Linnets, Goldfinch and several Blackcaps treated us to song while further down the valley Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers competed. A couple of Green Woodpeckers gave off powerful yaffles while towards the end a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew across our path. Redstarts betrayed occasional presence with song and fleeting glimpses. Other songsters included Wren and Song Thrush, the latter sometimes sounding Nuthatch-like. Lunchtime was probably our peak moment. Sitting on a ridge overlooking extensive gorse bushes, we hoped to see one of our key species – Dartford Warbler. Sure enough one suddenly popped up giving us a brief display, unfortunately missed by one member. But alas, our other key species, Woodlark, failed to show any sign of its presence despite thoroughly searching the forest lawns.
We walked along mostly gravel tracks, steep in places, down to the valley bottom where a quick splash saw us across the small burn, amidst greening trees. Ponies were all around but gave us no trouble. Alas, no adders on show today but a spectacular Brimstone butterfly did a fly past across a sunny glade. Then, just as we reached our cars, the first raindrops fell – we were very lucky for this lovely walk, sadly not enjoyed by more members. 37 species in total. (thanks to Jane for leading). Wendy Dickson