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Mockbeggar Lake, Blashford & Ibsley Bridge, Ibsley, Hampshire.
I took the day off today to go and get as many month ticks
as possible and so I chose the New Forest to hopefully grab a few. It was a wet, damp drive to Mockbeggar Lake and I was praying the sun would come out soon before I started birding. Though when I arrived at Mockbeggar Lake, the rain had all but disappeared and so I spent the next 30 minutes scanning the water.
Month ticks were trickling on my month list with Grey Lag Goose (100+ present), but not a great deal of variety on the water. Coot numbers were in the hundreds and amongst them were good numbers of Mallard, Tufted Duck and Great Crested Grebe. Several Little Grebes were present near the shoreline. Waders included my first Little Ringed Plover of the month, several Redshanks and Lapwing and a lone Oystercatcher. Up to 10+ Common Terns were feeding over the north end of the lake but no Black Terns amongst them. Goldcrest, Blue and Great Tit, and a single juvenile Blackcap were also added onto the list, which was in nearby trees where I stood. Finally, a Kestrel was seen hovering at the north end of the lake near the gardens.
From Ibsley Bridge, at least 100+ Sand Martens were hawking insects over the River Avon and the surrounding countryside. These will be shortly on their way south I presume. A couple of Common Whitethroats were seen looking for insects within the foliage close by and a Sedge Warbler was in full song within the nearby reeds. A female Sparrowhawk flew overhead, putting the Sand Martens into a panic, until the bird disappeared into the trees.
At last, the Mandarins are showing again on the Pond with two females showing well on the water. A fellow birder from Norfolk who was down on vacation, joined me in a chat and whilst in conversation, a Hobby flew over the woods heading south.
A walk through the woods was rather quiet, but I did notch up a Nuthatch (1st of the month) but very little else.
Back at the Pond, I managed to see a Grey Wagtail below some vegetation to the left of where I stood. On the drive out, a pair of Hobbies flew low over the trees, just drifting in the sky.
I was hoping to get Stonechat and Dartford Warbler at Blackgutter Bottom and so took a soggy stroll down the hill to view from the gorse bushes. It didn’t take long for me to hear a Dartford Warbler as eventually, a bird flew out of the gorse and conveniently perched on a nearby gorse sprig. This looked to be a young male bird as it called repeatedly then flew deep within the bushes. There was no sign whatsoever of a Stonechat on the heath which was surprising, but I was to see some later this morning.
I wanted to go to Boldrewood for the Firecrests but Milkham Inclosure looked ripe for Crossbills and Coal Tits and so I parked up in the car park and went for a walk. Just stepping out of the car, I clocked my first Stonechats of the month, a male and female near the edge of the car park upon the heath. Good start.
Walking along the main footpath, all was very quiet so I turned round after around 500 yds and then walked back to the car. A calling Crossbill was heard but I couldn’t locate it until I saw a large finch high up within a conifer and it then flew over the footpath and landed in a tree close by. It was a female bird, which looked as though it was either nest building or feeding chicks. Probably the former. A male bird was seen near by and showed very well, exposed by the bare branches on the edge of the conifer. I heard a Coal Tit nearby but never saw the bugger and so I walked back to the car and headed to Boldrewood.
As expected, the place was full of holidaymakers walking around the woodland, but most viewing the deer within the fields. I walked through the wood and picked out several Coal Tits feeding high up within the trees but no sign whatsoever of any Firecrests. I might have seen a Spotted Flycatcher but the sod wouldn’t sit still and flew off into the woodland. This would have been a year tick for me but yet one still eluded me! There, the birding ended and I was thankful for a good selection of species.
