The male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in the woodland at Acre's Down.
It was a cracking day in the New Forest and it was as simple as that. We had a target list of birds we were hoping to see and not only did we see them and see them well, we even had a bonus bird too on our final trip within the Forest. The weather was most certainly on our side though it did get a little bit windy and cold as the day progressed. It was the regular reports from the ‘Lazee Birders’ that got my appetite whetted for taking a trip to Acre’s Down for the Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers and boy, did we get to see them.
Our first male Firecrest of the day at Acre's Downs showed well and was soon joined by a female.
Siskin's were abundant here at Acre's Down.
This enigmatic little gem can be a real nightmare to find, being so small and tending to be in the tops of tall trees, around this time they can be located by their distinctive ‘drumming’ and calls and with no leaves on the trees still, one does have a fighting chance of locating and viewing them. On arrival, we parked up within the car park and grabbed the last space and made our way south down the woodland path leading to ‘the bend’. Coming across a fellow birder photographing something within a Holly Tree, it turned out to be a gorgeous male Firecrest and minutes later, a female joined the bird and flew off into the nearby woodland.
This male Common Crossbill popped in by 'the bend' and showed well to us.
Almost immediately, I heard several Great Spotted Woodpeckers ‘drumming’ in various areas of the woodland and then I picked up the ‘drumming’ of a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. A good start, although this one was distant. We decided to hang around ‘the bend’ area and waited, enjoying fresh coffee from my new flask and watching while good numbers of Siskin flying over and resting on the tops of trees. Common Crossbills also paid us a visit with at least 6 birds flying over and one superb male perching on top of a tree and showing superbly in the early morning sunshine.
More photos of the delightful male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.
We waited patiently for around 15 minutes or so and then we heard a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker ‘drumming’ not too far away. A few minutes later, Andy spotted something interesting fly up into a nearby tree and we quickly got onto the bird and then realised we were watching our first Lesser Spotted Woodpecker of the day, a female too. My 150th species of bird in the UK for the year had been achieved and we were STILL in February! This was a difficult bird to photograph, but I was to have much better luck as the morning progressed. A male bird eventually was picked up ‘drumming’ on a tall dead tree and in the sunshine - what a view! I managed to grab some nice photos and even some film footage of this miniature Woodpecker, but increasingly rare bird.
Some film footage of the 'drumming' Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.
This part of the Forest also produced some other goodies including a couple of female Bramblings feeding on the Forest leaf litter with a small group of Chaffinches. Both Nuthatches and Treecreepers were seen and at least 5 species of Titmice including a single Marsh Tit. I did see a Lesser Redpoll briefly, but it was too quick for me to grab a photo. Several Stock Doves flew over, but though this area is a real hot spot for Goshawks, none were seen. Another male Firecrest showed well for us while we were watching a male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker for 20 minutes or so by a huge fallen log and in amongst all this, Andy was doing his best Gollum impersonation from ‘Lord of the Rings’. Enjoy the film footage!
A female Brambling in the woodland at Acre's Down.
This Nuthatch posed nicely in the woodland.
Our next stop was to be at Bolderwood for Hawfinch and even though it was only 11am, I was somewhat surprised at how many people were there in the car park. We got lucky and found a convenient parking place and Andy suggested we buy an ice cream from the Van present before heading off into the Holly clump where many previous sightings of Hawfinch were obtained. It did not take long for me to spot one sitting out on a branch, but it soon flew off and so after finishing our ice -creams, we made our way deeper into the small woodland. I heard a Firecrest again overhead and sure enough, another male bird was flitting about just above our heads.
Good numbers of Hawfinch were present around the Holly Trees at Bolderwood.
Walking out into the sodden clearing, we clocked a small flock of 6 birds flying through the trees, but there were more around. A few more birds flew out of the trees and headed off deeper into the woodland, their calls and with even some singing, it was a pleasure to be among the UK’s largest finches. A Raven passed overhead heading west and a few Coal Tits were heard calling close by. We walked further north through the very wet grassy area and then Andy spotted at least two birds high up in trees until they eventually flew off. Superb, two birds we were hoping to see today came to fruition and merrily hopped on board our year lists.
This Redwing within the Holly Bushes was 'sub-singing'.
Beefcake Fungus growing on a fallen Beech Tree at Acre's Down.
One of the ‘Lazee Birders’ took some lovely photos of a male Hen-Harrier over Blackgutter Bottom yesterday and though it was a bit blowy and cold now, so I decided that we needed to give the area a try. They also saw a Merlin and Dartford Warblers here at the same location, but to see the Harrier and Merlin was going to be a long shot. We parked up carefully by the roadside and made our way down the track and took refuge from the wind by the Gorse Bushes. Here we waited for around 30 minutes, enjoying views of at least 6 Common Buzzards and a male Kestrel, but no other signs of any other raptors. A distant herd of Fallow Deer were grazing distantly on the slopes, happy in attendance with nearby Ponies, but little else of note as the cold started to settle in.
The 150th species us up for me with the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker sighting.
I got to the point where it was simply getting too cold and not a great deal else was happening and most of any raptor sightings (virtually all Common Buzzards) were distant, so we made our way back to the car. Nearing the road, I gave it one more sweep through my binoculars over the brow of the hill in the distance and low and behold, I gave the shout that I had a ‘ringtail’ Hen-Harrier flying low. Andy soon got onto the bird and amazingly, we had our third ‘year-tick’ of the day! The bird's white rump was seen a few times as she flew low over the heath and then twisted in mid-air and landed on the ground and out of view and that was the last we saw of it. Punching the air in delight, we went away from the New Forest with a big grin on our faces, reflecting on a superb day again. I put the Harrier sighting on the ‘Lazee Birders’ Whatsapp page and a little while later, someone said there were up to four birds there! Incredible.
Fallow Deer grazing out on the heath west of Blackgutter Bottom.
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