Another visit to Woolmer Pond.

Friday 28th October 2022.

Honey Fungus growing at Woolmer Pond.

It was northbound late this morning as Andy and myself took another trip to Woolmer Pond and Forest, hoping to catch up with some of our winter visitors and hopefully, a good selection of Fungi to look at (sad as I am!). Though the weather was good, with temperatures in the late teens, the birdlife was a little sparse at times with long periods of hardly seeing any birds; however, there were some quality birds around on our walk around the Pond and through the Forest and back.

Above, a female Stonechat and below, a small flock of Linnets. The area where these birds would normally be well underwater by now, but the long dry summer has greatly reduced the water level here. 

Both Red Kite and Common Buzzard were seen on the way up the A3, though only a few distant Red Kites were seen in the Woolmer Pond area. We did get to see our first Fieldfares of the season, when four birds flew over ‘chacking’ and heading off southbound until plummeting down into the trees as if a raptor was around. Both Siskins and Redpolls were heard flying over, but only the latter were actually seen. There were no wildfowl or waders on the Pond itself as far as we could see, but on the ever decreasing water level, nearby there were at least two Stonechats, a flock of around 8 Linnets and at least 4 Meadow Pipits on the short grassy areas.

Above and below, a Death Cap Toadstool. A very good reason why I do not pick Toadstools!

There were hardly any birds within the Cottage garden and so we did not spend long there and so made our way through Woolmer Forest. A quick look on the neighbouring lake produced a solitary female Tufted Duck, but nothing else whatsoever. A few Coal Tits and Goldcrest were all we had while walking through the Forest (thank goodness for the Fungi) and when we got out on to the heath on the other side, all was pretty much quiet here. A lone Chaffinch flew over and a Great Spotted Woodpecker could be heard calling in the distance. No Harriers quartering the heath in the distance or a Great Grey Shrike perched on a small tree and so we made our way back through the Forest.

Above, a Common Earthball Toadstool. Below, Woolly Milkcap.

While I was checking out the Fungi on the Forest floor, Andy spotted a few Red Admiral butterflies fluttering about the woodland and then found a large Dragonfly resting in the branches of a Conifer. My guess, because of the size, was a female Emperor Dragonfly, but it was quite high up in the tree. There were a lot of Common Darter dragonflies around and the odd Migrant Hawker as well. I did take a lot of photos of the Toadstools present here, but there were so many around, which I found fascinating. However, they are not easy to identify and I used my Shroom ID App on my phone to help ID most of them.

Above, the dragonfly we found within Woolmer Forest was confirmed as a female Southern Hawker and below, the other side of the Forest.

As we made our way out of the Forest, I checked the large lake again and found not only a male Stonechat perched on the edge of the water but also a male Dartford Warbler that I quickly got Andy onto. The bird was searching for food by the look of things, keeping quite low in the vegetation, but too quick for a photo. No Woodlarks seen today, although I thought I heard one on the way back. We did see a few more Siskins, notably three birds on a conifer by the Cottage Garden, but apart from a large mixed flock of Rooks and Jackdaws north of the Cottage, little else was seen.

Above, Rosy Brittlegill Toadstool and below, Saffron Milk Cap.

Once we got back to the car, we checked the location of the Yellow-browed Warbler in Leigh Park that was reported earlier. I knew the road where to park and so quickly headed down to the site. In fact, we had to do a bit of walking in the field where the new Reservoir was going to be built and followed the path down to a small river. There we were joined by another birder looking for the bird, but during the hour or so we were there, we only got a possible couple of glimpses of the bird. They are normally quite vocal, but there was no sound of the bird during the time we were there. I did see a possible flitting about in some trees and Andy had a small Warbler that was very pale underneath and sporting a bold eyestripe, but it flew into the neighbouring copse beside us. To add to the confusion, there were at least two Chiffchaffs there, but they were easy enough to ID. We gave it our best shot for an hour or so then headed back home. It seems there was no further report of the bird since this morning and another Yellow-browed Warbler had been found down the Canal Path at Titchfield Haven! We did hear and I had a fleeting glimpse of a Kingfisher at the Leigh Park site. 

Above, Star of Bethlehem growing near the pond and below, Honey Fungus was growing abundantly by the Pond.