27 – 30 July Dockens Water, New Forest
I was away on holiday for a week down in the
New Forest with my wife Jacky – so a “busmans” holiday. It was a very relaxed
few days on the edge of the beautiful New Forest & we were able to catch up
with a few nice birds & quite a few dragonflies & butterflies, although
latter had sadly been quite reduced in numbers by the poor wet summer. We also
managed to catch up with our good friends Simon Woolley & Julia Casson,
whom provided good tips, food on at least two occasions, bicycles & great
close ups of their foxes! Overall we had good weather with mainly dry days,
some sunny spells & a few isolated showers.
Our first 3 days were spent at Dockens Water
SU195112, we stayed in a lovely log cabin on the edge of the heath – a
brilliant spot for moths, birds & very quiet but within walking distance of
a good pub! If you like rustic accommodation this is for you -http://www.cottageguide.co.uk/dockenswater/. Nearby pub was short walk & good for a pint & food, the High Corner Inn.
Over the 3 days by
sitting around & wandering on to the adjacent area & walking 3-4 miles
we recorded over 60 species of birds, notable species were a family of Spotted
Flycatcher, plus Grey Wagtail both breeding around the grounds of the
accommodation. Crossbill, Hobby, Kingfisher, Nightjar, Siskin, Redstart, lots
of Stonechat & Woodlark. We also noted Silver Studded Blue, Keeled Skimmer
very close to the accommodation.
The moth trap was ran 2 evenings &
provided around 40 species of macro moth around 250 individuals, including the
following notable species – True Lovers Knot 115 on the 29th, Dark
Tussock, Svensson’s Copper Underwing, Beautiful Hooktip, Rosy Footman, August
Thorn, July Belle, Oak Eggar 6 on 28th, Peppered Moth (insularia form), The Drinker, Daek
Tussock, Beautiful Yellow Underwing, Fenn’s Wainscot
& Garden Tiger.
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Buff Tip |
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Dark Tussock |
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Nut tree Tussock |
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Oak Eggar |
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Garden Tiger |
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The Drinker |
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Pebble Prominent |
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Lesser Swallow Prominent |
On the 29th we also spent a nice afternoon wandering around Cadmans Pool, Anses
Wood & Sloden Enclosure with Simon & Julia – birds of note were 4+ Redstart, 1 juv Tree Pipit, 4+ Stonechat, Curlew
with young. A few insects 6+ Silver-studded
Blue, 2+ Beautiful Demoiselle & 4+ Keeled Skimmer.
30th July - 3rd August Furse Hill, South Gorley
This is another timber
lodge, quite upmarket inside, well fitted out with plasma TV & high
definition Sky (nice as we atched quite a bit of the Olympics!), good kitchen,
bedroom & shower room. It’s much more semi-natural habitat & not
immediately adjacent to heathland like Dockens water.
Once we had unloaded into
the lodge, we then headed over to Martin Down, numbers were low for this
location - one of the UK’s best butterfly sites. But we still had a lovely
afternoon, chasing insects with the cameras! Marbled White c20, Dark Green
Frittilary c12, Chalkhill Blue 2, Brimstone 4, plus commoner species. Birds of
note were 2 Turtle Dove, 2 Raven, 1 male Redstart & 4 Yellowhammer. We did
head over to Latchmore brook a location I have visited before to see Scarce
Blue-tailed Damselfly but possibly due to the weather conditions & being a
little late in the season we failed to find any, in fact this site was fairly
quiet with no Beautiful Demoiselle noted either.
|
Chalkhill Blue |
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Marbled White |
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Comma |
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Brimstone |
Our highlights were Black
Arches, Feathered Beauty (4), Scalloped Hook-tip & Brussels Lace.
We headed out on a cycle
ride in the afternoon across the New Forest, we didn’t see anything too
different, but did note 5 Woodlark as we crossed Beaulieu Heath.
On the 1st
August we headed down to the beautiful Dorset coastline. We walked out through
Durlston CP to Worth Matravers, along the spectacular coastal path. The spread
of wildflowers up the cliffside fields is lovely & it would be easy to
imagine 100’s of butterflies flitting across these fields. However, most of the
day was cloudy & we limited to small no’s as & when the sun popped out!
Good no’s of Marbled White, plus a scattering of commoner species. Peregrine
were much in evidence with at least 3 pairs & several juveniles, a pair of
Raven a relative newcomer to this area, plenty of Buzzard, numerous Stonechat, a few Yellowhammer
plus an early migrant Wheatear flitted along the hedgeline.
In the evening we enjoyed fine food at our friends house Simon & Julia Woolley - plus had a wonderful time watching a family of Foxes - see the video below.
On our final day -
Thursday 2nd August, we headed over to Crockford bridge with cameras
to hand, the weather suitable for insects & photography! After a bit of
searching we find a sheltered spot near the bridge just behind a belt of trees,
around a dozen Beautiful Demoiselle were active, plus a Golden Ringed Dragonfly
– the two species I had hoped we might photograph. Several other commoner
species were active, including a nice smart male Broad-bodied Chaser, the wet
heathland nearby held Keeled Skimmer & 2-3 Silver-studded Blue. Also 3-4
Dartford Warbler were noted, plus Woodlark.
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Beautiful Demoiselle |
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Golden ringed Dragonfly |
Obviously there are lots
of sites in the New Forest & Dorset but if you want a nice mix of insects
& birds in July/August then by visiting Martin Down, Durlston CP, Crockford
Bridge, Beaulieu heath you are guaranteed to see a really wide cross section.
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