Dave
Mead and the Newish Forest
Dave
has been interested in birds since, nearly the age
of nought, his father being a gamekeeper, whose philosophy
in those days was, ‘if in doubt, kill’,
and Dave’s mother who used to make Goldfinch
Pie, or indeed, a dinner out of near anything that
used to breathe. They would catch birds in the garden,
as did many others in harder times, and so Dave became
an expert on birds and ‘little brown jobs’,
from an early age.
Times
change, which is as well. (Although we still know
a gamekeeper who insists on shooting Nightjars, because
it has a hooked beak, and he refuses to listen, read
or heed.) Birds that once were plentiful are now much
scarcer. Dave has the keen honed eyes, that I can
never emulate. On numerous occasions, he has pointed
out a Little Owl, and invariably, I ask him to ‘get
it in the scope’. Then, if I look vigilantly,
I can just make out a distant branch, maybe a quarter
of a mile distant, that is in fact a Little Owl, yet
he has located it with his ancient binoculars.
Whilst
very young, he became a proficient drawer of wildlife
at school, but relates that his art teacher became
curious that all the creatures were sketched with
their heads hanging limply down. It turned out he
was doing still-life drawings of still-dead creatures;
all the creatures that he came across were dead, and
for art purposes, he knew no different.
Dave
is the field guide leader for Portsmouth RSPB. Nobody
knows Hampshire and West Sussex better than him, being
out and about in all weathers, 7 days a week, from
6 am. Though he tours Britain, he has no interest
in going abroad on a nature holiday, has no passport,
and remains happy to this day, observing our ever-changing
seasons. Unlike most others, he only records birds
that he sees, does not include those he hears, but
despite this, he still clocked up 107 ticks during
one day in 2005, walking the forest and the nearby
coastline.
Whenever we wealthy southerners talk
of ‘the forest’ we mean the New Forest.
This matchless area is a mere 45 minutes drive from
Hayling Island.
If you fritter away a day birdwatching
in the forest and see virtually nothing of note, it
will remain a memorable day. There is an ambience
about the place, which is ever-present. This may be
due to its historical perspective. Maybe it should
be called the ‘Newish Forest’, as the
word ‘New’ was coined in 1079 by William
the Conqueror when adopted as a royal hunting preserve.
Maybe it is the sheer size, 100,000 acres. Maybe it
is the fact that this is the largest area of heathland
in Europe, whilst the 150 acres of wood is all that
remains of the ancient forest that at one time covered
the south of England. It could be to do with the famed
wild ponies, in truth owned by 400 commoners exercising
their ancient right to graze their animals, which
includes pigs and cattle.
Your
experience of the forest may be peak-summer, hitting
a bottle-neck at Lyndhurst (the crossroads in the
heart of the region) then finding a car park, and
being surrounded with hundreds of people and ice-cream
vans, and here you are, trying to get away from it
all.
However,
should you walk 500 yards from the car park, you will
attain seclusion. There are plenty of paths, but Dave
once took me to an unknown location in the forest,
with a totally different habitat to the rest of the
forest area, and in the space of a mile, we saw, or
rather he pointed out to me, 62 species of birds,
which is more like an exceptional walk along a seashore.
www.forestry.gov.uk/forestry/infd-6adggr
http://www.thenewforest.co.uk
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NEW
FOREST WALK WITH A DIFFERENCE
This
winter (2005/2006) has been the quietest I can remember
for bird life in the New Forest. No Tit flocks, no
Finch flocks and very few Thrushes either. But there
are some to be found if you go to the right places,
and one such place is in the very south of the forest
near Exbury.
Start
your walk from Dark Water Car Park on the road from
Holbury to Exbury SU433014 . After checking the bushes
round the car park, go out onto the road and turn
right. After about 300 yards turn right again onto
a gravel track, check the field on the right for Partridges
and Finches. You soon come to Gatewood Farm, where
I have seen Little Owl in the barn on the left, and
two winters ago a Black Redstart was present around
the farmhouse.
After
passing a couple of cottages, view the house paddocks
and sheep filed on the left for winter thrush flocks,
also another chance for Little Owl on the fence posts.
As you proceed along the track you pass through a
narrow belt of woodland with maize crops on both sides
and it is this area where you are most likely to find
mixed Finch flock, predominantly Chaffinch but with
plenty of Brambling with them, also smaller numbers
of Redpolls (with at least one Meally) Goldfinches,
Greenfinches and Reed Buntings.
The whole area is good for raptors
with plenty of Buzzards, regular Sparrowhawk, Peregrine
and Kestrel and also the chance of a Merlin harassing
the Finches.
Continue
to the end of the gravel track, passing a very good
weedy set-a-side field on the right with more Finch
flocks possible and turn left onto the road. Walk
south down the road passing Exbury Gardens until you
come to a very minor “No through road”
on the right. Walk down this road where you should
see all the usual woodland birds with a chance of
Hawfinch and even Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. At the
end of the road, SU417004, you can view the Beaulieu
River and add more species to your list. From here,
it’s about turn and retrace your route back
to Dark Water Car Park.
This
walk is not recommended when Exbury Gardens are open
to the public as some of the fields along the gravel
track are used for car parking. It gets very busy.
Dave Mead
So,
there you have it. Normally, this should give you
a quiet and bird-packed scenic walk, but avoid this
in the spring and early summer, instead go the Gardens
itself. In truth, not good for British wildlife, but
Exbury is regarded as the most spectacular Rhododendron
Garden in the world. Exbury
With lakes and azaleas to boot, take a picnic, then
go on to the coast and Lepe, an area of outstanding
beauty, good for birdwatching and the closest views
on the mainland of the Isle of Wight www.hants.gov.uk/countryside/lepe/
. Is there possibly anything else you want, or is
there no pleasing you?
http://www.newforestexplorersguide.co.uk/
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