Great Grey Shrike

Blackwater Arboretum is a known place for seeing hawfinches coming into roost and there had also been reports of a lesser spotted woodpecker in the area, so we were hoping to see both during our trip.

On the journey over to Blackwater, we saw the unusual sight of a little egret on open heathland in Brockenhurst.

We started off our walk by heading towards the Arboretum and saw a tree creeper by the entrance.  Once inside, we waited for a while for the lesser spotted woodpecker but there was nothing to be seen, so we decided to cross the road and walk out the other side of the car park towards Poundhill Inclosure seeing a wood pigeon, robins and a jay on the way.

We had walked for quite a while without really seeing many birds although there were lots around as we could here them, so we decided to take a different route than originally planned to try to see some deer that a couple of members of the group had seen a few days earlier. 

We were glad we did make this change to our plans as quite a large flock of hawfinches were spotted high in a tree.  They were a lovely sight to see with their large beaks.

Pleased with seeing the hawfinches, we ventured on and as we came upon open heathland a fairly large light coloured bird was seen perched on top of a bush in the distance.  As we looked through our binoculars we could see it was a great grey shrike.  We walked slowly forward to see if we could get a closer view and he was very obliging and stayed put for us to get a few photographs before flying over our heads into a tall tree, again giving us an excellent view.

Seeing the shrike was certainly a bonus and we felt very pleased with ourselves as we walked on along a stream.  This fast flowing stream became very deep and still in one section and we could see around four or five frogs at the bottom, although they could have been toads as they were very dark in colour, but we could not get close enough to see for sure.

Up ahead something had disturbed a large group of fallow deer and they ran single file across the heath and circled in a clearing.

We found a suitable fallen tree to sit on whilst we had lunch where we could keep an eye out in case the shrike came back and we thought we saw him again, but it turned out to be a magpie with another three following it.  We were fooled as the shrike did look very magpie-like in flight with its long tail and black and white colouring.

After lunch we found our way across the source of the Lymington River and back on the main track where we stood for awhile in a small wooded area between the track and a field watching and listening to the birds.

The eerie sound of a greater spotted woodpecker drumming echoed through the trees and we saw him settle on a branch and start to preen his feathers. In this small wooded area there were an abundance of birds including a flock of redwings, great tits, chaffinches, blackbird, nuthatch, long tailed tits and a marsh tit.  There were also lots of blue tits chasing around and making a lot of noise obviously sensing that spring is on its way!

We also heard a mistle thrush and two grey herons landed over in the field by a stream as another group of fallow deer ran along in the distance. As we made our way back along the ride towards the car park we were serenaded by a lovely song thrush and had great views of male and female reed buntings, a tiny goldcrest and a coal tit amongst the conifer trees.

Back at the car park we decided to go back over to the Arboretum where we joined many other bird watchers waiting to see the hawfinches.  A handsome greenfinch sat high in a tree as another song thrush sang in the distance.  We also saw a goldcrest that didn't seem to mind us standing so close his tree. Then a single hawfinch was spotted and soon after a brambling and a chaffinch were also seen.

The midges had started to bite so we decided to call it a day having seen most of the birds that we had hoped to see.  Other bird watchers did report they had seen earlier two lesser spotted woodpeckers, but we will have to return again soon to try and see them.

At our indoor meeting on Monday 26th February, we welcomed Rachel Wilson and Carolyn Knight from Fawley Marine Laboratory who are based at the Fawley Power Station. Rachel gave us an illustrated talk about the Fish and Marine Life of the Southampton Water.  It was fascinating to hear all the fish that are found off our coast including cuttlefish, bass, flounder, wrasse and various members of the shark family such as rays and dogfish. There are also some unexpected species like octopus, pipefish, seahorses and bottlenose dolphins. Exotic visitors are also not uncommon such as the lump sucker, John Dory and trigger fish.

During our tea break we could look at specimens of fish that Rachel had collected during her studies which were unfortunately already dead when they were caught during trawling. After the break, Carolyn Knight gave us a very informative talk entitled The River Frome:  Fish, their Habitats and Human Pressures.  This was a project that Carolyn took part in at University and involved monitoring the channels and streams that come off the river which are ideal habitats for fish to seek refuge and provide ideal spawning grounds.

The study mainly concentrated on course fish such as pike, dace, roach and eels.  The fish were caught using an electronic fishing technique and were tagged so their movements could be monitored.  Carolyn passed around a few of the different tags that were used for us to look at.

We thanked Rachel and Carolyn for a very enjoyable evening and for giving such interesting presentations about a subject that few of us knew very much about.

The Waterside Natural History Society's next outdoor meeting will be on Sunday 18th March with a bird watching and general wildlife visit to Arne.  Meet at Oak Road Car Park, Dibden Purlieu at 9.00am (strong footwear recommended.)  Entrance fee or donation applies.  Visitors very welcome. 

The Society's next indoor meeting will be on Monday 26th March, when we welcome David Rowling to talk about the Birds of the New Forest.  Meet for a 7.30pm start at the St. Andrew's Centre, Dibden Purlieu.  Visitors very welcome at £2.