This month we wanted to focus on the coastal strip, an often overlooked but significant part of the New Forest with a wealth of wildlife, a lot of which does not occur elsewhere in the area. We are lucky that here in busy and over developed central-southern England we have this wonderful stretch of largely rural coastline almost all of which is designated as an area of international importance for conservation with multiple designations including SSSI, SPA, SAC & Ramsar.
The Lymington-Keyhaven section of the coastline, namely Normandy Marsh, has been in the spotlight lately thanks to a celebrity pair of Roseate Terns that have opted to nest and raise two chicks on an island in the lagoon. These have quite rightly drawn a lot of attention and thanks to a dedicated team of volunteers led by Pete Durnell and Steve Laycock they have been monitored throughout.
Normandy Lagoon has been my birdwatching patch for over 20 years and in that time I have seen a lot of change. This year it has excelled with the Roseate Terns being just the icing on the cake of what has been an excellent year for resident breeding birds. Having watched the site for a number of years it has been fascinating to see how the area has evolved over time. The architects of the evolution of the site are not just the site managers but the wildlife itself, chief amongst these are the Avocet. Back in the early days it was a red-letter day to see an Avocet on site; in the early 2000s they were very much an occasional visitor with just a handful records annually. The first nesting attempt occurred in 2010 but it wasn’t until 2015 that Avocet became a regular breeding species on site. As many have noted on social media this year, Avocet are aggressively protective when on territory and this aggression towards potential predators benefits other breeding birds on site.
As the number of Avocet breeding on site have grown, we have noted an increase in the numbers of other species not only breeding but fledging the all-important youngsters. Amongst these are the wading birds such as Redshank, Ringed Plover & Lapwing, also the seabirds, chiefly Little and Common Terns. There is little doubt that the increase of both breeding pairs and productivity is in no small part thanks to the Avocet keeping the airspace clear of avian predators. As numbers have grown, other species have joined the mass defence, further increasing aerial defence and any potential predator is met with a barrage of aggression. This year has been an incredible spectacle with in excess of 60 pairs of Common Tern on the lagoon adding to the cacophony and making it one of the most successful years on record.
The list of potential predators is long, with regulars including Great Black-backed and Herring Gull, Marsh Harrier, Peregrine, Kestrel, Magpie, Carrion Crow and Raven to name but a few. An extra level of defence is the electrified fence installed in 2020 which excludes Fox and Badger from the lagoon. It is interesting to note that a number of species take advantage of the fence, both nesting close-by and taking their young along the fence line once hatched as it acts as a barrier against surprise avian attack.
Images: Avocet driving off Great Black-backed Gull and Carrion Crow, Normandy Marsh, New Forest© Wild New Forest Guided Tours
The productivity increase on the lagoon this year goes some way to making up for the reduction we are experiencing offshore. Sea level rise is reducing the areas of saltmarsh that flank the entrance to the Lymington River therefore reducing the space available for our seabirds to nest. Numbers of Black-headed Gull nesting offshore have reduced from 7700 in 2010 to 4500 in 2024, though it has to be said, as is often the case, there are other factors at play and causes are often not as black and white as they initially may seem.
Considering the breeding productivity of recent years and the increase of wintering numbers of wildfowl and waders recorded by monthly WeBS (Wetland Bird Survey), along with the regular migrants using the area to feed and rest-up while passing through (the English Channel is an important international migratory route) we can see how important the area is for birdlife, a real jewel in the south coast of the UK.
Young Persons Wildlife Camp
Applications are now open for our next Wild New Forest Young Persons Wildlife Camp over the weekend of 25-27 Oct 2024, based at Cameron’s Cottage, RSPB Franchises Lodge and kindly sponsored by the Cameron Bespolka Trust. With an all-inclusive participation fee of just £25 per person, this weekend is especially for young wildlife enthusiasts aged between 12 and 18. We will be running a range of activities including bird ringing, moth trapping, mammal camera trapping, bioblitz, fieldcraft and advice on career progression. Places are limited, the application form (deadline 15 October) can be downloaded at https://www.wildnewforest.co.uk/get-involved
Wildlife Explorers Club
The Wildlife Explorers Club continues to go from strength to strength. The June field trip saw us out on the heath at dusk when the group was treated to great views of drumming Snipe and hawking Nightjar with a couple of regular roding Woodcock giving us a fly-past. In addition, after a few fleeting glimpses a Dartford Warbler put on a good show along with singing Tree Pipit. The highlights weren’t limited to birds, a nice selection of invertebrates were seen, with a couple of very pink Heather Crab Spiders grabbing the limelight.
The latest Wildlife Explorers Club newsletter can be found here, details, and application form for the club can be found on our website here.
The Young Explorers Club is made possible thanks to funding and support from the following organisations:
June walk highlights
A largely dry and settled month with periods of wet weather. Overall, we managed to run nine scheduled walks, five boat trips, eight bespoke walks and one each of Solent Wildlife Cruise, Limited Mobility Walk and Wildlife Explorers outing.
Always a highlight for me is the Solent Wildlife Cruise which takes us along the Beaulieu River, across the Solent to Newtown Harbour and then around the seabird colonies of the western Solent and western Isle of Wight. This year the Auk colonies on the south side of the Island were buzzing with life with a stream of Guillemot and Razorbill moving back and forth.
This month’s Three Hour Birding Walk saw us in the north of the Forest looking at crepuscular species. We were fortunate to get great views of Nightjar, Woodcock and Snipe but the highlight for me was watching Hawfinch head off to roost; in total 18 giving us a good opportunity to focus on the species.
We ran our first Tree ID walk in June, focussing on both deciduous and coniferous species. The Millyford Bridge area offered a good opportunity to get to grips with a range of classic New Forest species.
Images: White Admiral, Common Guillemot, Stink Horn and Roe Deer, June 2024 © Wild New Forest Guided Tours
June fieldwork
June was another busy month of fieldwork, mainly focussed on Pine Marten and Hawfinch. During the course of the month we picked up a number of records of Pine Marten on trail cameras located across four areas, but we have yet to secure hair samples. Unfortunately, we had a second road casualty this month, again north of Lyndhurst. The body has been secured and an autopsy will be carried out later this month when samples will be taken for DNA analysis.
Hawfinch fieldwork has been slow. It has been a poor year with low breeding productivity, most likely due to the unsettled weather during the crucial period in late April / early May. The individuals that were processed were found to be underweight and as a result we have opted to carry over the GPS tagging and tracking of juvenile Hawfinch to 2025.
Other fieldwork included colour-ringing of Little, Common and Sandwich Terns as part of a Solent-wide project (working together with RSPB and Farlington Ringing Group), and colour-ringing of Black-headed Gull as part of another Solent-wide project. Ongoing fieldwork included the Constant Effort Survey at Keyhaven, the Breeding Bird Survey and the Wetland Bird Survey, all coordinated by British Trust for Ornithology.
Images: Tern Ringing, Sandwich Tern & Pine Marten, New Forest, June 2024 © Wild New Forest Guided Tours
Looking ahead
As we move into the summer months, thoughts turn to the fungi season ahead and we have a full schedule of fungi walks in the diary including a few new locations.
We are looking at adding a few new events including dusk walks looking for Nightjar and Woodcock in the north of the New Forest and an explorer walk, with a rustic picnic sourced from local suppliers. We have added a number of Family Fun In The Forest walks for the summer holidays following the success of our walks during half-term.
Our current schedule of events and access to our booking platform can be reached via our website at https://www.wildnewforest.co.uk/event-calendar
We will again be exhibiting alongside other local organisations at the New Forest Show (30th July to 1st August) situated in the Heart of the Forest alongside other local organisations. If you are attending, we would love to see you on the stand where we will have some of Tiffany’s famous homemade chocolate brownies, as served on the boat trips!
Wild New Forest Facebook highlights
Many thanks to everyone who contributes and helps keep it such a varied, interesting and
educational site. Please continue to post your interesting sightings and images, and as always please include the story behind the photograph. As we move through the breeding season please remember to keep to the pathways, keep a safe distance and respect signs placed by Forestry England. We are fortunate to have many scarce and protected species breeding in the New Forest, let’s all play our part to ensure they are left undisturbed.
This month’s most popular post was the lovely clip of juvenile Tawny Owls taken by Neena Saith.
Reviews
Many thanks to everyone who takes the time to leave a review on TripAdvisor.
We are proud to receive the Travellers Choice award for 2024, Below is a recent review received in June; all our reviews can be found here
My partner and I went on a 3 hr Twilight Nightjar walk as a birthday present and I cannot fault it. Marcus and Emily were so informative and helpful both pre and post walk. The information sent out was clear and easy to follow. I really appreciated the list that Emily sent out of birds that we saw after the walk. We were first time birders and we had a great time. You really felt Marcus' passion and care for the birds and the New Forest as whole. It's wasn't a showy show and tell tour, rather a genuine, personal and memorable sharing of interest. We saw a number of birds and wildlife, which I know you cannot plan(!), but Marcus had an answer to every question. I'd definitely bring walking boots and a jacket for evening tours. I've already recommended to friends and I'd go again in an instant. Thank you Marcus and Emily! It really was wonderful you won't regret it.
Wild New Forest Guided Tours follow and endorse the New Forest Code
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