January 02, 2007
Monday 1st
BLASHFORD LAKES
A new year's birding, and with the weather forecasters predicting rain and wind to move in by early afternoon - wrong again - Plan A was to get as many birds as we could around the Blashford Lakes complex, and come home when the rain started. Unfortunately as it turned out, we didn't have a Plan B!
There were lots of new year birders out and about at Blashford, and we spent the whole morning walking around Ivy and the adjacent lakes, and looking over Ibsley Water. We saw a good selection of birds, firstly woodland birds such as Nuthatch, Goldfinch, Treecreeper, Blue, Great, Long-tailed and Coal Tits, Goldcrest, Bullfinch and a Chiffchaff. Water birds included Tufted and Ruddy Ducks, Teal, Pochard, Gadwall, Wigeon, Shoveler, Pintail, Goldeneye, and Little and Great-crested Grebes. Twenty or so Black-tailed Godwits also flew over.
The rain hadn't arrived by lunch time, but not having Plan B we faffed around in the New Forest until it was time to go to Blackwater Arboretum to wait for the Hawfinches to come in to roost. The Forest was very wet, but also full of New Years day trippers complete with their unruly kids and dogs. We had a go at looking for Goosander and Mandarin, but the disturbance at Cadmans Pool and Eyeworth meant that there was no chance, the undoubted highlight was a Red Admiral butterfly at Cadmans Pool. We also had a half-hearted, and unsuccessful, look for the Great-grey Shrike near Burley.
We just managed to park at Blackwater, neatly sidestepped dogs, kids, barbecues on our way to the Arboretum, and saw half a dozen Hawfinches in the tops of the conifers, there were Siskins there as well. On the way home, and by now it was gloomy and beginning to rain, we had a look over Mockbeggar Lake, where the Great White Egret flew past.
No bird pictures today, but here are a few winter images.
