16th October - Leadenhall New Forest, and Blashford Lakes, Hampshire

The third weekend of October, so it has to be a trip to Black Gutter Bottom and then up the slope to Leadenhall in the New Forest.  It was overcast, but mild and very still as I set off from the car.  The sun was not quite up and it was murky.  Overhead there were the calls of Redwing and from the bracken, Meadow Pipits.  Heading up hill I could see Stonechats on the top of the bracken too.

This is a right of passage for both myself and the birds.  Ring Ouzels were reported in the week, for some reason every year, drawn to the berries on the Whitebeam trees on the edge of the plateau.  For me it also means the tree on the horizon, I couldn't resist it.

Away to the east looking along Black Gutter Bottom the sun was just beginning to colour the sky.

A Robin started singing from the top of one of the bushes.

I stood looking at the trees where Blackbirds were feasting on the berries and you could hear their calls, then above the Blackbirds the distinctive deeper "tuts" of a Ring Ouzel, I could see where the the calls were coming from and then the bird came into view and then promptly disappeared.  I walked around the trees and gorse but couldn't see anything.  Several Redwing were feeding in the trees as well and one or two could be seen on the edge of the  trees.

So it was back to watching the branches and trees.  A Chiffchaff was fly catching around the branches, flitting in and around the berries, giving short snatches of visibility

More calls from within the tree indicated that they were on the move again, then suddenly both birds flew out from the tree and across the plateau towards a silver birch, where there was a group of a dozen Starlings.  The Starlings and a single Song Thrush didn't like the presence of the Ring Ouzel and it was pushed from the tree, the female disappearing, but the male moved to a bush where it showed briefly, very well, if a little too distant.

Then began the usual game of cat and mouse as we searched and chased what were thought to be the Ouzels around the plateau.  Here a view of the plateau as the sky started to break up with the sun coming through.

The Whitebeam trees, the focus of attention when the Ring Ouzels are around.

The chase and search took me to the far side where the flock of Starlings were feeding on the grass.  The female Ring Ouzel flew up from the bracken and into the trees and I followed, then lost it completely.  

As I walked around the the trees and bushes I was struck by the fungi growing around the bracken, these are Brown Birch Boletes.

The Ring Ouzel were now in the trees at the south end of the plateau.

One flew off, the silver in the wings showing well and making it easy to pick them out from the Blackbirds.  I followed through the burnt remains of the gorse.

I flushed the female once again, but then lost it.  All through the morning I had been hearing the grunts and barks of the Fallow Deer in Ashley Hole, there must have been four stags calling across the open bracken.  I decided that I would go after the deer and come back later for the Ring Ouzel, they would return to the berries and would not be going far.

I walked down the slope towards a small group of Fallow Deer, the stag lying down in the bracken with the females around him.

They were watching me and as I tried to get a little closer, the stage stood up, still watching me.

Then I clearly got a little too close and he started to slowly move away.

But then paused along with the hinds to watch me.

I moved again and this time they were off, I had come too close and the whole group raced away through the bracken and along the valley bottom.

I walked on, I could hear distant barking, it seemed a long way off and probably not close by.  Overhead I heard the call of a Raven.

Then quickly followed by another, also calling.

I reached a copse of pine and oak, and was alerted to the calls of Goldcrests.  Walking into the copse the birds were calling above me, but the first bird I managed to get onto was a Firecrest.

With the birds being mobile it was difficult to know how many there were, but at least two with also a pair of Goldcrests.

A Nuthatch calling showed briefly, and then a Treecreeper the copse coming alive.

Then as quickly as the calls had started they stopped and the trees fell quiet.  I walked on, heading up to Ashley Walk.  I could see a bird at the top of a bush and for a moment I thought it could be a small bird of prey, but as I got closer I could see it was a Mistle Thrush.

Looking west the colours in the bracken and bushes was just beginning to take on an autumnal look.

The sky too was also as impressive.

As I walked along the main path back towards Leadenhall Dartford Warblers could be heard calling from the gorse on both sides of the path, there was also a brief view of the white Fallow Deer stag before it was mobbed by a pair of crows and disappeared into the gorse.

There was a small group of birders present, standing so far back and using scopes to watch the trees.  I walked past and then went to the back of the trees, experience built up over several years coming to this sight to see the Ring Ouzels, told me that they would move from the berries in the trees to the boggy area behind the gorse to drink.

As I walked around the gorse I heard the distinctive call, but unfortunately both birds flew up and headed to the Whitebeam.  I could see them in the centre of the tree and every so often they would call.  There were also quite a few continental Blackbirds, their bills lacking the bright yellow of the local birds.

I stood watching the trees, a couple of Chiffchaffs and a Willow Warbler were flitting about amongst the bracken and the birch trees and a pair of Bullfinches were feeding on the hawthorn berries.  Then another cluck and the male appeared in the Crab Apple tree, but behind the branches.  

I was able to edge a little closer without disturbing the bird.

Then it flew off across the gorse and probably down to the small pools of water there.

I would walk around to the plateau to see if it was possible to see them in the tree and at one point I thought we would get the view I hoped for as the male came briefly to the berries, but it was gone as quickly as it appeared.  I was though able to watch a Peregrine zip through, which lifted the spirits a little.

It was coming up to five hours I had been here and chasing these very elusive birds in hope of that killer view, I had to make a decision do I continue or move on.  The weather was now superb, the sky blue and the sunshine warm.  I doubted there would be very much about anywhere, but finally decided it was time to move on.

I headed down towards Black Gutter Bottom with Red Admiral and Common Darters on the path, it could have been August or September.

The view as I waded through the stream was beautiful , again the autumn colours beginning to show through.

I decided to visit Blashford lakes, it was relatively close and the last time I had visited the reserve was back on the 16th March 2021.  A week later the world changed and lockdown was upon us, the reserve closed for a lengthy period and when it did open up the hides remained closed, finally opening on the 19th July this year.  Viewing the lakes is difficult even with the hides but without them there was no real interest in going.  That last visit was a good one though with the Bittern showing really well.

I felt I owed it a chance and maybe something might have turned up.  I decided to take lunch with me to the Goosander hide, a chance to sit and watch. The walk to the hide has changed a lot, where there used to be bulrushes and small pools that Snipe liked was now a small plantation of birch trees.  The view from the hide was very much the same though, very little about.

I scanned Ibsley Water with the scope, on the far bank I counted four Great Egrets, five Herons and a single Little Egret, there were also several Pochard.  Of the other duck there were Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Mallard and a few Teal.  Probably the most numerous water bird was the Coot

I was prepared to photograph anything that came close to the hide.  Here a Great Crested Grebe, a young bird going into winter plumage

Then something of interest threatened to come close, a Grey Wagtail flew in and walked along the edge of the water, but after threatening to come close it turned around and flew off.

One of the Tufted Ducks came close, still showing a fair amount of eclipse plumage.

A flock of Lapwing flew up from the west shore of the water.

Lunch finished I walked back to the car and dumped the 'scope.  I walked across the road towards the visitor centre and then tried the Woodland Hide.  There was a little activity here with mostly Goldfinch on the feeders and a very quick appearance of a Nuthatch.

Leaving the Woodland Hide I scanned the reeds around the Silt pond, a Bittern had been photographed here a few weeks back, but all was quiet today.  The black water of the Silt Pond provides the ideal reflections for the roosting duck, in this case Gadwall, at the back of the pond.

The next stop was the south hide on Ivy Lake, this like the Goosander has windows that open.  I was hoping a Kingfisher would appear on the many sticks in the water, one did put in an appearance, flying back and forth in front of the hide, but never settling on the convenient perches.

I was left then to contend with another Great Crested Grebe that conveniently appeared in front of the hide despite the noisy comings and going of the visiting public.

Walking back I came across this lovely set of Common Puffballs in the leaf litter, the afternoon sun catching them delightfully.

With the warm weather conditions it was no surprise that there were butterflies about.  I managed to see several Red Admiral, a single Small Copper and a Peacock that tried to get into one of the hides.  None of these settled though and it wasn't until I decided to just check the Tern Hide that I managed to find this lovely male Brimstone.

There was nothing new of interest from the Tern Hide, the only thing that caught my eye was the broken window on the left hand side.  It was broken the last time I visited in 2019, either it gets broken a lot or it just hasn't been fixed

Always nice to catch up with the Ring Ouzels and once again they led me a merry dance.  The forest is beginning to take on the beautiful autumn feel and it was lovely to walk around in the warm sunshine.  Blashford doesn't change, lets hope the Bittern returns to entertain later in the year, I look forward to a fight over an open window!

The weather conditions have been pretty benign so far this October, lets hope for something a little more active over the next few weeks to shake things up