#thursley common

[dansnaturepictures]

Spotted Flycatcher at Northney Paddocks, Hayling Island last month and Black Darter at Thursley Common a couple of weeks ago

[bjsmall]

08.12.17

We went past Thursley Nature Reserve after collecting our Christmas tree.

[dansnaturepictures]

Nine of my favourite landscape and fungi photos I took in September 2024

The photos are of; views at Andrew's Mare in the New Forest and Lakeside Country Park, the impressive super harvest moon which was amazing to see, view from Brownsea Island, views at Thursley and Milford on Sea, view from a boat trip down the Beaulieu River and across to Newtown Harbour, mushroom at Lakeside and a mushroom I believe a chanterelle on Brownsea Island.

It was brilliant to go to so many beautiful places in September, enjoying vibrant and rich heathland, woodland, coast, wetlands, parkland, meadow and pleasurable panoramic views. There were so many breathtaking vistas to see. There were other great mushrooms seen this month as we go into autumn including earthball, charcoal burner, parasol, possible fairy ring marasmius, shaggy scalycap and lilac bonnet, giant polypore and deceiver with wolf's milk slime mould and lichen nice to see too.

[dansnaturepictures]

Photos from this year so far of a summer view at Lakeside Country Park, Silver-washed Fritillary, Small Skipper and White Stork at Knepp on an incredible day in July, Stonechat on another wonderful day at Thursley in September and Winchester Cathedral last week.

[dansnaturepictures]

26/09/23-Views and a mushroom at Thursley Common today, it was so lovely to be out here for so long taking in the surroundings in lovely weather. My last post talks about amazing wildlife seen today, I'm glad we chose to come here in our week off.

[dansnaturepictures]

21/04/2021-Terrific Thursley: Part 2-Ten landscape pictures I took here today, all different to those I tweeted tonight 

These pictures of; the moat pond a favourite spot of mine within this brilliant nature reserve which I love so much, three heathland views, four pictures two views and two sky scenes from the field we based ourselves where we watched the famous “Colin” the Cuckoo, another heathland view on the way back to the car and the gorgeous view just before we left of what we can see from where we were parked. 

I posted ten wildlife photos I took today and wrote my story of the day seeing Colin and more an unforgettable one for me in my previous post: https://dansnaturepictures.tumblr.com/post/649118076685729792/210421-terrific-thursley-part-1-of-2-the-story

[dansnaturepictures]

My Cuckoo and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker first sighting anniversaries: Updated 

Celebrating 10 years today since I saw my first ever Cuckoo and 7 years today since I saw my first ever Lesser Spotted Woodpecker 

I wanted to do a special post to celebrate once more one of my favourite days in the year 12th April due to among other memories on this date two of my greatest ever birdwatching moments in the New Forest in the early part of last decade on this date. I wanted to a post following a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker sighting a few weeks ago and the fact which I can’t believe that its been a whole decade since I first saw a Cuckoo that’s gone so fast. But with me working from home and talking photos and doing posts every day still and weekend mornings quite busy as a bit of a knock on from that and other things I don’t have the most time to be able to do special posts so ones different to my daily blog. So what I have done is rewrite this post https://dansnaturepictures.tumblr.com/post/159498448669/my-cuckoo-and-lesser-spotted-woodpecker which I did on 12th April 2017 which was a rewrite of this one on the anniversary on 2015 https://dansnaturepictures.tumblr.com/post/116192400602/my-cuckoo-and-lesser-spotted-woodpecker, I have pasted the same text below adapting how many years its been when I mention it and other small bits but just before the end I have added some updates of things that have happened with these two of my favourite birds since 2017. On my social media I like marking anniversaries but never mark every anniversary every year, however this double anniversary is so special the date is etched in my memory so I just can’t seem to not do something to mark it every year so this is this year’s post which I may basically re-post for years to come as I did every year on Twitter since I believe with the 2017 one.

Ten years ago today I saw my first ever Cuckoo at Acres Down in the New Forest, which became one of my favourite birds, and seven years ago today I saw for the first time a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker at Pig Bush in the New Forest. The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is another of my favourite birds, and one I had dreamed about seeing up until this moment. As this post explores and I have mentioned before this is not just two separate anniversaries sharing a date but the sightings of these two special birds are intertwined for me. This is not just a tale about two of my favourite birds, but about two of my favourite places in the New Forest and the world and these moments being big parts of my connections with them.

On this day in 2011 we headed out on a sunny day for what I thought was a dog walk and landscape photography trip to Acres Down in the New Forest. At this stage I’d heard Cuckoos on 2 separate occasions, but never seen one thought I longed to. I particularly remember a day of near agony at Blashford Lakes nature reserve where we heard one calling the whole time pretty much but just could not see it this before we managed to see a Cuckoo. However when we arrived at Acres Down one of our top New Forest spots where we went on Saturday, and climbed the hill to look over the beautiful landscape I heard one again. It enchanted the landscape, and sounded very close. To my delight a scan of some nearby trees revealed a Cuckoo sitting in one and I was very happy. We literally heard Cuckoos (we believe there to have been 2 calling that day) the whole walk to Millyford Bridge and back from that point on. That two week Easter Holidays as I was still at school back then we went to many more parts of the New Forest, and heard Cuckoos at all but one or two of them and went onto see two more Cuckoos that spring which was extraordinary. So to go from being a bird I had never seen to one I was hearing on a regular basis and had a few sightings of was a really rewarding experience and just a time I’ll never forget. Thankfully my first Cuckoo encounter that Easter Holidays led to my first sighting of one, otherwise if we’d have got even two or three of those other places where I heard Cuckoos in before the sighting I may have been a little frustrated whilst you are always extremely lucky to just hear a Cuckoo their amazing and iconic call and its great when nature can tease and temp you and keep you so wonderfully addicted. 

As I’ve mentioned a lot before the heath land and ancient woodland of the New Forest national park is a great area for Cuckoos, and it’s so nice to be able to see them with their numbers declining across the country. Acres Down was a fitting and beautiful spot to see my first, it is one of my favourite parts of the New Forest and I only discovered it due to birdwatching namely Goshawk and Honey Buzzard species we went there to see, seeing our first ever Tree Pipit that day in 2009 too then after it became a very regular walking spot for us exploring so much the Cuckoo moment was the next big one here in terms of birdwatching. This began my love affair with the Cuckoo through seeing and hearing many more in the New Forest, and after less than a year of that day then years ago I proudly added it to my list of favourite birds. 

One of those other places where I heard a Cuckoo in the spring of 2011 in the New Forest was Pig Bush, one of my very favourite parts of the national park because I am captivated by its amazing landscape, it’s brilliant for wildlife and have spent many happy moments there I always say for me this is the best birdwatching spot in the New Forest exuding dedicated nature reserves perhaps for variety and quality of what can be seen there and its brilliant for all wildlife with many a day where we’ve seen an unbelievable list of species and very high quality species on a walk. Since 2011 Pig Bush has identified itself as the best place to see and hear Cuckoos in the New Forest in my opinion, over the last decade we have tended to hear one there most springs as it enchants it’s woodland and heath beautifully and some of my best Cuckoo sightings since 2011 have come at Pig Bush. So it’s fitting that my first Cuckoo and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker sightings share a date, because it was a Cuckoo that led me to our first Lesser Spotted Woodpecker sighting at Pig Bush seven years ago today.

The trip seven years ago started out similarly to that of ten years ago today. We had just returned from Gloucestershire visiting Slimbridge and the International Centre for Birds of Prey and was a week away from going to Pembrokeshire and Skomer Island etc. for my Mum’s birthday so I expected a dog walk and a landscape photography day, but what I got was arguably my best ever birdwatching moment. I had always dreamed of seeing a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker due to my love of green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, and had heard they could be seen in Hampshire so wanted to kind of complete the set.

The endless search and unattainable quality had made me crave a sighting even more. Seven years ago today my wait ended in spectacular fashion. My Mum and her partner were looking at Redstarts in the wood at Pig Bush, but having seen these for the first time in 2014 a few days before at Ashley Walk in the New Forest I was more interested in the Cuckoo I could hear calling. So I walked in a little bit further in the opposite direction and scanned in my binoculars to see if I might catch the all-important glimpse of the Cuckoo, when I saw a woodpecker like bird flying with a black and white striped back. It was too small for a Great Spotted and clearly not a Treecreeper. So I confidently proclaimed “I think I’ve just seen a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker”. I wasn’t instantly believed but we walked a bit further towards the area anyway, when I managed to see the Cuckoo briefly sitting in a tree before flying off. I think I did know definitely I had seen the Lesser by this point it was just a case of seeing if my Mum and her partner could see it and get a glorious second look so this was an amazing few moments seeing two incredible birds for the first time in that year as well as one for the first time ever. Then soon afterwards the small bird flew back and went on a tree before setting off again, and we were all able to see beyond a shadow of a doubt that this was a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker! I had seen the bird I had dreamed about and I spotted it too which I loved and gave me a great bit of clout in our small birding group for a bit, it instantly became a favourite of mine and it was another favourite the Cuckoo that had led me to it. At this moment I don’t think I’d felt more lucky in birdwatching, and I was on top of the world! What was also wonderful was that a place so precious to me had been the place where I’d seen the bird I treasure so much and I didn’t expect it at all. Looking back both the first Cuckoo and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker had the same impact for me of knowing in nature and bird watching you just can’t rule anything out because neither of these sightings were expected and in a way that made them and the memory of them all the moor sweet.

We got a second view of a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker maybe the same one in the exact same spot in the back of those woods at Pig Bush in the New Forest in March 2017! This was an equally as incredible and moving moment for me and the one tiny regret I had from the 2014 experience was not getting a picture of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker so I was determined to leave those woods with one that March as it gave us a longer display. I remember that day my Mum said “oh look there’s a Redwing” and Iooked up hoping for what might be one of my last sightings that winter of this migrant thrush but it had flown when I looked up. But a small bird then flew onto a branch and I knew instantly before I looked at it that it was going to see a lesser I think and I was ecstatic when I saw this bird again it was so powerful and phenomenal. I remember getting a safety shot with my normal lens then time stood still and my eyes did not leave the woodpecker for a second as I put my backpack on the ground and changed to my longer zoom lens. I managed the seventh picture in this photoset of this stunning bird that day. 

I am very pleased to say that we did have Lesser Spotted Woodpecker round 3 at the same place in recent weeks. After seeing one in 2014 and 2017 here, 2020 I wondered if we might see one there and it might be an every three years thing we did go to Pig Bush a few weeks before the first Coronavirus lockdown but it wasn’t to be. I genuinely assume the 2014 and 2017 bird, my Mum did see it in 2015 too but I wasn’t fast enough to see it, was the same bird but you never know what was around seven years on from the original sighting its a fanciful thought but maybe it was the same one. 2021 built on 2014 and 2017 in that gloriously it was a very much longer view. We spotted it on a branch and watched it weave and dance between the branches and even trees and really take in the splendour of this very special bird seeing its elegant and fantastic black and white striped back and cute appearance. We were on cloud 9 when seeing this sensational bird again. What’s more on this day it was one of our most extraordinary days ever for wildlife watching as minutes before we had seen the other bird I associate with Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, another favourite bird of mine I dreamt of seeing in the same vein as the woodpecker for so long since I was a child and it was interesting that I for the first time in 2014 just a couple of months before the Tawny Owl so they were always connected that an extraordinary view and bird to see on its own. We saw a ridiculous amount of other amazing species that day too such as Hawfinch, Woodlark, displaying Lapwing, Stock Dove, Fallow Deers running across a heath, an unusual for this location Canada Goose and more. Just like in 2017 I predicted the sighting a bit just seeming to know that like 2014 the magic was in the woods that day to allow us to see this which felt amazing personally with me for this bird once more. An epic moment which I’ve been proud to have this year and it may well define it. I took the record shots the final three pictures in this photoset of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker that day this year.

Cuckoo wise since 2017, after drawing a blank and not seeing one in 2016 the only year I did that in the last decade so far I did hear them that year though notably at Pig Bush, I have seen wondrous springs of the ilk of 2011 whereby we heard and saw or heard so many times at multiple locations and went on to see Cuckoos stitching together brilliant runs within years. This happened in the New Forest so much of course, Eyeworth Pond and Fritham rivaled Pig Bush and other strong area Deadman/Turf Hill for seeing Cuckoos. I took the first two pictures in this photoset of a Cuckoo still and flying at Fritham in 2019 a glorious early summer walk with so much seen that day too, I saw my first Cuckoos of 2020 there too. I also took the fifth and sixth pictures in this photoset of record shots of one in the Eyeworth Pond/Telegraph Hill area walk in 2018 and 2017 respectively. 

The brilliant Cuckoo run expanded to places outside of the New Forest too, notably Martin Down which is one of our very favourite places for the biodiversity of nature and views anyway where I personally might not have ever seen one there but I’ve heard plenty really allowing you to focus on the phenomenal experience that just hearing them is. One particular time hearing them was on the second May bank holiday in 2018 extraordinarily two days before the Eyeworth Pond sighting so that was some weekend when there we heard a couple including one calling very loudly in a bush right beside us! An exceptional nature moment in a year and in a group of years I have been lucky to have so many. 

But another top nature reserve, Thursley Common in Surrey, like it has done since we first went in 2017 for my whole hobby really (no pun intended for another of the key species there) has for Cuckoos added a new dimension to my journey with them. This is because we have twice got to see the famous “Colin” the Cuckoo who is a celebrity bird and people flock to the one bird laden field at Thursley in spring to see this legend. We saw him in 2018 briefly flying, but 2019 it went a stage further with him and another calling so well in the woods that day we saw him at the top of a tree staying there what felt like all afternoon and calling and we got crippling views of this Cuckoo when walking in the woods the other side of the trees from the field we were in some of my best ever views of a Cuckoo for sure and I took the third and fourth pictures in this photoset of him really standing out in my Cuckoo pictures over the last ten years for still shots of the bird. Over the last four years as I have done over the last ten I have been so pleased to hear the iconic call to sum up any spring, and feel how surreal and dreamlike it is when you get to purely hear a Cuckoo up close. 

The anniversary post from 2017 linked above has a picture I took of my first Cuckoo we ever saw a decade ago attached.

It still excites me now to think of the call of the Cuckoo and the look of the striped back of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker when these two monumental moments for me and my hobby happened, these are moments that will always stay with me, two of my greatest since I began birdwatching in 2006/2007 and what an honour its been to relive it with the species down the years. 

[dansnaturepictures]

10 of my favourite purple heather landscape pictures I’ve taken 

These are in order of appearance in this photoset: (it starts with what I think are my best three of this type of picture then goes chronologically for the next 7) 

1. Thursley Common, Surrey in 2017

2. Pig Bush in the New Forest in 2017

3. Deadman Hill in the New Forest in 2015

4. Whitefield Moor in the New Forest in 2011

5. Turf Hill in the New Forest in 2015

6. Pig Bush in the New Forest in 2015

7. Rockford Common in the New Forest in 2015

8. RSPB South Stack, Anglesey in 2016

9 & 10. Whitefield Moor in the New Forest on the same day in 2016

I had the idea to do this post after mentioning heather landscapes in my post of Saturday’s trip. That was at Pig Bush and its interesting Pig Bush, Whitefield Moor and the Deadman/Turf Hill area in the New Forest appears again and again in the heather landscapes I am proud to have taken over the years. Thursley Common is starting to do that too with it and Whitefield Moor and Pig Bush being the places I have taken these types of landscapes so far this year. 

I’ve said before how much I love these scenes, the heather at its purple best is one of the greatest natural colours for me. It comes to symbolise what the New Forest and other similar areas look like in late summer going into autumn, but its also the scale of it that I find astonishing and the way it transforms the landscape.