Thursley Common (25 February 2023)

An overcast and slightly cool late February morning saw 16 members meeting in a crowded Moat Car Park on Thursley Common. Following the devastating fire in 2019 the boardwalk has recently been reopened so we headed away from the car park on the new boards, noting a male stonechat that showed well. We followed the boardwalk around Pudmore Pond adding mallard and tufted duck to the day list, several common buzzards were seen in the distance, one of which was displaying and a grey heron flew over. The best bird of the day, a woodlark, was unfortunately seen by just a couple of people and even then it was only a fleeting glimpse as it flew away from us with it’s distinctive short tailed silhouette. Entering the woods we hoped for an increase in species variety but it wasn’t to be; goldcrest, great tit, robin, woodpigeon and goldfinch were seen by all and one lucky observer also saw a treecreper whilst coal tit, chaffinch and great spotted woodpecker were all heard. Tracing the outer boundary of the heath, very few birds were seen and the weather took a turn for the worse in the form of a heavy shower. As we started to walk around Shrike Hill the sun appeared and a small group of stonechats were noted and a Dartford warbler was briefly seen associating with them, as they often do. On the last leg of the walk we heard and then saw a second Dartford warbler but the views were again extremely brief and a kestrel showed it’s hovering ability as it hung motionless in the air looking for prey. A total of 15 special were seen and a further three heard. At least it was more than last year !

by Andy Roberts