A cold start in the New Forest.
A cold start.
New Forest
Ashlett Creek.
Ashlett Creek is a tidal inlet on the New Forest side of Southampton Water near Fawley. The creek is only accessible at high tide. There has been a mill on the site dating back to medieval times. The mill is a Grade II listed building that was built in 1816 and milled corn until it closed around 1910. Ashlett mill was a tidal mill – a mill driven by tidal rise and fall. The tide comes in, it enters the mill pond through a one-way gate, and this gate closes automatically when the tide begins to fall. When the tide is low enough, the stored water can be released to turn the mill wheel. Flat bottomed sailing barges were used to load and unload grain, salt and other supplies. A Victorian Quay was built in 1887 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee.
The Jolly Sailor, a 160-year-old pub is an old smuggler’s inn near the mill.
Birds in the Mill pond.
Further into the forest.
A return to the New Forest. We Parked up again at Eyeworth Pond – watching the pond with a cup of tea until the rain stopped before heading into the forest to the North-East following the track from the old Gunpowder Mills this road was built to allow the explosives to be transported away from the factory safely avoiding the small village of Fritham.
A little way along the track you pass a fenced spring. Known as “The Iron Wells” shown on maps dating back to the late-18th century. Marked on today’s Ordnance Survey maps as “Irons Well (Chalybeate)”. The water is impregnated with iron salts and is the colour of rust.
The waters are said to have curative properties particularly helpful for sore eyes, gout and other ailments, including leprosy. The spring was also known as Lepers’ Well, it is rumoured a house of rest for those suffering from leprosy was close to the well. Looking at the spring I decided not to take the waters on this visit!
No deer to see on our walk today.
.
Back at the pond lots of birds as always – but the Mandarin ducks steal the show with their bright colours there seemed to be 5 males and 3 females present again. – lots of photographs at the end of this post.
Male Blackbird.
Song Thrush.
Pied Wagtail.
A first for me today was a Brambling. Not the best picture of this female bird but given I have never seen one before I am happy with this attempt.
A Male House Sparrow.
On the way home, we spotted lots of Snow Drops an early sign of spring.
Eyeworth Pond.
A circular walk today in the New Forest starting and ending at Eyeworth pond.
History.
The pond was created by the Schultze Gunpowder Company as a reservoir to hold the water needed during the manufacturing process – it is estimated it held 6 million gallons of water. Work started on the factory in 1860. By the late 1890s the Company employed upwards of 100 people and there were some 60 buildings. The factory continued in operation under new ownership until 1921. The manufacturing of explosives deep in the forest away from the local population reduced the risk to the public. Today the reservoir remains although the factory has gone, it remains as a feature and wildlife habitat. Little other evidence of the factory survives, although the superintendent’s and gatekeeper’s houses remain and are private residences.
Birds. on the pond.
2 female Goosanders were on the far side of the pond ( I have seen males here as well in the past but not today). Goosanders are diving duck, they have long, serrated bills, used for catching fish. They 1st bred in the UK in 1871. ( These ducks are known as Common Merganser in the USA).
Mandarin ducks have for many years been a regular bird on Eyeworth pond. They always draw a crowd, they were introduced to the UK from China in the 20th century and have become established following escapes from captive collections. In the UK there are now said to be about 2,300 pairs and according to Wikipedia the population in China is only 1000 pairs.
Moorhen.
Woodland Birds. around the pond.
A woodland favourite is the Blue Tit.
Marsh Tit.
Great Tit.
Robin.
Dunnock
Dunnocks are also known as the ‘hedge sparrow’, although they are not actually a sparrow. They’re actually the only UK member of a bird family called the accentors. The dunnock is also commonly mistaken for a female house sparrow. Dunnock is derived from the Old English word for ‘little brown’. This is because they do look drab from a distance but close up they are quite pretty with a mottled blue-grey breast and face.
Deer.
Fallow deer are the most commonly seen deer in the New Forest currently numbers are maintained at about 1,300 Following the Norman Conquest of Britan ,the New Forest was proclaimed a royal forest, in about 1079, by William the Conqueror. Fallow deer were brought into the forest for the hunt. Forest Law, reserving the pursuit of beasts within it exclusively for the king and his officers.
Return to Stoney Cross.
A return visit to Stoney Cross airfield to try and take some pictures of the remaining parts of the aerodrome. Parts of the aircraft dispersal hardstandings were not removed when the runways were broken up and are now used as a campsite as we are in the winter months it was a good time to take pictures without holidaymakers on site. Below is a view from above shoving the remaining structures.
From ground level, it is hard to believe what was parked up on these concrete bases back in WW2 – Bombers and fighters of the RAF and USAF and thoughts are for those who failed to return following actions in the skies above Europe.
Flocks of Redwings were feeding on the site of the old runways.
Stoney Cross.
An early start in the New Forest with breakfast in the van before a frosty walk on the remains of Stoney Cross airfield.
Stoney Cross airfield was one of the larger wartime airfields within the forest. It was active between 1943 to 1946, It remained open after the war until it closed in 1948.
Stoney cross had three runways with the main runway, 2,000 yards (1829 metres) long. The second runway, was 1520 yards (1390 metres) and the shortest runway, at 1366 yards (1249 metres) long.
Sadly most of the concrete had been stripped from the runways by 2000 and used as hardcore in road construction. The outline of the runways can still be seen in places as well as remains of other concrete bases.
Parking at Cadmans Pool as a starting point to head off on foot across the site of the old airfield on Ocknell Plain. Apparently, the pond was dug around 1960 to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the plain.
On arriving today the pond was iced over at the temperature was -4, so a cold start.
A group of Fallow Deer strolling on the plain. There were some fairly handsome stags in this herd.
As usual, the trees around Cadmans Pool is a great place to observe and photograph small woodland birds.
Nuts about nuts!
The nuthatch is about the size of a Great Tit they are a distinctive bird with an orange breast, blue-grey wings and compact build. It has a long, powerful beak and a black streak running across its eye. To me they look like a small woodpecker.
In the summer much of their diet is made up of invertebrates, In winter, the species feeds on seeds and nuts.
Chaffinches.
The Chaffinch is a common, sparrow-sized finch of gardens, woodland, parks and farmland. they can regularly be spotted in woodland car parks where they home in on picnickers looking for an easy meal.
Leg lesions, commonly known as ‘scaly leg’ or ‘tassel foot’, are growths on the legs and feet seen in finches across Europe. Leg lesions in Chaffinches are one of the most frequently observed signs of ill health in British garden birds. It is said to be caused by both a mite and viral infection that cause leg lesions and is thought to be transmitted by contact. Most affected birds continue to live normally. Although birds with severe lesions can become lame so are increasingly vulnerable to predation.
The male Chaffinch is a colourful garden bird with a blue-grey crown, brown back and pink breast. Females are pale brown and have white shoulder patches and wing bars.
The above pictures show healthy Chaffinches below are some with scaly leg.
Blue Tit.
A recognisable garden visitor and a woodland bird. It is estimated that some 15 million birds winter in the UK. They often nest in garden bird boxes.
Statistics
Length: 12cm
Wingspan: 18cm
Weight: 11g
Average lifespan: 3 years
Early morning flight.
A still and calm – quiet morning until the morning flights startup!
With a wingspan of 208-238 cm – about 7 to 8 feet a Mute Swan is a large bird in flight its wing flapping sounds like a gate that needs a good oil – you can hear the power and these morning flight break the silence of calm over the pound.
Two Moorhen waiting for their departure slot! I have not seen Moorhen’s up a tree before.
Continued Reflections from my World. 