New Forest Daytrips - September/October

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Anonymous (not verified)
New Forest Daytrips - September/October

Over the past few weeks I've popped back and forth to the New Forest in Hampshire several times. With a great deal of help from Tony Davis I've managed to see quite a few of the special plants on offer and have seen a few nice inverts too.

I'm not an expert, but if anyone cares to spend a Friday/Saturday being dragged by the nose from plant to plant then please do get in touch via this thread and I'll see what I can do, but bear in mind that the flowering season will be over fairly soon. Ideally I'd like to fill a carload or two, the more folks the merrier, but one on one is perfectly fine too. I won't be around for October 10th/11th.

Plants I can hopefully show you include (at Kimbridge) Sharp-leaved Fleullen, False Virginia-creeper, Balm, Wilson's Honeysuckle, Hybrid Woundwort, Huntingdon Elm, Small Teasel, Orange Balsam plus the fishes Grayling, Brown Trout, Chub and Perch.

In the New Forest proper I can hopefully lead you to goodies such as Hampshire Purslane, Coral Necklace, Dwarf Spike-rush, Nuttall's Waterweed, Shoreweed, Hybrid Water Lily Nymphaea marliacea, Pillwort, Black Bog Rush, Oblong-leaved and Round-leaved Sundews, Carnation Sedge, Bog-myrtle, Bog Pondweed, White-beaked Sedge, Allseed, Duck Potato, Brookweed, Bog Pimpernel, Lesser water Plantain, Yellow Azalea, Stinking Tutsan, Lesser Bladderwort, New Forest Bladderwort, Pennyroyal, Wild Chamomile, Marsh St John's-wort, birdsown Cotoneaster divaricatus and an outside chance of Yellow Centaury and Chaffweed. I can't guarantee everything, but a fair selection should be achievable if we start early and finish late. Several sites will need to be visited to skore all of these plants.

The New Forest ponies have Horse Botfly Gasterophilus intestinalis and Horse Flatfly Hippobosca equina on offer - we'll just need a bit of luck and some approachable ponies. Large Marsh Grasshoppers are common at a couple of sites and Wood Crickets are in the undergrowth at many wooded areas of the Forest. Gorse Spider Mite is widespread but sweep netting/collecting inverts is not allowed in the New Forest without permission, so we won't be doing any of that. 

Wellies are essential for many of the areas these plants grow and putting up with me for a day is also unfortunately unavoidable, lol. But I'm not that bad really!

I'm hoping that there's some uptake to this offer. I'm also genuinely hoping that other PSLers may be inclined to act as tour-guide for their own local areas and offer other members the opportunity to join them in the field and see some good stuff. Whenever I've been out with fellow PSLers I've seen loads of good stuff and learnt lots too, we ought to be promoting this sort of thing more strongly - in my opinion :)

 

 

 

New Forest permits

Seth, I applied to the Forestry Commission for a New Forest permit recently and it was really quick and straightforward thanks to [email protected] Really worth doing, and the permit document has some useful info such as a list of the scheduled invertebrates and the Hants and Dorset records centres addresses to submit your records to. If you'd like a permit for the National Trust properties in the New Forest, Jo could sort that for you.

Gibster (not verified)
Very useful indeed!

That's good to know, Mark. The only issue I have with that is folks may expect me to show them some cool inverts too - which I could, I just wouldn't know what they all were ;)  Be good to have the relevent contact details though, I think I shall pursue the matter. Many thanks!

 

Ref- Daytrip

Seth, Brilliant idea and I would love to do it. Trouble is I'm tied to days with the Flora Group or BNA tetrad bashing every Saturday till 17/18 Oct which might be too late. There is an Usnea down there I'd love to see too  (as well as lots of reptiles that it is def too late for). If you wanted to go that late in the year I'm interested, if not next year?

 

Gibster (not verified)
Whenever suits!

Hello again mate, I think it will still be fine to head out sometime in late October. Many of the plants I've listed above will still be on show, if not exactly at their very best. No idea regards identifying your Usnea but I'm happy to tag along and learn a thing or two regarding the finer points of lichen ID! Let me know nearer the time and we'll see what we can devise re targetted plant/lichen hunts. Looking forward to it already :)  

Gibster (not verified)
Also, regards reptiles you

Also, regards reptiles you want - have you tried Boscombe for the Western Green Lizards and Wall Lizards? Park near the junction of Ravine Road and Boscombe Overcliff Drive and take the zigzags down to the beach. There should be plenty of Wall Lizards (often on the pathside walls, oddly enough!) and I've had Green Lizard in the vegetation growing between the zigzags themselves. Common Lizard and Sand Lizard also occur but both are apparently quite scarce now, possibly ousted by the numerous Wall Lizards. If using a satnav tapping in BH5 2DU will get you pretty close. Free parking along the clifftop with a cafe nearby. Spot on!   

N F Trip

Thanks Seth. I have put 17/18 on the calendar. As you said at the top, would be nice if others wanted to join in. Seems hard to get events on the calendar or many using this forum too.

Gibster (not verified)
Quick update

I'm away for a few days now, back on the evening of 13th October. William, can you let me know if you still want to head out 17/18 Oct and which day you'd prefer? Just leave a message here and I'll pick it up on my return. Also, if anyone else wants to tag along on whichever day is chosen then that's absolutely fine and I'm certain we'll have plenty to look at despite the lateness of the season.

N F Trip

Hi Seth. 17th would be best for me.

N F Trip

Having put 17th if anyone else wants to come and 18th is better please add a comment, as happy to be flexible and it would be more fun the more join in.

N F Trip

Just had my Sat event cancelled so now have no particular problem with which day. Is there no other PSL out there interested too?

Seems really hard to get people to put things on the calendar or come out and play. Perhaps we need to have a thread on why not or what it takes.

"It's good to talk", so what motivates you?

Gibster (not verified)
William, if you want to

William, if you want to change to Saturday then we can meet up with Mark Telfer. Can you be at Hatchet Pond at 11am? Mark is aiming to be there at 11:30am but it'll be a bit of a whistle-stop whizz as he needs to be off site by about 2:30pm. It's due to be wet so bring waterproofs and definitely don't forget your wellies! Mark will doubtless magic up a few amazing inverts for us to peer at. I have no idea about your lichens though so you're on your own with that one. Although I'll tick whatever you can ID, lol! Alternatively we can have a look at the Kimbridge site, meet there at 9:30am? Just let me know and I'll give meeting point directions. Looking forward to it - just hope the rain isn't too horrific!

Seth. Give me the directions

Seth. Give me the directions to Kimbridge site (grid ref?) and I'll be there at 09.30 Sat morning. W.

Gibster (not verified)
Find the junction of

Find the junction of Kimbridge Lane with the B3084 Dunbridge Lane (it's a staggered junction with Saunders Lane/Dunbridge Lane). There's room to pull a car onto the verge between Saunders and Kimbridge Lanes on the B3084. I'll be there by 9:30am. Grid ref is SU324251, nearest post code would seem to be SO51 0GH I think. Species along a nearby footpath include False Virginia-creeper, Fragrant Agrimony, Hybrid Woundwort, Balm and Wilson's Honeysuckle with Huntington Elm, Orange Balsam and Small Teasel all nearby. Fish include Grayling, Brown/Sea Trout, Chub and Perch if you fancy any of those? Don't forget your wellies, the New Forest sites are generally WET! :)

Gibster (not verified)
I'll be there for 9am, I hadn

I'll be there for 9am, I hadn't realised quite how long it takes to get down to Hatchet Pond from the Kimbridge site (40mins eek!) and I've already agreed to meet Mark there at 11:30am. Should still be fine, but the earlier we start the sooner we can get down to Hatchet Pond. Water level seems to have risen a bit since I last visited, I finally found some Shoreweed at the far end and have located Pale Butterwort at the same site if you would like to see either?

I'll try my hardest to get you everything you need but despite much searching I haven't relocated Yellow Centaury or Chaffweed. The centaury is almost certainly over now, it's not exactly easy to spot even when in full flower (all 2mm of it...) but the Chaffweed will still be there. Just needs a bit of finding is all :)

 

See you in the morning!

 

Seth.

Thanks Seth

Seth, Thanks very much for the New Forest tour last Saturday. As well as Duck-potato, Cotoneaster divaricatus and Dwarf Spike-rush, the bramble Rubus ulmifolius was a new one for me. And on the invertebrate front, I've ticked the eggs of Horse Bot-fly Gasterophilus intestinalis, since we can be sure that's what they are. That exciting weevil off burnt gorse on Beaulieu Heath was Mecinus circulatus which I'd only seen once before, in May 1999. The little beetle in the same sample was the phalacrid Olibrus affinis. Nearby, that definitely was Nail Fungus Poronia punctata - Malcolm Storey has shots of the conidial stage which lacks the black dots (http://www.bioimages.org.uk/html/r151616.htm). Any ID on the two small leeches in Hatchet Pond Seth?