Programme of outings

Forthcoming Outings

Guidance for members

Members intending to join an outing are requested to contact the leader in advance so that lifts can be arranged where possible and members can be contacted in the event of cancellation. The leader will provide advice about the arrangements for the visit. Please ensure that you are aware of these before travelling.
Please be prepared to share fuel & parking costs.

 

Sunday 9th February Blashford Lakes and Blackwater Arboretum. Leader Rebecca Dunne 07879 645971

Bring lunch, drinks and snacks – no café. Toilets in education centre. Please let Rebecca know if you intend to come.
Meet up at the Education centre car park, Ellingham Drove, Ringwood, Hampshire, nearest postcode BH24 3PJ but it turns you left off the A338 Salisbury Rd, if coming from A31 (-on the opposite side of road). Instead turn right off A338. What3Words – starfish.sideburns.admiringly Website: hiwwt.org.uk/nature-reserves/blashford-lakes-nature-reserve Entry fee: £4 donation
This reserve is spectacular in winter. Created from flooded gravel pits, in winter up to 5,000 wildfowl, including Gadwall, Goldeneye, Goosander and Grebes (sometimes Black-necked Grebes) flock to the lakes. Large numbers of woodland birds should be seen on feeders from the glass fronted Woodland Hide e.g. Siskin plus Redpoll and Brambling in good years.
Leaving Blashford Lakes about 2pm we will round off the day with a visit to Blackwater Arboretum to hopefully see Hawfinches going to roost in huge conifers. We often see Marsh Tits and Bullfinches here. The Arboretum is about 25 minutes’ drive across the New Forest and is a beautiful route.
Blackwater Arboretum car park: Rhinefield Ornamental Drive, Brockenhurst – nearest postcode SO42 7QB Public toilets in Arboretum car park.

 

Wednesday 12th February (Midweek Walk, morning) Home Park. Leader: Mike White 07981-037004

Meet Mike at 9.30am behind the coffee stall at the Diana Fountain car park in Bushy Park. We will then enter Home Park via the Paddock Gate and walk along to Hampton Wick Pond before heading towards The Paddocks and continuing towards the Golf Club, then on towards Oak Pond and The Longwater. Expecting to finish at approx. 1.00pm. Drinks and toilets are at the Golf Club.
Expect to see the usual range of parkland birds including Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Kestrel, Stock Dove, Green Woodpecker and Stonechat. The various waterbodies should give us Mallard, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Mute Swan, possibly Great Crested Grebe and a selection of Geese and Gulls. Peregrine, Red Kite, Little Owl, Goldcrest and Treecreeper are also possible.

 

Sunday 23rd February Abberton Reservoir Leader Ruth Shinebaum. Tel: 07985 028861

Abberton Reservoir is a SSSI Ramsar site wetland of international importance for wildfowl with impressive numbers of tufted duck, pochard, shoveler, wigeon, teal and other water birds. Goosander winter there in good numbers and if we are lucky many of the goodies present this January – smew, greater and lesser scaup, black-necked and Slavonian grebe, black-throated diver, Bewick’s swan, spoonbill, Caspian gull and the long staying Canvasback – will all stay around and visible until our visit. Great Egrets are there all year, along with marsh harriers, other raptors, a few waders, and a tiny patch of woodland which attracts early migrants and occasional bullfinch.
Abberton is about a 2-hour drive from Surbiton.
There are multiple ways to do the site including short walks and car journeys depending on what has been seen where and we will decide details on the day. There are 2 causeways crossing the reservoir, Layer Breton at the far end and Layer de la Haye near the visitor centre.
We will meet at 9.30 on the Layer Breton causeway, Layer Breton Hill just off the B1026, leaving there at 9.50 and arriving at the Essex Wildlife Visitor Centre, Church Road, Layer-de-la-Haye CO2 0EU when it opens at 10.00am. Feel free to join us there if you prefer, but let me know in case there is a change of plan. The visitor centre has an entry fee (minimum £2) and free parking. There are toilets, a café, goodies for sale, good paths and hides. Please note it can be freezing on the causeways – add an extra layer!

 

Sunday 2nd March Acres Down & Mark Ash Wood. Leader: Peter Knox Email: gsw9859@gmail.com

All day car outing to Acres Down, probably the best site in the New Forest for watching raptors. A hill-top ridge provides a good vantage point overlooking a large tract of woodland. The main target species will be Goshawk, who should be “sky dancing” at this time of year. It’s a good idea to bring some kind of camping seat.
However this is dependent on the weather: if the weather forecast is particularly poor, the outing may be cancelled or an alternative destination arranged.
Rendezvous: Acres Down Car Park at 9:30am (nearest postcode is SO43 7GE). Directions: from the A31 driving west, turn off at Stoney Cross just after the Esso Petrol Station (signed: ‘Emery Down’). Go south 1¼ miles and turn right at crossroads with the signpost: ‘Acres Down’. Continue over the ford and pass the Acres Down Farm Tea Rooms (which are closed). The free car park is at end of the track. The viewpoint has no benches, which is a ½ mile walk over uneven ground. The nearest public toilets are at The Swan Inn or the New Forest National Park Heritage Centre in Lyndhurst (2 miles away). There are also motorway services on the M27 at Rownham, just north of Southampton.
After lunch, we may take a walk locally looking for Firecrest, Crossbill, Siskin, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and Woodlark. Or we may relocate elsewhere in the New Forest, to be decided on the day. Bring lunch and a hot drink. If attending, please inform the Leader in advance.

 

Wednesday 12th March (Midweek, morning) Hogsmill River Walk. Leader Stephen Waters 07949 646987

Meet at Hogsmill NR, Lower Marsh Lane 9.00. We will leave at 10. to follow the Hogsmill River into Kingston crossing over to Hampton Wick for a coffee break about 11.00. We will then pop into Bushy Park leaving after 12 and heading back to the Hogsmill reserve finishing about 1.00.

 

April 6th, Sunday (morning) Newhaven & Seaford
April 16th, Wednesday (morning) Staines Moor
April 27th, Sunday (all day) Otmoor RSPB & Farmoor Reservoir
May 7th, Wednesday (all day) Midweek: Pulborough Brooks RSPB
May 18th, Sunday (all day) Stodmarsh
May 21st, Wednesday (morning) Midweek: Thursley Common
May 28th, Wednesday (morning) Midweek: Tolworth Court Farm
June 1st, Sunday (all day) Rye Harbour
June 5th, Thursday (morning) Midweek: Farnham Heath RSPB
June 21st, Saturday (evening) Nightjars
July 2nd Wednesday (evening walk for owls) Richmond Park
July 27th, Sunday (all day) Oare Marshes
August 3rd, Sunday (morning) Butterfly Walk: Denbies Hillside
August 17th, Sunday (all day) Dungeness RSPB
September 3rd, Wednesday (morning) Midweek: Chamber Meads NR
September 14th, Sunday (all day) Pagham Harbour RSPB
September 28th Sunday (all day) Keyhaven & Pennington
October (Fri-Sun) Residential Weekend
October 19th, Sunday (all day) Langstone Harbour
October 29th, Wednesday (morning) Midweek: Bushy Park
November 2nd, Sunday (all day) Pulborough Brooks & Rackham
November 16th, Sunday (all day) Rainham Marshes RSPB
November 26th, Wednesday (morning) Midweek: Kempton NR
December 3rd, Wednesday (morning) Midweek: Barnes WWT
December 14th, Sunday (all day) Wallasea Island RSPB