Nick Tomalin, Site Manager of our new New Forest Reserve, RSPB Franchises Lodge - chats about his plans to discover what wildlife calls the reserve home and the species he's confirmed so far!
There are plenty of people surveying birds in the New Forest, and we know a lot about the special species that you can find here, along with the more common woodland assemblage. We can look at historical records for the area, although these are quite limited due to the private nature of the site, and populations of certain species have changed over time. For example, lesser spotted woodpeckers are in decline but firecrest numbers have increased. So we can make some assumptions about the sorts of things that we are likely to find on our reserve and from this we can work out how to manage the site for particular species. And of course it’s not just birds that we are interested in - we want to give all nature a home, and there are plenty of other local interest groups that exist in the New Forest.
Photo 1: RSPB Franchises Lodge by Clare Elcoate
Assumptions and historical records will only get us so far, and so we need to build up a picture of what is here now, through survey and monitoring. Part of my job is to recruit the expertise needed to do that, by speaking to local naturalists about their knowledge of the site, and organising surveys across the reserve for this year and beyond. Although I have been birdwatching for many years, I have a lot to learn about woodland birding, especially the calls, which are so important for species hidden in the treetops or flying over. I also have a lot to learn about other species groups, and hope that I will find out more about fungi, lichen, plants, dragonflies, bats and moths through the work. With the help of local experts I’m excited to start revealing a picture of just what this special site holds.
Photo 2: RSPB Franchises Lodge by Clare Elcoate
It was particularly pleasing this week to record two species that we assumed would be present. The first was hawfinch, a small group was spotted foraging in the treetops near RSPB Franchises Lodge. This remarkable looking finch is present across the New Forest, and it is no surprise to find it here, but it is not an easy bird to spot, and its call is quite pathetic for such a chunky bird! The second was Goshawk, a large raptor that is difficult to see among the trees but occasionally circles above the wood, particularly when displaying in spring. Again, this was no surprise, but was a delight to see, given that I have had several recent potential records of this species. I had caught glimpses of birds dashing overhead or heard calls that I couldn’t explain as anything else, but had taken to calling them ‘Posshawks’ due to the high number of possible sightings that remained unconfirmed!
Photo 3: Hawfinch by Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)
This spring we will start to find a lot more, and the surveying will begin in earnest. I hope to have many more exciting finds to share soon!
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