I spent a good part of the day at a small reserve in the New Forest at Linwood where we are discussing a habitat restoration project with the Our Past, Our Present Heritage Lottery project. The reserve is small but interesting as it is in the New Forest but not grazed by livestock. It is mainly woodland of quite recent origin and within the trees are areas of mire and it is maintaining these that is the objective. The open history of the site is attested by the patches of bog myrtle and the rare white sedge. The sedge is not that rare nationally but is predominantly a northern and western species and is rare in southern England.
white sedge
The New Forest is something of a haven in southern England for species that are otherwise typically more often found northern or even upland areas. The reason is mainly that it is one of the few areas with bogs and mires in this part of the country. One of the once typical birds of such places, the curlew called repeatedly from the open bog beyond the reserve as we were looking around. There are now only about 40 pairs remaining in the New Forest and breeding success is worryingly low. As with many other species habitat change is probably a major factor nationally, but within the New Forest increasing recreation is probably a factor too, since the habitat appears to remain much as before.
There was not much news from Blashford, although the second year little gull was still to be seen from Tern hide.
Blashford Lakes Nature Reserve 