Burbush Hill 11th April

The weather was sunny. Highlights were Narrow-leaved Lungwort, Curlew, Swallows and Willow Warbler.

From the car park we took the old railway line towards Holmsley. Firstly we saw Common Dog Violets, a plant called Blinks and Gorse flowering beside the track. A Willow Warbler sang from a tree next to the track and then a Curlew flew by calling and a Swallow went whizzing past. While we were admiring the Blackthorn bushes in flower we saw Greenfinch and Chaffinch in a bush and Stonechat on top of the Gorse and Heather on the heathland. Past the new wooden house we started to see some spring flowers. Primrose and Barren Strawberry on the edges of the track and the field by the track which had had a Bracken cut was white with Wood Anemone. Wendy surprised us by finding two plants of Narrow-leaved Lungwort, a national rarity that I didn’t know occurred in this patch of the New Forest. We also saw Wood-rush and Bog Myrtle here and heard Blackbird and Robin singing. Further on through the wooded areas we saw Wood Sorrel (and ate some leaves), Marsh Marigold and more Wood Anemone and Primrose. The walk back from Holmsley had much the same, but we did hear Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler singing at the same time near the end of the walk.
Simon Curson