The Vyne, near Basingstoke (2 Viewers)

[CasualBirderPod]

Hi, New Member here.
I have recently started visiting The Vyne National Trust property as an easy birding location with several habitats, that suit me as a casual birder.
On my second visit there (28th March) I was rewarded with seeing a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, which was a lifer for me.
I also saw my first Swallow of the season, which seemed pretty early to me.

I will update this thread with my key sightings as I find them, but I'm also keen to hear from others in the area.

 

[skatebirder]

In a normal year, there should be a few Swallows around, but they are quite late in arriving this year, along with just about all other migrants. I too have seen one Swallow in March in Hampshire this year. Hopefully the rest will follow shortly!
David

 

[PYRTLE]

Well done on seeing the woodpecker - sadly nowadays a very rare sight. Perhaps if you have time you could send details of your lifer to the county recorder. Anyhow, a great occasion and continue to enjoy birding.

 

[CasualBirderPod]

In a normal year, there should be a few Swallows around, but they are quite late in arriving this year, along with just about all other migrants. I too have seen one Swallow in March in Hampshire this year. Hopefully the rest will follow shortly!
David

Oh, that's really interesting. I felt that it was usually well into April before I started noticing Swallows, but I have this one logged this time so I can watch out for them in future years.

 

[CasualBirderPod]

Well done on seeing the woodpecker - sadly nowadays a very rare sight. Perhaps if you have time you could send details of your lifer to the county recorder. Anyhow, a great occasion and continue to enjoy birding.

Thank you. I hadn't really considered that they might be rare sightings these days - I thought I might just have been unobservant in the past. I will look for the county recorder details.