PAST TALKS

On the warmest ever June day we went in search of Pine Martens in the Forest near Puttles Bridge. It was early Evening and our Host Athol set a dangerous precedent by providing a glass or two of Prosecco. At around 8pm our guide came to take us to the pine martens. Marcus Ward gave a talk about Pine Martens earlier in the year and this field trip was a follow up to the talk. ​​

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Marcus is a walking encyclopedia on the flora and fauna of the New Forest. Within a couple of hundred yards he stopped to point out an extremely rare Grass Emerald Moth. Then a puff ball which had a story of symbiosis with the surrounding trees. Each providing the other with nutrients

We arrived at the place where Pine Martens should be and of course we were disappointed they did not show up. Marcus explained why they frequented this spot. What their diet is - basically they will eat anything being omnivores. They are prey to foxes but they eat squirrels.We then went on a walk with the objective of hearing Nightjars and Woodcocks. We passed a Studded Blue Butterfly also rare, with a symbiotic relationship with ants which was also fascinating. It spends alot of its time in the ants nest being looked after by the ants. At the top of a long climb with the sun setting we heard the nightjar which had become the plan B after not seeing Pine Martens. We learned that the woodcock is a large bird about the size of a hen. and the snipe a relatively small bird. The curlew that nested in the bog only appeared early in the season this year but has since departed. The future of these birds is under threat. We saw a coral necklace plant right on the path. Extremely rare only found in Aviemore and the New Forest. It was suggested it arrived in the new forest stuck to Athol's shoe since Athol is from around the Aviemore area. We returned to the cars at 10pm thanked Marcus for a very enlightening walk and talk. Also many thanks to Athol for leading the event and bringing the refreshments.