Last weekend I embarked on a brilliant trip to the New Forest on the Wild New Forest Wildlife Camp, sponsored by the Cameron Bespolka Trust. It was truly incredible, spread from Friday evening to Sunday afternoon, and featured bird-ringing, visits to the coast and nocturnal walks. It is usually held at Cameron’s Cottage, another residential area in the New Forest, in Spring, Autumn and Winter. For the 2024 Spring camp however, it was held at the CET (Countryside Education Trust).
The Countryside Education Trust was adjacent to a farm, separated by very little. In fact, it was basically on the farm, with all its buildings and accommodation on the same ground. Home Farm was the residential building, a one-storey stout house that would be our home for the weekend. In the evening light (or what was left of it), the lights inside were bright and welcoming, and with the fading sun, we went inside.
A kitchen/lounge area was in front of us, and two corridors with bedrooms went off the far walls. Immediately, I felt comfortable thanks to Marcus, Emily and their team of mentors. I ended up reading a few of the posters and books scattered around the room until everybody arrived.
Over the next few hours, I met some amazing people who love wildlife and nature like me, and it felt great to be among like-minded people, as this is not often something I experience. I truly hope to stay in contact with some of those people and know them better in future!
Following an icebreaker in the form of a quiz, we set out on a walk to Hatchett Pond, supposedly haunted following the failed testing of floating tanks there in preparation for the D-Day landings.
There were no vehicles resting in the car park when we arrived in the minibus, and torches shining on the lake revealed two silent Canada geese, otherwise invisible in the pitch black darkness (it was around 9:00PM at this time). As we trudged through the bog, everybody kept an eye out for anything or find of interest and after around half an hour we scattered into small groups to search the heather and trees by torchlight. Following the discovery of a collection of orb-weaver spiders and some caterpillars in the gorse, we headed back the way we came, in order to head back and prepare for a 5AM start the next day.
The weekend would prove to be truly incredible, with so many great experiences and wildlife firsts! Stay tuned to hear about them over the coming weeks.
The Bovey Birder 