Our Animal Fact Files will focus on one animal that you can find in the New Forest and each blog will share lots of interesting facts about our animals, so everyone can learn and understand more about the wonderful wildlife in our beautiful National Park…
Top facts about Birds in the New Forest:
- There are approximately 100 species of breeding birds in the New Forest
- There are also approximately 20 avian visitors which arrive or pass through the New Forest over the winter months
- From March to July, ground nesting birds, including the Dartford Warbler, Nightjar, Stonechat, Curlew and Lapwing, use our heathlands to nest on the ground
- Woodpeckers love the trees in our woodlands, as do Tree Creepers and Nuthatches
- Buzzards are the most common Bird of Prey you may see in the New Forest, but we are also home to many more Birds of Prey, including Goshawk, Osprey, Sparrowhawk and Kestrels
- You may catch a colourful glimpse of a Kingfisher near streams and water in the New Forest
- At our coastlines, wetland and bogs you can find Brent Geese, Black-Tailed Godwit, Dunlin and Grey Plover
- Some of the best places to birdwatch are at our coastlines, wetland and bog areas, including Lymington and Keyhaven Marches Nature Reserve, Beaulieu Heath, Blashford Lakes Nature Reserve and Roydon Woods Nature Reserve are also great places for bird watching
- You can learn more about Birds in the New Forest on a guided walk
Please always follow the New Forest Code in the New Forest. Keep yourself, dogs and horses on the main tracks from the beginning of March to the end of July during ground nesting bird season. Do not touch or feed the animals. Be careful when driving through the forest, as the animals have little to no road sense. See the full New Forest Code below: