Easter

Friday
Shopping

Saturday
Went up to Cadman's Pool at 6am but the weather was bad. There was a strong, cold wind & it was sleeting so I only stayed out for an hour.
The Thrushes were still singing away through Anses Wood with Chaffinches & Great Tits & a few Hawfinches were singing in the Alder trees by the Dockens Water.

Later on in the afternoon driving along at Broomy Plain a Ringtail Hen Harrier quatered the heath next to the road.

Sunday
The weather wasn't too bad this afternoon. The wind had dropped a bit & we had some sunny spells.
Me & the girlfriend decided to go for a short walk through Wooton Coppice Inclosure & then back along the Avon Water.
Along the way we saw & heard Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Green Woodpeckers, Crossbills, Siskins, Blackbirds, Robins, Wrens, Chaffinches, & Grey Wagtails.
Along the stream the Wild Garlic is really starting to come up.

Later on in the afternoon I went back up to a different part of the Forest by myself & sat up on an open area 500 meters away from a Goshawk nest site hoping to catch a glimpse if one of the pair flew over.
No luck but a pair of Buzzards that are always around here were courting, Firecrest were singing above me & a Hawfinch was calling not far away.

Monday
Did the usual Blackwater route first thing this morning with a couple of friends.
It was cloudy but the wind was down to a breeze.
Along the way we saw & heard Red hinds, Fallow bucks & does, Robins, Wrens, Goldcrests, Firecrests, Song Thrushes, Mistle Thrushes, Woodlarks, Chiff Chaff, Goldfinch, Mallard Ducks, Canada Geese, Great Tits, Blue Tits, Siskins, a Kingfisher, Grey Wagtails, Mandarin Ducks, loads of Great Spotted Woodpeckers drumming, 2 Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers (calling), Nuthatches, Buzzard, Green Woodpeckers, Jays, Lapwings, Redwings, Hawfinches, Coal Tits, Lesser Celendines & Primroses.

About mid-day we went visiting my girlfreinds sister & brother in-law over in Verwood. After a couple of hours we left the wimmin talking & went for a walk around some farmland where they live.
We saw 4 Roe does & a buck in tatters (velvet hanging off his antlers), Green Woodpecker, a Kingfisher on a small stream near a fishing pond, Mistle Thrushes, Stonechats, Meadow Pipits, Linnets, Grey Heron, Kestrel, Goldfinch & a fox ran across the lane & into a field.
Quite a few flowers out here compared to the Forest. There was Red Dead-nettle, White Dead-nettle, Dogs Mercury, Primroses, Lesser Celendines, Wild Arum leaves, Wild Garlic leaves, Scentless Mayweed, Greater Stitchwort & Moschatel.