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CHAPTER XV. 

 THE NEW FOREST. 



LOOKING over notes connected with a series of visits to the New Forest, 

 one cannot but be struck with the paucity of rare birds that one remembers 

 there. No doubt, as is the case with the Broad district, a dweller in the 

 neighbourhood will in the course of years meet with many interesting species, 

 but the casual visitor, however sharp his eyes, however fervid his energy, 

 is almost sure to come away disappointed. This is due to the nature of 

 the country. The splendid and varied scenery of the Forest, the heather- 

 clad heaths, the spongy bogs and alder brakes, and the majestic grandeur 

 of its noble trees, seem to mark it out as the natural rendezvous of the very 

 elite of bird society, and this is just the reason why one sees so little it 

 is too often a case of good birds or none at all. 



The Beaulieu and Lyndhurst heaths are ideal places for Harriers, but 

 once only has it been my good fortune to see them there. So it is with 

 Mark Ash and Boldre Wood ; every moment one expects to see a Honey- 

 Buzzard, but the Harrier and the Buzzard are gone, and silence reigns in 

 the district that once re-echoed with their cry ; and thus it comes about that 

 from most expeditions to the New Forest one returns having seen little 

 more than can be observed during an everyday walk in any ordinary wood. 



Still the glorious traditions and associations of the place will always 

 attract the naturalist ; he will never feel satisfied until he has been there ; 

 and a record of the experiences of one who has often himself been disappointed 

 may perhaps serve as a guide to the more likely spots, and save the new- 

 comer from many an unproductive tramp. 



As regards the shooting, the Forest has been called the " Poor Sports- 

 man's Paradise " ; but though a licence to shoot over it can be obtained for 

 the moderate sum of 15 or thereabouts, the restrictions are of such a nature 

 that only residents are likely to avail themselves of the privilege. Most 

 people will be content to regard it as a place where they must lay aside 

 the gun, but can ramble and study nature unrestrained. It is useless to 

 try and do the Forest in a single walk ; it is best to split up its area into 



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