The Nature of the New Forest Celebrating the Wildlife of a Working Common

The author, Clive Chatters, will need little introduction to anyone living in the New Forest. As an all-round naturalist, he has spent the last 40 years living there and has held several managerial posts in the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust since 1989, particularly in relation to conservation. He was also a member of the New Forest National Park Authority Board from 2004-2010, the last four years of that as its Chair. So, he knows the New Forest as well as anyone and understands both its value for nature but its long-established role as a working common.

The first chapter explains the geology of the Forest and the processes by which it was created. Then there is a longer 46-page chapter exploring the habitats of the open forest including the pasture woodlands. The next ten sections discuss the various taxa that the Forest supports: flowers and ferns, bryophytes, fungi, lichens, insects, other invertebrates, fish, reptiles and amphibians, birds and mammals. The final chapters examine the gains and losses observed in our wildlife, and finally there is discussion under the rather ambiguous title of “The Dynamic Forest” which considers some of the clear threats such as fire and ground disturbance, and other issues which often draw polarised comments, such as commoning and grazing.

The section looking at birds runs to ten pages which, at first, feels rather thin compared with the 76 pages allocated to insects and other invertebrates. However, it is a reminder that the New Forest is home to around 100 breeding bird species, it is also used by several thousand types of insects, including over 1400 moths and 2600 beetles. Although the book explores current-day biodiversity, there is also a significant look back through the last 100 years or more. I am all for looking back to see where you’ve been but there is maybe not quite enough on the current day forest bird numbers. For example, Montagu’s Harrier is mentioned as a past breeder but Hen Harrier as an important winter visitor is not. A Woodlark survey of 2019 is referenced, but instead the result from the 2006 survey is used to show a recent decline when numbers are in fact high, and similarly Dartford Warbler data from 2023 is not included. Of course, the transcript will have been written well in advance, but I would contend that these recent facts would have been available in time.

Overall, despite the somewhat dated bird information, this is a book that gives a good overview of the New Forest. As a Verderer himself, Clive Chatters understands the many pressures that the area is challenged by. He addresses some of the concerns that birdwatchers and others regularly raise as concerns. With a place such as the New Forest it is necessary to see the bigger picture. What is overgrazed for a birdwatcher may well be perfect for a botanist!