A group of thirteen of us set off from Newlands Corner Discovery Centre into a stiff breeze but a blue-skied horizon, descending to our first stop on the slope below. Standing beneath our first of many singing Chaffinch, we had immediate sightings of several Linnet, a perched Whitethroat and a Kestrel flypast. Garden Warblers & Blackcaps sang out either side of our further descent, including a smart male of the latter perched above the blackthorn scrub as we passed by. Two more Kestrels arrived, possibly a pair, so the first interloper was swiftly seen off to hunt elsewhere.

The normally cereal-filled field above New Barn Farm was a delight of sown wildflowers – Crimson Clover, Purple Vetch, Sow Thistle and Lacy Phacelia amongst others.  The flowers were busy with bees and butterflies including Green-Veined White and a rather washed out Painted Lady. Numerous Skylarks darted about, ascending in song, and two Buzzards circled low overhead as we progressed to the farmyard. The farmhouse & buildings were buzzing with House Sparrows and a couple of Dunnocks sang from the hedgerow, accompanied by a noisy, resident Cockerel. Turning right to ascend along a sandy bridleway, a distant Wood Lark was heard, two more Linnets sighted and a solitary Swallow darted above the long grass. A Great Spotted Woodpecker flew between oak trees & one of three Green Woodpeckers heard in total yaffled nearby.

Crossing to the St Martha’s side, we heard our first singing Firecrest. Further along a noisy GS Woodpecker nestling demanded to be fed as its parent pipped nearby. Robin & Wren song accompanied us up the slope towards the church, as well as a clattering of Jackdaws in the treetops. After a short pit stop at the summit to take in the view & catch a breeze in the now warm heat of the full sun, we descended through flowering rhododendrons into the welcome shade of towering sequoias, pausing to enjoy the songs of several Firecrests & Goldcrests. A Chiffchaff was spotted alongside a busy Goldcrest parent with a beak full of goodies. Nearby a Raven, possibly a juvenile spotted on earlier walks, noisily cronked and a pair of Stock Doves cooed from above.

Leaving the shade of the conifers, we started our slow climb back towards Newlands Corner, out onto the chalk grassland slope & back into the woods ending at the Yew Project board walk. Along with the usual array of other woodland birds (& their fledged young), our tally of species seen and/or heard was a respectful thirty three.