Army Ornithological SocietyArmy Ornithological Society Blog
SPTA West
Another month has flown past and summer migrants are nearing the end of their passage south. There are lots of Wheatears about on the tracks and there are still Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs and Winchats feeding. Goldfinches are making large flocks of up to 300 birds and there are still family groups of Stonechats. There has been quite a few troops exercising recently and I was caught up in a HCR bridge crossing as I was about to look for Fairy Shrimp; took an opportunity to get away. On Breakheart scrape there was a late pair of nesting Stone Curlew with a juvenile at the beginning of the month. On the East there were was up to 17 birds behind Bulford ranges. A Hen Harrier was reported yesterday on the Centre and I saw one a week ago at Avebury. I was on a Bee and insect walk on the Centre yesterday dodging mortar shells and finding butterflies (2 Clouded Yellow) as well as rare plants (Tuburous Thistle). On Saturday I resumed the monthly Imber Conservation Grouops walks and had a trip around Nelson's. There were lots of Swallows feeding along with the odd House Martin. Tits are forming in flocks and there are decent numbers of Linnet and Yellowhammer. There are still plenty of Meadow Pipit and Skylark about and the occasional Tree Pipit. Ringing on the Centre included a late Grasshopper Warbler as they should have gone by now. Also gone are the Montagu's Harriers on the East. This is the month that summer visitors depart and winter visitors start to arrive. I have been around the County as well adding a few more birds to my County list but not Woodchat Shrike.
CommentsGibraltar Ringer - Pre Blog
The second visit of a mixed bag of Service ringers will begin shortly and this early blog gives due notice of future daily notes and photos of the scheme to ring birds on the north and western face of The Rock. Working closely with the Gibraltar Ornithological and Natural History Society, we will gather data for approximately 2 weeks from this part of the Rock, similar to the 2013 expedition. Based at Bruce's Farm, the team of Julia and Robin Springett, Roger Dickey, Carl and Anne Powell, Mark Cutts and Steve Copsey will be using over 1,000 feet of mist nets to catch autumn migrants, downloading data daily into the computer at Jew's Gate on the eastern side. The road team are off in 2 days followed by Roger, Carl and Anne by air. Once all the heavy lifting has been done and nets erected, Mark will join us. Hopefully Martin Routledge will also be able to ring with us at some stage.
If all goes well, we should manage some reasonable photos of southern european passerines, local birds, and also the huge passage of raptors of all kinds that fly just below our ringing site. Ringing starts at the very end of September if all goes well.
Comments
SPTA West
I have certainly left it too long to write about the Imber area. I have also covered areas on the Centre and East during the last period as well as sites around the Plain. I have also been ringing on the Centre and Braydon Forest areas. I even had some time to do some birding in Slovenia (bee-keeper nest site) on a football trip and birding in Hyde Park. At times the West has been out of bounds as this is an area the military still has some control as otherwise the lack of patrols has seen an increase in use by people walking dogs, riding bikes and 4x4 users. The main birds continue to be a good range of chats and warblers. There are family groups at this time of year including Kestrels (saw 4 families within a drive along the beril valley only a week ago). I have seen 2 Wheatears on the Plain but only 1 on the west in the Berril Valley to the east of Imber Village. The Stone Curlew plots have had half the plot tilled and on one we think a bird is still on a nest at this time of year. I organised a walk in June which was cancelled due to exercises and the one in July was linked to our annual picnic. Birds were far and few between that day however there were plenty of flowers and bugs to look at. There were plenty of butterflies in the sun including lots of Marbled White and Dark Green Fritillary. On a bee walk on the centre I saw a lot of the rare Tuburous Thistle so I know what to look out for on the West. Some birds still around are Grasshopper Warbler and Tree Pipit. Redstart have bred near Southdown Barn but every time I have looked I never found them. I saw lots of other birds though but all are expected to be there including Linnet and Goldfinch. I also will move my nest boxes around Imber as I will not wade through shoulder high nettles next year to check on Great Tits! None of my new open fronted boxes had anything in them. I will have to put up more boxes in the autumn!
CommentsSPTA West
This has been a good month for birds though I have spent some time away. I attended Beating Retreat and Trooping the Colour on Horseguards for the first time and was suitably impressed. I also watched Slovenia play England live. I flew in and out using Zagreb which has changed since I last visited when UN HQ was based there. At the beginning of the month I had organised a Bio-blitz for Heytesbury Wood and surrounding areas. The sun shone but it was rather windy (a common feature this month). There were lots of Swallow, Goldfinch, Corn Bunting and Yellowhammer as well as masses of corvids. We saw many butteflies including Marsh Fritillary and a few Painted Ladies amongst the many invertebrates. We also recorded about 130 species of plant. My House Martin Survey at the old SASC camp near Netheravon produced lots of Swallow and Swift as the only hirundines. There were none near home as well though I saw a few using a pond just in the square. I also checked my bird boxes on the Plain and they will have to move as I am not keen on walking through Stinging Nettles at shoulder height. The majority of my broods have fledged or were about to. The boxes with holes were mainly occupied by Great Tit families. I also did a lot of ringing though none on the Plain as the planned day's forecast was strong wind. I carried out my BTO BBS instead and the forecast was right. Besides recording lots of Skylark as I dodged the UXBs there were lots of butterflies which were mainly Dark Green Fritillary and Marbled White. I had a long walk in from the north as there were restrictions but I did hear Grasshopper Warbler and a Barn Owl flew over me with a vole in its claws. On the East Quail are regularly heard near Baden Down Farm and a ringtail Montagu's Harrier was spotted as I drove along the A342 (pure chance). A Great Bustard is rearing a chick and Stone Curlew scrapes seem to be active though it is hard to spot the birds at present even in low vegetation. A few Lapwings are also on the scrapes. I have been birding in the New Forest (Goshawk, Spotted Flycatcher, Redstart and Firecrest) and at Heaven's Gate and Shearwater in the County (Siskin and Crossbill). I have been ringing at Trowbidge (Reed Warblers) and in the Braydon Forest area (Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Garden Warbler, Blackcap and Chiffchaff). There are a series of woods north of the M4 between Royal Wooton Bassett and Minety. There are lots of Corn Buntings, Yellowhammers, Skylarks and Meadow Pipits on the Plain and the young are active.
CommentsCyprus Weekly - Final Edition
The Final Curtain
After 3 years and about 160 BLOGs, this is the final curtain. I’ve been struggling to find time to write the BLOG in the last couple of weeks and with it being June (the worst month for birding in Cyprus), I’ve also struggled for material, and so all in all, it’s probably time to call it a day, as I depart the island on 11 Jul and am on a Mediterranean cruise next week.
During my time on the island, I’ve submitted circa 35000 records detailing 305 species and managed to photograph many of them. My Cyprus list stood at 263 when I arrived and is now at a very respectable 320. 4 lifers were seen on the Island; Saker, River Warbler, Asian Buff-belled Pipit and Crimson-winged Finch, with an additional 2 being seen in Turkey – Brown Fish Owl and Red-fronted Serin. I’ve submitted rarity reports and supporting evidence for 37 rarity occurrences and so far, with a few pending, all have been accepted, including a few “MEGAs” like the 2nd record of Menetries’ Warbler, 5th record of Goosander, 14th record of River Warbler and recently the 1st record of Lesser Flamingo.
Despite the fact that writing the BLOG every week was a bit painful at times, on the whole, I’ve really enjoyed doing it and providing information to visitors. During my last 3 years and as a result of writing the BLOG, I’ve guided, assisted or provided information to in excess of 50 visiting birders and at a fraction of the price that they might have been charged elsewhere – so I’m very pleased about that!
The 2 tours I organised for the Army Ornithological Society – 1 in the Spring and 1 in the Winter of 2014 were very successful with lots of new birds for all those participating. The best moments; finding a male Hooded Wheatear at Cape Greco on the final day of the Spring tour and getting a Wallcreeper for Tim Cowley in Avgas George on the Winter tour.
In many ways, I have mixed emotions about leaving Cyprus. Of course I’ll miss the birding with Rollers, Beeaters and Spur-winged Plovers to name but a few in my back yard but there are also reasons why I’ll be glad to depart. Sadly, despite the country being full of potential for birders the mass slaughter of millions of birds through netting, liming and shooting continues unabated and if anything, it’s got a lot worse during the last 3 years. Europe, The Cypriot Government, Birdlife Cyprus and the SBA Police seem unwilling or unable to take any real, meaningful action to address and defeat this disgusting, cruel and barbaric practice. Lobbying and campaigning are all very well but it doesn’t save any birds without practical intervention on the ground.
I do not discriminate between the political boundaries of the country or Birdlife Cyprus and KUSKOR as birds do not adhere to political boundaries and more needs to be done to produce a set of records that represents occurrences across the island if any meaningful data is ever to be collated. How it can be described as Birdlife Cyprus that doesn’t represent the Island holistically is beyond me.
Not to end on a low, a big thank you to all the friends I’ve met in Cyprus and visitors who’ve assisted me, joined me in the field and shared bird sightings, which have all added to a fantastic birding experience. Special thanks to the kindred spirit and long standing friend Colin Richardson.
Finally, a thank you to all the BLOG readers (I really have no idea how many), who have followed the exploits of a manic birder and twitcher. I hope you’ve all enjoyed the read and found some useful information on the Birds, Orchids, Butterflies and Dragonflies of the country as a result.
Many thanks and perhaps I’ll see you all around the course.
Yours Aye
Mark Easterbrook - The Bird Finder General - “It’s All About The List”!
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