Blog Category | UK Birding
SPTA West
This week there is live firing on the west all week so quite understandably there is no access. Over the last 4 weeks I have visited Norfolk and Somerset whilst in between I have looked at various sites in Wiltshire and even strayed into Hampshire. On the Plain the winter birds are leaving. On a walk last Sunday there were still some Fieldfares and Redwings. There were some last week on the Centre. I have started to carry out surveys there as well and a new BBS square is in the middle of the impact area! Birds seen over the last period include Snipe and Woodcock as well as raptors including Short-eared Owl, Merlin and Red Kite. There are plenty of Skylarks and Meadow Pipits about though some cold winds seem to hampen their singing. I have put up 18 bird boxes arond Imber Village and 8 re-furbished boxes along Gurkha Track. It will be interesting to see what nests in them as they are all at shoulder height so I can look in without a ladder. On area R there was a Chiffchaff and there is a pair of ravens with a nest nearby. They are nesting in the quarry as well. There are lots of tits and Chaffinches all over the place. In a flock of Chaffinches near Z Range there were 2 Brambling. Unfortunately I have not found any others. Corn Buntings remain by famland though Yellowhammers are moving about in more central areas. There are plenty of Stonechat pairs. The Spring migrants are on their way so hopefully they will stop and hang around the Plain for a while so I can note where they are, once I can get back on.
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January is normally a quiet time on the Plain for birds and the military. What is noticeable is that only a few Short-eared Owls are about though one is regularly seen at NZ Camp. There are no roosting Hen Harriers on the west and are usually found on the Impact Area though this year they tend to be ringtails. During a Hen Harrier survey mid month we only saw one Buzzard all afternoon despite there being quite a few about. Even Kestrels that were suceesful fledging last year have moved on. There are still lots of corvids and Woodpigeons about and Jays are common. There are still good flocks of Fieldfares and Golden Plover plus there was a flock of 40+ Linnet at Bishopstrow Down and 48 Corn Bunting at Vedette 8. Stripwood had numerous Great and Blu Tits as well as Bullfinch but very few Chaffinches. There are plenty of Stonechat about and even Goldcrests are in full song from most copses. The Starling murmuration at COTEC continues though whether all the birds twirl and dance in the sky is pot luck. There has to be around a million birds at times (I was 3 miles away when I saw that many) as a huge cloud continually morphed in the blue sky. This month I have counted 44 species on the Plain which is about right given I spend a lot of time in other parts of Wiltshire birding and ringing; never mind the excellent trip to the AOS weekend in Norfolk.
CommentsSPTA West
On Sunday I visited the Starling murmuration however the majority of birds went straight in after the initial crowd flew around a bit. It was the same today when I watched from 5km away at NZ farm where I was looking for Short-eared Owls; 2 hunting plus a ringtail Hen Harrier. On Monday I followed a hunting female Hen Harrier for 3 km in the car along Tinker's Track. I was on the Berril Valley SE of Imber for today and yesterday. Stonechats soon became another "Just a" (another Stonechat). Today I led a walk for the Wiltshire Ornithological Society with 34 species seen. The highlights were 2 Woodcock that were flushed for the group. A Peregrine chasing a feral dove (mainly white) and as it went in for the kill a second time disappeared behind a wood so we do not know what happened. The final highlight was when I went to flush 2 Stock Doves from a box a Barn Owl flew out instead. The day started well with a Raven throughout the morning there were a reasonable number of birds. Goldcrests were singing in every direction when we traversed a wood. They were found in other woods as well. Even 3 Skylarks put in an appearance as well as a few Meadow Pipits despite the cold frosty conditions. There were also plenty of Roe Deer and Fox sightings on the walk. A lovely day that did resemble the retreat from Moscow at times as about 50 were spread out along the Berril Valley however a good morning birding.
When I look back at the year I have recorded 76 species and that only includes one gull species; I think my recording was a bit lapse at times. Of course some of our uncommon species have flourished including Montague's Harrier, Stone Curlew, Whinchat, Corn Bunting, Yellowhammer, Skylark, Sonechat, Grasshopper Warbler and Barn Owl. It has been a very good year for breeding Barn and Tawny Owl as well as Kestrel. A highlight of the year was the Bio-blitz in June when we "did" the Warminster Range danger area for birds, plants and butterflies. Actually there have have been quite a few highlights including finding a Marsh Harrier in the centre of Imber in the summer and not content with one another was found a few weeks later. I will not go but instead wish a Happy New Year to everyone.
CommentsSPTA West
In Imber the Warriors had taken up all round defence however a Merlin with prey clutched in its claws was having none ot it as it sped past. It has been a cold and windy start to the month and at times there were few birds. That said at a small wood about a km from NZ Farm there were over 200 Chaffinches mainly on the ground looking through the beech mast. Nearby a pair of Stonechats were surveying their territory. In fact I have seen quite a few pairs this month across the area. Early in the month I gave a talk to the Wiltshire Ornithological Society about the area and am expecting quite a number for the walk at the end of the month. Hopefully we will see some of the more specialist birds. The Starling mumuration has reached at least 500k birds at the COTEC site and the other day at the Signpost by Bombard OP I watched a male Hen Harrier and a Merlin for at least half an hour. There have been plenty of Kestrels about as well as Buzzards. I have also seen a ringtail near NZ Farm heading to the Centre. The whole area is covered with Fieldfares and Redwings that number hundreds in the size of flocks. The scrubby area at Imber Firs was covered in them. Fishhook provided 8 Woodcock yesterday and there were 2 Snipe out in the open grass. The valleys and slopes to the east of Imber Copse have been cleared of scrub and only Meadow Pipits seem interested in it. I checked out the perimeter of the "Green Zone" and found 2 Chiffchaffs! There are plenty of tits around including Coal Tits in the dense area of firs. They have formed large flocks in the main as at the tank traps there was a single Long-tailed Tit! Wherever there are large flocks of Redwings and Fieldfares there is normally a pair of Mistle Thrushes lurking nearby. The highlight for me was when a Peregrine flew directly overhead at a few metres height; naturally I did not have my camera for this event. Anyway so far this month I have recorded 41 species on SPTA West.
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I have covered a lot of the Plain putting in lists for the BTO. On Deptford Down a Treecreeper was in the mature trees as well as flocks of tits. Redwings were in the bushes and it was not long before flocks of these and Fieldfares covered the area. The bushes are laden with berries so there will be no shortage of food. There is a pheasant breeding pen in the area which attracts lots of birds to the feeding stations especially Chaffinches and Yellowhammers. Late October there were plenty of active Skylarks however they are now rare and do not show themselves until flushed. Meadow Pipits are still active wherever I walk. I was involved in a ringing session near New Zealand Farm mid November specifically to ring Redwing and we were reasonably successful as I was able to compare them in the hand. This winter on the 2 November I saw my first Merlin and on 16 November I saw my first Short-eared Owl in Berril Valley. There are still plenty of Barn Owls about as well as Buzzard, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk. As ever at this time of year there are large flocks of corvids especially where there are cows grazing. This week at Daisy's there was also a flock of 400+ Woodpigeons whch took to the air with Jackdaws, Rooks and Starlings filling the sky in a massive whirl of birds. The Starling mumuration has moved again this year and is back near Gore Cross. Current estimates is that there are over 200k birds but flocks continue to fly in after the main flock has settled so there could be a lot more. They are best viewd from the COTEC site when the flags are down. Winter thrushes also include Mistle and Song Thrushes which tend to move around in pairs. In the majority of copses both Goldcrest and Wren are vocal. There are plenty of sightings of Jays though I have only seen 1 raven this month. Corn Buntings are flocking together as well as Goldfinch and Linnet. The Hen Harrier surveys have started but none on the West as yet but several roosting in the impact area. There is not the vast areas of rank grassland as the grazing regime keeps a lot of the area at a decent length. Also the farmers are gradually clearing scrub according to a 5 year plan so the Plain is meeting the requirement as a SSSI of calceous grassland. The other notable matter to report is that there is a lot more track about which often puts areas out of bounds. I watched tanks manouevering across a large expanse from a couple of kms away; a place I could survey that day.
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