Army Ornithological SocietyBlog Category | UK Birding
SPTA West
It is now well into January and the bournes on Imber are in full spate. It was not that long ago that the Berrill through Imber was in flood. I wisely turned off onto American Road as I drove into the village as did 4 minibuses of Afghans. The water was getting deeper and though my car is used to muddy and wet tracks this was worse than driving landrovers throuh Icelandic rivers. At Chitterne the road was closed and some person has put up a sign under the village name "Twinned with Atlantis". Tilshead had become a ford and half the road was closed with a line of sand bags down the middle to prevent too much water crossing the road. Everywhere the ground is saturated and all rain just runs straight off fields and springs are in full flow. I did take a break from the Plain with the AOS trip to Norfolk which proved to be a good day despite the weather. On the Sunday I went to the bird spectacular at Snettisham which truly was. I then popped back to Titchwell where I missed Lapland Bunting by minutes but did add Water Rail, Rock Pipit and Brambling. Back home I also visited Blashford Lakes (Red-crested Pochard and Black-necked Grebe) as well as wasting half a day on Southampton water looking for Velvet Scoter but did bag Long-tailed Duck at Hayling Island. In between I have managed some time on the Plain though the tanks are back which restricts which areas I can walk in. There are plenty of raptors around especially Buzzards. In addition the chances of seeing Short-eared Owl, Peregrine, Merlin, Kestrel and Sparrowhawk are good. There are Hen Harriers about however the Centre is still the favoured area. There were 500+ Linnet at the Lavington Vedette and 500+ Golden Plover at Gore Cross. Ravens are commonplace and they are putting on a great spectacle as they tumble through the sky. It has been very windy for a few weeks and where there are sheltered spots, flocks of tits have been found along with Goldcrests and Reed Buntings. There was a flock of 200+ Corn Buntings near the Tilshead Water Tower whilst Stonechat and Yellowhammer are spread across the Plain. This weekend is the RSPB Garden Birdwatch so I shall spend some time on that before heading out.
CommentsSPTA West
It is the last week of the year and the Plain has been basking in sunshine, well some of the time. The main roads are open as well as Imber Church and the village has been packed and chaotic with cars parked on both sides of the road as far as the bridging site 1. I shall however start on the Centre as the annual murmuration of Starlings is back in force. This year they are being very secretative and have estabished a roost in the centre of the impact area just south of Chirton Gorse. I found them by following a flock and driving down the track between Redhorn Vedette and Bombard (not brilliant for cars). There were 3 main groups and the bushes were packed. In addition I saw 3 Peregrines that had finished hunting for the evening and were flying away. Last Sunday I led a walk for the Wiltshire Ornithological Society to the north and west of Imber Village. There were 46 of us and we had a very pleasant walk in the sun. On the Plain that day was a massive cycling event, a running event, geo-caching group plus motorcross. Then there were all the visitors to the church so it was very busy. Fortunately we were on our own out on the training area and though there were not many birds we did see 29 species. There were no big flocks of thrushes but there was one of Goldfinches. In addition we saw Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Redpoll, Goldcrest, Sparrowhawk, Woodcock and Stonechat to mention a few. The previous day I had also seen Great Spotted Woodpecker and Reed Bunting on the route. Alas there was not a Hen Harrier nor a Short-eared Owl. I did see them that afternoon however at bridge crossing 3. I popped out this afternoon to the eastern side of the Warminster Danger Area and though I did not see the key wintering birds there were plenty of other birds especially in some of the scrub and gorse that has not yet been removed. One of my favourite warbler sites by Gurkha Track is being scrubbed out and soon there will be little scrub left. The winter bournes are not yet running though there are plenty of puddles and the ponds are full. Despite lots of visitors, away from the major routes the area remains wild and a haven for wildlife. Happy New Year.
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It has been very quiet on the Plain with only a few military stragglers still training before the roads were opened up last weekend. It has been very windy and at times rather wet. Only 6 of us braved the elements for a walk last Saturday. The only birds of note were a large flock of Great Tits with some Blue Tits and a Coal Tit. Of course there were the normal corvids and Woodpigeons. We had plenty of fresh air even if the birds thought we were mad being out in the open. The previous day was much better (no rain) and I popped out for a look at the newly arrived Great Grey Shrike at the back of Harman Lines. If this was the same bird as last year it may think it is in the wrong place as so much of the scrub has been removed. There are only a few little patches left by Battlesbury Bowl and the Boreham Valley. It was a very confiding bird as I started to attach my camera to my telescope (Birdfair purchase) it flew closer resulting in a quick change of lens by me.
The previous weekend was the Hen Harrier Survey and whilst they had 7 birds in the Centre the West saw none! There were teams out on Saturday (not so strormy) and a few of us did the Sunday as well. There were Golden Plover, Lapwings, Fieldfare, Kestrels and 2 Merlin but no harriers. None of the birds roosting in the Centre came from the West so the thought is that somewhere there is a roost on the West. The difficulty is that there has been so much scrub clearance and gazing that there does not seem to be an area that would be the right habitat to search. As there are no troops on the area members of the conservation group will be out looking during the break. The only other people out will be the Deer Management team but they cannot get close to deer as so much scrub has been removed. (I wonder if the farming HLS payments are due soon?). As the rain lashes the windows I will not be popping out on the Plain for a last look before Christmas therfore,
Merry Christmas to my reader 😊
CommentsSPTA West
A few late Wheatears are passing through. Winter thrushes are arriving with flocks of Redwings and Fieldfares present. Over the weekend I saw 3 major flocks of Fieldfares at over 100 birds. Redwings are found by the small woods and I was able to count 17 flying around Imber Firs on Saturday. During that walk besides 27 bird species there were numerous fungi, some Fairy Shrimps and good plants including Small Toadflax, Pale Flax, Dwarf Spurge and of course a non UK plant, Hairy Rocket, found on training areas in Germany. On the walk there were large flocks of Goldfinch (50+), Rooks (150+), Linnet (30+) plus a range of woodland and grassland birds. Meadow Pipits have formed small flocks and Skylarks were calling. Small flocks of Starlings have started to form and on Sunday night I saw several flocks of over 200+ heading for refuge near their favourite winter haunt on Larkhill. There was also another flock of 100+ Fieldfare flying overhead and 50+ Golden Plover flying around the escarpment. There are quite a few coveys of Red-legged Partridge about that must belong to the local shoot but have survived so far. Sunday was not a good day for weather but this did not stop a team ringing near Marlborough so I can add Marsh Tit and Willow Tit to my ringing list. My fingers were easy meat for Blue Tits and Coal Tits though the greatest haul out out of the nets were Goldcrests. Last weekend was also rubbish weather and our Hen Harrier survey on the Imber area recorded no birds though one was recorded on Larkhill impact area. In fact hardly any birds were seen the previous weekend though there was a Snipe, some Starlings and in my location a miserably looking Robin. The weather forecast for the next week is not looking good.
CommentsSPTA West
Actually it is more like SPTA Centre as the main western area was out of bounds as large metal hunks charged around with lots of other smaller metal hunks. My car is not built to withstand that sort of impact so it took to stony tracks elsewhere. Near the Deptford Down air strip they have been breeding pheasants, as I soon discovered when keeping a tally on numbers. It went down on birdtrack as species present. There were still lots of Chiffchaffs about and on the open areas there were Stonechat and Yellowhammer. I also saw my first flock of Fieldfare for the winter as birds flew over me. It was also the day of my last sighting of a Swallow (so far). A Robin tried to drown out the Apache flying nearby amongst the cacophony of other bird calls. It was a a lovely day with 27 species plus lovely examples of Command Speckled Wood butterflies. Visiting the impact area on a sunny afternoon produced a Red Kite and a soaring Ring tail as well as Meadow Pipits gallore. A flock in the distant looked like Golden Plover and I was positive I saw another flock in Gloucestershire as I headed to Wales for a funeral. All I need to do is confirm they are back on the Plain! The cold chill now in the air certainly helps portray an autumn air though when ringing there was a Whitethroat and a Grasshopper Warbler in the nets which should not be here. I have to remind myself that an Indian Summer was still here until a few days ago. As ever there were still lots of Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps as well as Meadow Pipits. Another Goldcrest was caught and Great Tits developed a taste for my flesh. Ringing again on the site a few days later we were distracted by the boom, whistle and bang coming from the west as we collected more Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Meadow Pipits from nets. All morning this noise went on and from where my was parked I could see the dirt rising up as the whistling stopped. That morning another Hen Harrier flew past and on a net run a Merlin also flew past very quickly. It was the last day of ringing at West Down until April next year so having talked about the arrival of thrushes around the place I was able to ring my first Redwing. The exercise on the West is over and this weekend winter surveys start.
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