Army Ornithological SocietyBlog Category | UK Birding
SPTA West
After a short break by the tropical waters of the South Atlantic it was back to local birding. There was however a quick trip to the south coast with the AOS within a few days of returning. All the major exercises have finished so access is good to the Plain. Last week I was walking around several areas but there was nothing out of the ordinary. Corvids and pigeons still dominate the area however Ravens are now a common sight or more precisely sound. There are large flocks of Linnet and Goldfinch as well as increasing number of tit flocks. Meadow Pipits are moving through as are Swallows. There seems to be quite a migrant passage going on. Last Saturday there was a Marsh Harrier hunting along a grass ridge before being spotted by local Jackdaws that drove it off across a field with one week old lambs (destined for Waitrose). An organised walk was held covering Ranscombe Bottom and Thirteenhundred Down finishing past the grenade range. It was very quiet but still 22 species were seen including a Wheatear and Jay. Our local Peregrines did not dissapoint though one flew off before the main party had made it up the steep incline to the fence line. One was still at its nest not far from a Raven nest. A Jay ended up in the ringing nets on Monday when I joined some colleagues on Haxton Down (SPTA East). This confirmed migration was in full swing with lots of Chifchafs, Blackcaps and Meadow Pipits caught. We also caught Grasshopper Warbler, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Redstart, Sedge Warbler, Reed Bunting as well as several other species; I ringed my first Goldcrest. On two previous walks there did not seem to be much about and even on the day of ringing there was little actitviy in the air except for the Swallows. There was however a lot of birds caught (199 new birds in 6 hours) that showed there was a lot going on. The difficulty for observers is that the birds are feeding on the centre of vegetation and not displaying on the edges thus giving the impression that not a lot is happening. Reality is that there is a lot of movement but to those out walking there are few birds hence my statement that there was nothing out of the ordinary. Of course there is nothing ordinary about the Plain and on Saturday we found some Bastard Toadflax; a nationally scarce plant that somewhere else would have conservationists declaring the area a national nature reserve. Also reported are temporary pools with Scarce Blue-tailed Damselfly. The one that did get away from me, as I was at Portland, was a Great Reed Warbler ringed on the Centre which has caused quite a stir. Salisbury Plain out of the ordinary?; obviously I am not looking hard enough.
CommentsSPTA West
Earlier this month the area was out of bounds so I missed the Red-back Shrike seen by our PhD student and her BTO supervisor. That said I have been helping with the Whinchat study normally as muscle to move the batteries for nest cameras and sward measurer and scribe for inverterbrate surveys. We have had 52 pairs of Whinchat breed on the Imber area alone. I have a few nests to check this coming week though one has already been predated and it is too late in the season for the pair to try again. As an aside I have been helping with ringing at a CES site just north of the Plain and quite a few adults are already in molt rather than breed again. I have also been ringing in the Centre with a good mix of birds including Nightingale, Grasshopper Warbler and Redstart. Of course all this dry weather has meant a few fires on the impact area but fortunately the wind direction has not affected the very early starts ringing involves. Elsewhere on the Plain the summer is quite quiet. There have been plenty of Swallows, and corvids plus Yellowhammer, Corn Bunting, Skylarks and Meadow Pipits. The Southdown Barn road always provides Stonechat, Whinchat, Wheatear and Reed Bunting and it did not let me down on an organised walk last weekend. The highlight was a Hobby that mobbed a Buzzard, chased a Woodpigeon and caught a Swallow. The Plain is covered in Butterflies and Marbled White, Small Skipper, Ringlet and Meadow Browns dominate. In addition Dark Green Fritillary and Gatekeeper are increasing in number. There are plenty of moths as well and areas that have been previously grazed are a riot of colour from wild flowers. The annual nature walk and picnic was more of a botany walk than anything as obscure plants that are normally found in Western Germany training areas were located!
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The Plain in the west has been out of bounds for a couple of weeks due to an exercise. The weather has not been great either and yesterday I did not join the other 21,000 partygoers at Stonehenge as the sun would not be seen; too much cloud. Ringing on the Centre did not take place this morning due to strong winds and rain. I did get onto the West yesterday for a long morning helping out the Phd student investigating Whinchats. First task was to locate a new nest as the previous nest had been predated. There are plenty of badgers and foxes on the Plain but she did not know what had predated the eggs. Anyway we found the new nest which had 6 eggs in it. The next task was ringing 5 chicks at another site and then recording the activity of the parents over the following hour. I did notice that the male did a lot of sitting on a high point by the nest whilst the female looked for food. It is quite an appealing activity however I am not sure that Domestic Chief of Staff will feel the same way. We then set up a camera at another nest still with eggs to see if a predator will come along. Afterwards it was then a bug survey using 2 transects on a square where there were no Whinchats. Every 100m we recorded sward height and what came out of the sweep net. There were large numbers of caterpillars and Chafer Beetles as well as flies, ants, aphids and beetles of different sizes. Though the West had restricted access there was no restriction on the East. I met the two Richards from Surrey at a Tank Crossing to see Montagu's Harrier that was nesting nearby. All was quiet until tall Richard called Great Bustard. The bird flew in front of us landing in the grass near the harrier breeding site. The Range Warden who was also there called the Great Bustard Project so that a member of the team could establish its identity. It seems that this bird had been previously sighted in the east as far as the M25. After taking some long range photos we went to look for other birds and on a scrape found a Stone Curlew with chick besides Lapwings and Stock Doves. No Quail was heard nor a Whinchat seen though I did find one not too far away as I went home. Anyway after we had looked at other sites we went back to the harrier site in time to see the birds do a food pass on the wing. That was an excellent way to end some bird watching on the eastern end of the Plain.
CommentsSPTA West
Whitethroats, Whinchats et al
It has been a few weeks since I updated you on SPTA West. We are well into surveys and and monitoring. The expectant summer visitors have arrived with Whitethroats once more dominating the scattered bushes. Whinchats have returned and this year we are checking the valleys rather than random grid squares. Practically every valley has had a bird reported and in some there are several pairs. Our PhD researcher has been busy with her experiments this year though at times she has been battling the elements. All our scrapes have reported sightings of Stone Curlew and we are using the same nomenclature as the RSPB to ensure no confusion. We have been checking some Schedule 1 land on the northern side for Corn Buntings which was missed in a previous survey and quite a few singing males have been recorded. In the Warminster Danger Area, Nightingales have been recorded in dense scrub though not yet in the grid square that is managing habitat for them. During the surveys up to 3 Short-eared owls were seen so we hope that they indicate a least one breeding pair on the west. Also recorded across the area was Grasshopper Warbler, Redstart, Wheatear and Willow Warbler. Our nesting Peregrines are doing well with 2 nests found though initial reports on owl boxes suggest many birds are breeding slightly later than normal. During my walks I have also been recording Fairy Shrimps and Toad spawn. I found a Common Newt in one puddle in a valley off Tinkers Track. Butterflies have been scarce and plants seem to be late. Unfortunately due to commitments of leaders there is no walk this month but hopefully in June we will find orchids, butterflies and and plenty of young birds.
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A Mediterranean Gull amongst the hundreds
It has been a rather blustery and cold landscape on the Plain. The majority of birds are skulking around deep in any cover and rarely move. I practically stepped on a Pheasant before it moved which made me jump. Even the corvids are bunkering down. The Wheatears are arriving at a steady rate and they have been seen across the area. Incidentally the BTO web site still keeps telling me thay are out of season. A Stone Curlew was seen on the Centre northern road. There are still flocks of Starlings, Fieldfare and Golden Plover. Also seen were Woodcock and Stonechat. This weekend Imber Village was open to the public. The village is dry and the water is not flowing down the main street. Even the ponds to prevent flooding are nearly dry. It is amazing how quickly the water disappears once the rain stops. The bournes are still flowing but have decreased in flow rate. At long last I managed to find a Mediterranean Gull amongst the hundreds of Black-headed and Common Gulls that are found south of the Plain on the A36 valley. There is also a Little Ringed Plover on Langford Lakes which is not too far away from Knook Camp.
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