Army Ornithological SocietySPTA West
A Mumuration of Starlings
While the rest of the country shivers, here there is glorious sunshine. It was days like this last week that saw me out and about. We have our own mumuration of Starlings that gather near the COTEC site on the Larkhill impact area. They can be seen from the public road near Gore Cross (best viewpoint is 3rd flag from the crossroads). My first visit was to this viewpoint where there was quite a swirl in the sky as the initial birds gathered but as like most occasions they soon settled and awaited the mobs from other parts who arrived in the tens of thousands going straight in to roost. The second viewing was from 5km away. There were 2 clouds visible with the eye before the birds settled and again it was just the initial rush as soon others came streaming in with long lines of up to a kilometre long. They kept coming from all directions including over my head for the next half hour. It is difficult to estimate numbers but there must be over half a million if not more. This is an amazing display and I am still waiting for the Pergrine to fly through once most have gathered.
The other spectacle at this time of year are the numbers of Short-eared owls quartering the ground. From one spot deep in the training area with the car parked on American Road, I saw 5 owls in 3 different grid squares. There was a pair getting to know each other and 3 others all hunting, flying backwards and forwards across the ground with the occassional dive into the rough grass. The Plain was devoid of troops and the only noise was the wind and the call of corvids. There was a noisy interuption as a Merlin tried to grab my attention but I had my bins focussed below the machine to see what birds the RAF would disturb; more corvids! He soon left and I took a slow drive down to Bridge Crossing 3 where a lonesome Lapwing stood forlorn in the mud without a friend nearby. This year there are very few Lapwings around and I have only seen one small flock of Golden Plover. I the stopped near Stripwood to observe the Starlings and wait for any raptors flying over the ridge of which of course there were none. As an aside when I was driving home across the Plain last Wednesday I spotted a rare sight of some CR2 tanks actually training; the shrimps will welcome their return.
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