Army Ornithological SocietySPTA West
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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