A request to birders visiting Morton Bagot

I have been asked by Matt Willmott of English Nature to remind birders visiting the site that the field containing the two flash pools is private and can be viewed from the public footpath which runs from Morton Bagot church along the small brook and hedgeline on the south-east side of the field.


The view of the nearest flash from the footpath



The area covered by this blog is not a nature reserve. It is owned by three farmers, all of whom have a good relationship with English Nature and are happy to farm the land in an eco-friendly way. Fortunately the site can be adequately birded from public footpaths.

The most sensitive area is the field containing the flash pools which is owned by Steve Green. He has told Matt that he has seen birdwatchers walking across the flash field, and he is not happy about it.

Obviously the landowner's wishes should be respected, particularly as Steve is such a good custodian of the site, it would be terrible to lose his good will. It also makes no sense to go into the field as this could disturb the waders and wildfowl that use it, and in any case it is perfectly possible to see what birds are present without trespassing, although a telescope will help.

Lecture over, I have a couple of pieces of bird news from John Yardley. He saw three Little Ringed Plovers on Sunday afternoon, and this evening 21 Teal and nine Snipe.