Saturday October 6

A beautiful sunny morning with very little breeze. I was birding alone today, and soon found that the warm weather was encouraging migrants to remain around. Five House Martins were still hunting insects over Netherstead Farm, and during the day two groups of Swallows totalling 22 birds, moved through. I counted four Chiffchaffs in the hedgerows, and noticed that Robins were much more in evidence as at least 12 were making their presence felt around the site, equalling my highest count. Autumn was represented by the odd Siskin, eight Lesser Redpolls, 30 Meadow Pipits flying south, and a Grey Wagtail. A Sparrowhawk disturbed a cloud of small birds from the thistle field, and they proved to be a record estimate of 140 Goldinches. The flash produced 103 Teal,  42 Snipe, and a calling Green Sandpiper.




Robin


I got talking to a chap called William who was putting out feed for the Mallards ahead of this year's shooting season. While I wish duck shooting didn't happen at Morton Bagot, it is long established here and I have no intention of picking a fight with the protagonists. William proved to know his birds and said he did his best to ensure that the punters stuck to shooting Mallard. We had an interesting conversation about the birds he has seen in the area over the years. His most relevent sighting was a Short-eared Owl he flushed from the field behind the pool last October. I couldn't disguise my envy as this was a first for Morton Bagot, and a bird I could well have imagined finding.

 Earlier this year Matt Griffiths drew my attention to a website which implied that extensive tree-planting inspired by the new owner's vision was due to start next year, earlier than I had understood would be the case. William confirmed that this was correct, although the field behind the pool is still protected by the stewardship scheme. I have to say that the potential change in the habitat is a worry as the forest is unlikely to benefit species like Tree Sparrows, Yellowhammers, and Skylarks which are in trouble nationally but are currently doing rather well at Morton Bagot. Time will tell.