@PatchBirding Morgan's Hill - Patchwork Challenge

Morgan's Hill is nationally important for the quality of its chalk grassland and the diversity of fauna and butterflies. However, Morgan's Hill (and the North Wessex Downs in general) is not widely appreciated for its avifauna. 

I intend to show that this is a misconception and that, in fact, the North Wessex Downs is a great place to go birding, and maybe (with a little luck) see something unusual. 

To this end, I have taken up the Patchwork Challenge. Essentially I will record all the birds that I see in an area of 3 OS grid squares roughly centred on Morgan's Hill Reserve (SU0267). A score will be given, based on each species rarity, and then a yearly total is established. Highest yearly total, of all competitors, is the winner.

Now, when you compare my area with some of the other entrants, you can see that there is a high chance of coming last. I'm not going to be seeing many water birds; I'm not going to be seeing many waders; I'm not going to be seeing many sea birds; in fact I may not see anything particularly 'rare' at all. What I will be seeing is mainly farmland birds and birds of open country.

All the birds on the Farmland Bird Index are present, including tree sparrow, corn bunting and turtle dove. Then there will be species such as tree pipit, raven, stonechat, ring ouzel, redstart and cuckoo that turn up at various times. Raptors are in abundance; peregrine, merlin, hobby, red kite have all been seen. Owls; short-eared, barn, tawny. Then you have the 'hit the jackpot' types such as great grey shrike and dotterel. I'll be breaking out the bubbly if I see any of them though.

Have a look at 11. Marlborough Downs for a little more in-depth look at the wider area. The link takes you to the Wiltshire Ornithological Society website, which is well worth perusing.

As usual I will be uploading all my records to BirdTrack and WSBRC .

So, there you have it. Check out the Patchwork Challenge blog, to see what I'm up against (gulp). I will shortly be providing a map of my patch area. This shows the area around the reserve, from which I will make my patch of roughly 3 grid squares.

@WiltsWildlife Morgan's Hill BTO Cuckoo in the Congo

In this, the first BTO cuckoo update in a while, we can see that Lloyd, the Welsh cuckoo that flew over Morgan's Hill back in the summer, is now in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He is the most southerly of the remaining cuckoo's being tracked, of which only a handful remain. Many have been lost along the way.

Check out Lloyd's progress here and see how he and the others are getting on. Bear in mind that updates are few and far between now that Lloyd has reached his over-wintering destination. This is because the satellite tracker only sends signals when there has been significant movement.

@WiltsWildlife - Information and contact

If you have any photos, wildlife sightings or queries regarding Morgan's Hill, please either send them to the Trust, or directly to me on nick.self@virgin.net. I am particularly interested in bird sightings from the grid reference SU0267 and the surrounding 1km buffer zone. Thank you.

Wildlife sightings can be reported here at the Wiltshire and Swindon Biological Records Centre.

Wiltshire Wildlife Trust can be contacted directly here.

@WiltsWildlife - View of North Wiltshire from Morgan's Hill

The stunning view from the scarpe slope of Morgan's Hill, looking north over the Wiltshire countryside. Cherhill down and Lansdowne monument are at far right, Calne is out of view to the left. This photo was taken by Stephen Lord during September, from the old Roman road between Smallgrain picnic area and Morgan's Hill reserve.

@Wiltswildlife - Morgans Hill Nature Reserve

Morgan's Hill is a biological Site of Special Scientific Interest and a nature reserve owned by Wiltshire Wildlife Trust. It is predominantly a chalk grassland site, important for it's wildflowers, orchids and butterflies. There is also a rich range of bird-life present on the reserve and the adjacent farmland and grassland.

Download a copy of the reserve map here.  Or view an online Ordnance Survey map here.

Further details on the reserve and Trust can be found here. The reserve is managed by the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and the reserve wardens are Tony Coultiss and Nick Self. I can be contacted about the reserve for any reason on the following email address: nick.self@virgin.net

EU Proposes massive cuts to UK's agri-environment schemes - Step up for Nature #RSPB

As a warden at Wiltshire Wildlife Trust's Morgan's Hill reserve, I see first hand the benefits to the countryside that are implemented and sustained by money from the UK's agri-environment schemes. It is a life-line, not only to farmland birds, but biodiversity as a whole.

Later this month we could very well see large cuts in this funding, if proposed EU plans are approved. Find out more information about the benefits of agri-environment schemes here, and more information about the proposed cuts and farmer's reactions here.

If you have a minute, please Step up for Nature, farmland birds and agri-environment schemes with the RSPB by emailing a letter to David Cameron here.

Thank you.

Lloyd - BTO Cuckoo Update

First post for a long old while. A lot of the BTO cuckoos have moved on and into Africa, but Lloyd is lagging behind, with a few others. He's currently going round in circles along the Mediterranean coast of Italy and France. He's probably building up his strength for the sea crossing. Check it out here.

BTO Cuckoo 115597 Name Update

My faithful pal BTO cuckoo 115597 has received a name! Check it out here. He's now called Lloyd, after John Lloyd, a long standing BTO regional representative. All the cuckoos are now named. Good luck to all on migration.

BTO Cuckoo 115597 Update

The latest position of BTO cuckoo 115597 is here, in the south of France, not far from the Alps and the border with Italy and Switzerland. There hasn't been an update for over a week, so I expect another soon. 115597 is no longer the most southerly cuckoo, there is one in Bosnia and another on the border between France and Spain. I wonder if they will loiter in this area for some time whilst building up the energy to cross the Mediterranean. and onwards into Africa? We shall soon see, I don't doubt.

Plant: Pyramidal orchid - Anacamptis pyramidalis

Pyramidal orchid (Anacamptis pyramidalis) observed on chalk grassland at Olivers Castle, Roundway Down, eastern end of Marlborough Downs overlooking Bromham. I have found this great blog, Wild Orchids in Britain, which is definitely worth a look if you are interested in orchids.

Resource: www.botanicalkeys.co.uk