28th May - Martin Down NNR, Hampshire - Part One: Birds and Animals

Martin Down is one of my favourite places in the country and every year we visit to enjoy the specialties that this wonderful nature reserve can provide.  Ian and I have made two visits this year already, unusual for us.  At this time of year there is such a variety of wildlife to be found, from birds and butterflies to animals and flowers, so much so that I have split the blog of this visit into two posts.  On arriving with clear blue skies and a warming sun it was all about the birds, as I got out of the car a Corn Bunting's jangling keys song could be heard.  On the two previous visits they had been quiet, being late breeders they were now in full song and along with the bird close to the car park there were at least another two sets of song coming from across the grassland.

This first post will focus on the birds and animals seen.  I set off up the main track and almost immediately heard a Lesser Whitethroat singing, it showed very briefly and gave me a little run around before I decided to move on.  It was a beautiful morning, on the slopes ahead of me I could see two distant Roe Deer.

Late May, early morning is probably the best time to find one of Martin Down's target species, the Turtle Dove.  Over the years we have been coming here the numbers have reduced and you have to wonder whether this will improve or will the Turtle Dove go the way of the Wood Warbler in Hampshire.  As I approached the copse at the bottom of the hill I heard the familiar "purring" song.  I scanned the tops of the hawthorn bushes and picked up a Turtle Dove flying towards me, skimming the branches.  It flew past me, gained height and then glided down towards the farm and the large Ash Tree that dominates the hedgerow.  I rushed over desperate to get a record shot, unsure if I would find another.  As you can see this is very much a record shot!.

It was flushed by a Rook and went from sight, I walked over to search the area, I could hear it singing but couldn't find it again.  At the same time the Lesser Whitethroat was singing again and this time out in the open and very confiding.

Interesting how the feathers on the throat ruffle as it delivers its song.

Male and female lesser whitethroats are very similar. They are greyish-brown above and creamy-grey below, with grey heads, dark grey cheeks or 'masks', white throats and white chests.  As the name suggests, this warbler is smaller than its cousin the whitethroat and have shorter tails and plain-coloured wing edges.

Leaving the Lesser Whitethroat I came across a singing male Yellowhammer, again on the previous visits the Yellowhammer was quiet and elusive, this morning there were many in full song.

Scanning the slopes once again I picked up a Roe Deer with what looked like strange legs, I soon realised that the deer had a kid alongside her.

There is some contention over what a baby deer is called, there are several names, calf, kid or fawn.  The naming can depend on the size of the deer, with the smaller species having "kids", the medium sizes having "fawns" and the larger like Red Deer, "calves".  I was always informed that the young of a Roe Deer was a kid, but there is also reference to them having fawns.  Either way they are quite special and lovely to see even if it was at distance.

As Ian was arriving later I decided to walk an area that we had not really explored before, this meant turning to the left and walking to the south east.  There was another Lesser Whitethroat singing in the scrub but I ignored it as I was taken by a Buzzard flying low over the grass in a focused hunting mode.

It cruised along the slope then came up above the horizon and started to hover.

Some Common Buzzards will try to perform some type of hover, but it's relatively uncommon and won't last for more than a few seconds at a time. The most likely time you'll see a buzzard 'hovering' is when there's a headwind they can use that makes them appear stationary in the air. Some individuals develop more of a habit of doing it than others.

After its brief session of hovering it found an ant hill to rest on.

I walked the slope along the path shown here

A Raven calling turned my attention to the sky where two Ravens were circling amongst three Buzzards.  I then noticed that there was a smaller raptor amongst them.  It was a Peregrine, the first time I have seen one here

At one point the Buzzards and Ravens mobbed the Peregrine.

The Ravens then broke away and flew overhead.

I walked to the top of the slope where the views were even more spectacular.

As I came down the slope to walk back to the car park I scanned the copse and found a Turtle Dove perched on the top of the bushes.  It was still distant, but a slightly better record shot than previously.

In previous years it has been possible to stand back from the copse to use the slope to be able to see across the top of the copse.  Today though the area was penned off for sheep and the fence was electrified.

I walked alongside the copse as the dove was singing.  I had a brief view.

I walked a little further and found a convenient spot where I could get good views and a little closer.

Nice to be able to get some photographs with blue sky in the background.

Then a bonus it started to preen, concentrating on the tail feathers.

As I watched it I wondered about the future of the Turtle Dove in Hampshire.  It is hanging on here, today I think there were three individuals, as there were a couple singing from the hedgerow alongside the track to the car park.  In recent years this appears to be the maximum.  It would be a big shame to not be able to catch up with this lovely bird.

Back at the car park I met up with Ian and we set off to walk along the Bokerly Ditch, more of which later.  It is only last year that we realised that there was a site for Spotted Flycatcher.  It is on the edge of a copse just off the ditch.  The birds could be seen on the fence that surrounds the field last year and the hope was that they would be there again this year.

The copse has a high canopy with space below, and ideal perches from which they can catch flys.  Walking along the path it was quiet, then we saw a bird fly out into the field and return to the fence, tucked away behind the fence posts.

As we edged a little closer it flew out again on a sortie and this time returned to the fence in a much better spot.

The dappled light through the trees helped.

The Spotted Flycatcher is one of the latest summer migrants to return to the UK, they don't reappear on their breeding territories until May or even June, and may only be around for a couple of months which is just long enough to rear their young.

The bird disappeared from the fence and as we walked past we found it on one of the perches that surrounded and open area in the wood.  All around there were the distinctive "seeep" contact calls

Then it was gone and all that was left were the contact calls.

We walked the path to look for Brown Hare and found about eight individuals but they were very distant and not possible to photograph.  Returning to the ditch a Blackcap was singing at the end of the path, a very reliable spot for the species.

I took a break for a drink and something to eat and was accompanied by a Yellowhammer that was very approachable.

Back along the ditch a smart male Stonechat was calling from the top of an Elder bush.

Despite the fact that it was now mid day the birds continued to sing, Corn Buntings could be seen and heard on the ridge of the ditch and from various vantage points across the grassland.  I have plenty of close up photographs of Corn Bunting this year so took the opportunity to try and capture them in their environment, the perch at the top of a small bush, the head thrown back delivering the song and the grasses blowing beneath, hope these work.

We heard and glimpsed briefly a pair of Grey Partridge taht rose from the grass and dropped as quickly as we watched the Corn Bunting.  The call was distinctive, but despite searching we were not able to find them.

On reaching the Rifle Ranges we heard our first Cuckoo.  A little further along it flushed from the hawthorn scrub and flew across in front of us, I finally managed to get the shot as it flew around one of the distant trees.

We continued the walk across to the area on the other side of the main road.  A Great Spotted Woodpecker called from the woodland, while Corn Bunting and Skylark sang from the fields.  We returned across the road and walked back across the grassland area being careful where we walked with so many Skylark about.

Reaching the rifle ranges we followed the same path alongside the ditch as we had just come along, this time heading back.  It was pretty much the same birds along the ditch, Yellowhammer, Corn Bunting, Stonechat and Whitethroat.  In almost the same spot as our last visit we came across a very approachable Skylark.  I never find photographing these as easy as they can be difficult to get close to and the images seem to blur with the brown plumage, but this time we were so close and with good light I was really pleased with the results.

Although it probably evolved to live on steppe grassland and salt marshes, the Skylark has long been the epitome of a farmland bird. Many non-birdwatchers who have never had a close-up view of a Skylark will know its distinctive, endlessly variable song as a cornerstone of farmland and the British countryside. Since widespread bird declines were identified in the 1990s, however, it has become emblematic in the cause of the recovery of the farmland environment.

Although migratory in much of northern Europe, British breeding Skylarks are believed not to move far between seasons, although upland birds move to lower latitudes. They can then often begin to breed in March and continue into July, making up to three breeding attempts.

The Common Birds Census showed that the Skylark’s decline began in the late 1970s. Research at the time revealed an intriguing switch from eating seed in winter to eating more green shoots of winter-sown cereals; with the benefit of hindsight, perhaps an early warning of food shortages. A reduction in over-winter seed availability from the loss of over-wintered crop stubbles, plus the use of more efficient herbicides, meant fewer weed seeds were available in winter for seed-eaters like the Skylark. Autumn-sown crops also meant that the vegetation was generally too tall and too dense to allow skylarks to nest later in the season. Given usual rates of nest losses, this meant that they were unable to raise enough chicks to maintain stable populations. Such a role for breeding success in driving population change is unusual among farmland passerines.

The Skylark’s decline led to widespread conservation concern and then to policy measures to allow recovery. To date, however, they have not worked. New management options have been introduced via agri-environment schemes, encouraging farmers to improve habitat quality for species like Skylark. Leaving stubbles unsprayed over winter – so enhancing weed seed availability, providing fallow land in spring for nesting and creating bare patches in crops to allow access for breeding birds are all supported by government funding.

So why has the decline continued? We do not yet know for sure, but there could be more than one reason. Firstly, many farmers do not like agri-environment management that interferes with crop production, so most tends to be along field edges – places that Skylarks avoid; fallows and bare patches are unpopular. Secondly, some options have not had the intended effects, perhaps concentrating birds and encouraging predators or diseases. Some recent changes in agri-environment schemes may not have taken effect yet, but a culture-shift amongst farmers about what makes “good farming” may be needed, along with more research into the reasons why some management is failing, without which fewer and fewer people will see and hear this icon of the British countryside in the future.

One thing is for certain there are good numbers of this songster at Martin Down which has to be good news.

Another traditional farmland bird is the Yellowhammer and they had been present in good numbers all day, as we almost reached the end of the walk this one presented itself wit a lovely dark background.

As we approached the cars we stopped to view one of the fields that only had a short amount of crop showing.  We counted up to fifteen Brown Hare, but once again they were keeping their distance, this was the closest to us.

So that was the birds and animals, part two will come later and will focus on the butterflies, moths and flowers we found on another wonderful day