Winterbourne Downs

Blog post: Creatures of the Night

Keeley Spate — Tue, 07 May 2013 15:01:00 GMT

On Wednesday 29th May we are holding a very special event - Creatures of the Night!

We will be meeting at the reserve at 8pm for what we hope will be an evening full of surprises! As the sun starts to set, we will take a walk around the reserve. At this time of day stone-curlew become active and very vocal - hopefully we will hear their eerie call. We have roe deer, barn owl, brown hare and bats too, so who knows what we will bump in to! We will also have a moth trap on the go which will be ready to investigate at the end of the walk. Don't forget to bring a torch and warm clothes.

To find out more or to book your place on this event please contact the warden on: 01980 629835 or email keeley.spate@rspb.org.uk

Click on the link below to find see the event poster!

(Please visit the site to view this file)

Blog post: Spring has sprung on the farm

Keeley Spate — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 15:06:00 GMT

Spring has finally made it, and as the weather warms up, flowers now have a chance to push though the ground, and bees and butterflies are starting to emerge. Those of you who follow the news may have heard about how the prolonged winter has been effecting stone-curlew, and other wildlife. Stone-curlew start arriving in this country from mid march, usually when the weather is warming up and insect food is becoming available. Sadly, because the weather stayed so cold, there has not been adequate insect food, and many of the early arriving stone-curlews have starved to death. What this means for the 2013 season is still unclear, but we are hopeful that the majority of birds will have held back completing their migration until the recent weather change.

By now we would normally be seeing most of our stone-curlew plots occupied, and several nests would have been found. As I write this, the birds are still very mobile, and many have not settled down yet. However, one of our pairs are now starting to act like they are preparing to get ready to lay, and I am very hopeful that by the end of the weekend we will have our first stone-curlew nest of the season.

Last week we heard the first chiffchaff of the year, singing away along the disused railway line. Since then, many more have started to filter through. We are also starting to see swallows arriving in larger numbers, and this lunch time we watched one collecting mud from a puddle outside our office window. Wheatear are everywhere now, and just this afternoon I counted four sitting on one small stretch of fence line. Fence lines on farmland and around rabbit holes are a classic places to find these birds, so keep your eyes peeled on your travels.

Blog post: Wildlife on the nature trail...

Keeley Spate — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 12:16:00 GMT

Hello it's Harriet again. I went for a walk around the nature trail to see what birds were active despite the chilly wind we've had this week. It was fairly quiet, compared to my last spotting trip a few weeks ago when it was a little warmer. For those that regularly walk the trail, you might be interested to know what I saw so you know what to keep an eye out for.....

In Beaumont's Wood, there were: Blue Tit, Great Tit, Blackird, Chaffinch and Goldfinch

A lot of the birds were spotted along the edge of the trail next to the wild flower meadow, dotting in and out of the wild flower meadow obviously looking for insects and seeds in the soil. The field had recently been harrowed so this obviously brought a lot of things to the surface providing a feast for the birds!

I also saw a pair of Mistle Thrush in the Wild Flower Meadow which took me a while to ID and in the end, Keeley came to identity it correctly for me!

Along the Disused Railway Line I spotted more Blue Tit, Blackbird and Great Tit as well as Coal Tit and Wren.

So despite the cold, there was plenty of activity which helped me to improve my ID skills and see these lovely birds.

I also went with Keeley to Normanton Down, another site nearby that is monitored by the RSPB, to look for Lapwings and to see what sort of activity they were getting up to. We saw nearly 200 birds on the field, with definitely two pairs displaying, something I have never seen before. The male puts his head down and scrapes the soil with his feet which is his way of suggesting a nesting site to the female. Although they aren't near to breeding at the moment we hope soon (within the next month) they will be. In the mean time, we have to keep checking on them to monitor their behaviour and hopefully determine how many pairs are likely to breed on the site.

Blog post: Greetings from a new volunteer!

Keeley Spate — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 15:45:00 GMT

Hello! New blogger here....I am a volunteer at Manor Farm so I thought I'd introduce myself and update you on what I've been doing since I've started here. I have recently finished a master's in conservation and I wanted to keep building my knowledge and experience and this role allows me to do just this. I've been here about a month and a half now and beginning to get to know the reserve quite well. Part of my work is involved with the wood along the nature trail where some viewing areas have been created to allow light into the wood and to allow visitors to look onto the wildflower meadow and beyond. Keeley and I have been clearing the ground ivy in these viewing areas which will hopefully lead to some woodland plants growing.

While walking through the trail, I have seen so many birds and I have to admit my bird ID skills are not the best so working here gives me a great opportunity to practice them! I am looking forward to improving these further throughout the year and maybe learning to recognise a few bird songs too! My passion is botany and again it is something I am looking forward to improving on while I'm here; I know a lot of work has gone into encouraging chalk plants and wildflowers so spring and summer will be an exciting time to see what flowers are on the reserve.

Well, that's all I have to say for the moment but I will post here again soon with more work updates and things I've seen while out on the reserve.

Harriet

Blog post: Wildlife in the snow

Keeley Spate — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 12:25:00 GMT

Like most places this week, we have had our fair share of snow these past few days. Not only does the snow create a beautiful landscape, but it also makes walking around the reserve very interesting as you can look for footprints and workout what has been out and about. Here are a few pictures I took while walking yesterday.

A wintry vista, looking over the Winterbourne in to Magpie Field where we have sheep grazing at the moment. Since the Winterbourne has risen, this field has been attracting up to 120 Lapwing - although there were not so many about in the snow.

A pair of Brown Hare running side by side through the snow

Badger prints

Roe deer print

This roe deer sat tight when i passed near by - it didn't want to move from its sheltered spot in the wild bird seed mixture!

I later realised there was more than one deer hiding in the vegetation as several heads started to pop up.

And this small shape is a brown hare, reluctant to move from its spot. The fact that the wildlife did not move away from my presence probably indicates that they are really feeling the effects of the cold weather. Even the birds didn't want to fly away. It was a good reminder of how hard this time of year can be for wildlife, and how much birds rely on the extra food we put out for them. This is a particularly lean time of year for them, with most of the autumn fruits already eaten, and no insects about, food is hard to come by. I will be putting some extra treats out in my garden - don't forget to look after your birds too!

Blog post: Wildlife on the nature trail today

Keeley Spate — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 14:09:00 GMT

I went for a walk around the nature trail to see what was about. A little quiet at first, but once I got my eye in to the hedgerows, I noticed that there was quite a lot of stuff sitting quietly in there. The most active part was the dismantled railway line section of the nature trail. I also scanned the fields across the road to look for lapwing and golden plover, but did not see any today. The roe deer were in their usual place in the arable field next to the carpark. I got nice views of a sparrowhawk which whizzed by about 2 foot away from the truck while I was sitting in it, and enjoyed watching the kestrel hunting over the wildflower meadow.For those of you who are interested, here is a list of what I saw:

Old railway line:

A group of 7 blackbirds, 4 female, 3 male, feeding together in the middle of the path

30+ Chaffinches - I did look for brambling amongst them but did not spot any. 2 Robins

Song thrush

Great tit

Blue tit

Jay

Pair Bullfinch

Family of 13 long tailed tits

20 linnets

5 goldfinches

3 Roe deer in arable field next to carpark

Midgies!

Wild flower meadow

Sparrowhawk

Kestrel hunting

Beaumont's wood

Greater spotted woodpecker

Wren

Great tit

Robin

Pair of chaffinch Brambling

If you check flocks of winter chaffinch, you may be lucky and spot a lovely brambling or two amoungst them

Blog post: mince pies in the mist

Keeley Spate — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 13:39:00 GMT

It was a crisp morning with a clear blue sky - cold but at least sunny and dry, perfect for the days volunteer work party. With my hat and my gloves on, I actually felt warm as I stood in the car-park waiting for the volunteers to arrive, in the weak morning sun. It wasn't to last! As the final volunteer arrived, and I began to explain the proceedings of the day, a thick bank of cold fog rolled in from Porton Down and enveloped our surroundings, sending shivers through us as the temperature suddenly dropped. "oh well, it will burn of in no time" we all said as we gathered our tools together and marched off in to the gloom to start our days work.

The task for the day was to clear areas of scrub along the woodland section of the nature trail, to provide viewing windows in to the wildflower meadow and so enhancing the visitor experience. We used bowsaws and loppers to cut through entangled lengths of "old mans beard" and Ivy, which at times was like trying to untangled a giant ball of wool! We also removed bits of scrub along the fence line. This work will not only benefit visitors but we also hope it will encourage a more diverse ground flora, in place of the thick green carpet of ivy.

As the windows were opened up, or as one volunteers said "the curtains", we sadly were not bathed in sunlight, but with more fog which was refusing to lift. But we could see a faintly glowing ball - the sun - through the murk, so evidently, it would burn off soon enough.

The view through one of the newly created windows!

A volunteer looms in to view

A welcome rest came in the form of mince pies and hot coffee, but with the damp fog cooling us down fast, we were quickly back to work again. The team worked really hard and got most of the work done before lunch time. And incredibly the sun decided to make an appearance just in time for lunch, and we all enjoyed basking in its warmth and taking in the newly revealed views as we tucked in to a well earnt sandwich - one volunteer even had a nap.

As we enjoyed the sun, we watched in the distance as yet another bank of fog came rolling down the hill towards us. This put an end to our tea break as we all started to cool down again, and we all cracked on with finishing the remaining work, and tidying up. The fog never really cleared all day, but with the windows opened up along the edge of the woodland, the effect of the sunlight and fog through the tree was quite beautiful. We hope it will make a great difference to the nature trail for all who use it in the future!

The fog rolling in from Porton Down

Blog post: Winter wildlife

Keeley Spate — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 16:59:00 GMT

You may think winter is a time when there isn't much wildlife around, but you would be surprised what you might bump in to when you walking around the reserve. Walk along the disused railway, and you will probably come across flocks of chattering fieldfare and redwing. These birds, which are part of the thrush family, come over here in the winter from Scandinavia, to make the most of our berries and (relatively) milder weather. They can be seen gorging on fruit along the hedgrows, but are quite flighty and tend to flush from their feeding spots as you walk along the path.

Fieldfare

Redwing - look for the red flush under the wing. Smaller than a fieldfare

We also have a pair of bullfinch living along the old railway footpath. These plump little birds have a low pitched, melancholy flutey call, a bit like a downbeat chaffinch. The males have a stunning red breast, while the females breast is a lovely chocolate colour. Both sexes have a distinctive white rump which you can see when they are in flight, a balck cap and a chucky beak.

Male bullfinch

female bullfinch

Across our reversion fields, flocks of golden plover have been gathering. These birds breed up in the northern moors and tundra, as far up as the Arctic. Like the fieldfares and redwing, they come down here to make the most of the warmer climate where they can feed. Our reversion fields are the perfect place for them as they are packed with worms and invertebrate larvae. The have a quiet plaintive whistleing call, and the flock will get up and wheel around the sky together when disturbed.

golden plover

Another winter visitor, the peregrine falcon, has been spotted on several occasions over the past week or two, This bird of prey looks dark in flight, with a very distinctive,solid, heavy wingbeat.

Peregrine

Although winter means that chalk grassland reversion fields are looking bleak without the wonderful carpet of summer flowers, it does mean that it is possible to spot Brown Hare. In the summer the vegetation is long, and hides the hares from view, but in winter they can be seen much more easliy, feeding in the fields. A group of roe deer have been regualry obseved from our carpark, in the stubble turnip field, again, much more visiable now the long vegetation has gone.

Watch out for these birds and mammals as you walk around the trail. And if you see anything different, please feel free to let us know and we will post it on here for you.

Blog post: Footpath closure

Keeley Spate — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 15:53:00 GMT

Do you use the Green Walk in Newton Tony? If so, we have some important news for you. Several trees along the green walk need urgent work on them, in order to make them safe. The last thing we want is a large branch falling on someone, and this is a particular worry in this current weather we are experiencing. The work is due to be carried out between the 11th and the 13th December. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the task, we will need to close a section of the footpath in order to carry out this work safely. We would greatly appreciate it if you could help us during this time by adhering to the signage, which will inform you of which parts of the footpath will be shut, and when. We apologise in advance for any inconvenience this may cause, but once the work is completed, the Green Walk will be safer to walk through. If you have any questions about any aspect of this, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us. Thank you!

Blog post: December Volunteer Work Party - book your place.

Keeley Spate — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 12:50:00 GMT

Hello all.

First of all I would like to start by saying thank-you to everyone who helped at our volunteer work party on Sunday. The weather was perfect for working, and we got all the allocated work completed. Well done team! I think we have already made a real difference to the nature trail.

The next work party is to be held on Tuesday 11th December and we will be meeting at the Winterbourne Downs Car-park for 10am. We will be carrying on work in the woodland, clearing areas to allow visitors to enjoy the views over the wildflower meadows. We will also be tidying up old areas of piled up brash. If you would like to help, please let me know so I can book you in. My email is keeley.spate@rspb.org.uk

The work will involve using bow-saws and loppers to fell small trees - don't worry if you have not done this before, as training can be provided! If you have your own work gloves, please bring them as your own will fit better than our "one size fits no-one" gloves. Please remember to bring your own lunch as we cant have a bonfire and potatoes this time - although I am sure a mince pie or two will be available!

The poster for the event can be downloaded by following this link.

(Please visit the site to view this file)

Blog post: Volunteer Work Party!

Keeley Spate — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 09:29:00 GMT

On Sunday 18th November we are holding the first of our Volunteer Winter Work Parties.

We will be working on the nature trail, specifically in Beaumont's wood, where we will be clearing viewing areas, so people can enjoy the wildflower meadow as they walk through the woodland, The work will involve using bow-saws to cut and clear small trees and clearing old piles of brash, to open up the area, and make it more visitor friendly.

If you would like to help out, we are meeting at 10am at the Winterbourne Downs Car Park, in Newton Tony. You will need to bring along suitable work clothes, shoes/wellies, and work gloves if you have them. Although we will be providing cake, you will need to bring your own lunch and refreshments if you are staying the whole day. Please note, we cant have a fire at this work site, so sadly, no jacket potatoes this time!! We will aim to finish for 3pm, so plenty of time to get home before it gets dark.

The event is open to all, and its always good to see new faces! If you would like to come along, please let me know by emailing keeley.spate@rspb.org.uk or phoning 01980 629835

Blog post: End of a season

Keeley Spate — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 15:42:00 GMT

Some of you may be wondering "what has happened to the September stone-curlew chicks?"

I will be honest with you here.... we don't truly know. On return from my holiday, I made a visit to the plot to search for the birds, but could not find even one bird. Now, stone-curlew can be hard to find at the best of times, so I did not give up hope straight away, I revisited later on in the week, but...still no birds!

"Ok" I thought. "Maybe this is just a case of them leaving the plot to find more cover in the surrounding field". So I set myself the task of scanning the field while walking up and down the length of it , to try and flush one of the adults. No birds.

"Maybe they moved to the neighbouring stubble field" I hoped. So the next day I re-walked the field, and then did the same to the stubble field. In the stubble field I flushed red-legged partridge, brown hare and four roe deer. But still no stone-curlew.

So did the chicks fail? Well, we cant be sure. If we had seen the adults on more than one occasion without the chicks then we would record that as a failed breeding attempt. However, because both the chicks and the adults disappeared, we can't draw the same conclusions, as they may just have been hiding extremely well (something stone-curlew are very good at) It is very frustrating to not have a definite answer, and to have to record the outcome as "unknown" but it does mean that we can still hold on to the hope that just maybe the chicks made it.....

Now that we are almost at the end of October, we are pretty much at the end of the stone-curlew season. They are here for longer than most migrants - arriving from March and staying right through to October, and even in to November! Our mini stone-curlew roost has now dispersed, and they may be back in their over wintering grounds in Northern Africa by now. But as we say good bye to our stone-curlews, we say hello to many more of our feathered friends. Lapwing and golden plover move south from their breeding grounds in the winter, and last year the reserve held large flocks of these birds - up to 700 lapwing and 300 golden plover! These birds like to use the stone-curlew plot to roost on, and feed on the surrounding grassland reversions, which are rich in invertebrate life.

Forum post: Re: Henry Edmund is the winner of the RSPB Telegraph Nature of Farming award for 2012

Keeley Spate — Tue, 02 Oct 2012 15:42:00 GMT

Thanks! We are really pleased that Henry's good work has been recognised, and that all our hard work promoting his farm paid off!

Blog post: Stone-curlew news flash!

Keeley Spate — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 11:23:00 GMT

Hello All,

Having just got back from 2 weeks annual leave in Brittany (lovely!) I feel like the blog has been slightly neglected over the past couple of weeks... Especially given that we have a major news flash to give out!

Just before I set off on holiday, Michael, one of the farm workers reported something very unexpected - young stone-curlew chicks on one of the plots! We had hoped that some of our pairs might try and give a second brood a go, but with the wet and cool weather we had at the beginning of summer, they had used up a lot of their energy stores, and most called it a day once they had reared one brood. Many birds did not even get that far. The Wessex stone-curlew team reported finding some very odd shaped and sized eggs over the season - possibly a sign that the repeated nesting attempts were putting a strain on the birds resources. We were more than happy with our 8 out of 10 chicks surviving to fledging. So to have a report of two stone-curlew chicks - in September - was a bit of a surprise, albeit a very exciting one.

On visiting the chicks, it would appear that they hatched on the last day or two of August, or the first few days of September. Bearing in mind it takes 6 weeks for a stone-curlew to fledge, this means that the chicks are not due to fledge until October! Luckily for them, stone-curlew are probably the latest to leave out of all our migratory birds, so there still is time for our chicks to make it.

Another piece of exciting news is that we appear to have a mini stone-curlew roost on the reserve! Once the birds have finished breeding, they head off to traditional roost sites - areas where birds form large groups to feed up and get in to condition before they head south to North Africa. It is unknown exactly why they choose the places they do, but they appear to be site faithful. So it is a great development for us to have 10 birds on one of our plots. While 10 birds is a small roost, it is significant for us because as I mentioned, birds tend to flock on traditional, known sites. We hope this small gathering is the sign of things to come on the reserve!

Blog post: Barn Owl check ups

Keeley Spate — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 16:19:00 GMT

One of the nicest parts of my job is getting the opportunity to get close to wildlife, and sometimes I get the privilege of getting really close! Today we had a visit from a chap called Matt, who works for the Hawk Conservancy Trust. The trust has donated two barn owl boxes which we have up in the reserve, and Matt visits them a few times through the year to see if they are being used. On the last visit in July, he found 2 small barn owl chicks in one of the boxes, so he came back today to see if the chicks had survived.

The barn owl box is accessed via a flap at the back, and so to stop the owls flying out of the entrance hole, it is stuffed up. At first I did not think we were going to find any birds, as there was none of the expected scraping or hissing noise coming from the inside of the box. However, we were lucky, as the two little chicks had survived to fledging, and were sitting quietly in the box.

We wanted to ring the owls, so they were each placed in to a cloth bag, which helps keep them calm while they are waiting to be processed. The first owl to be ringed was a female, who was very docile, and the second was a slightly more feisty male bird. Each bird had a metal ring placed on its leg, which has its own unique number. This means if the owl is found again, we can find out who it is. The wing measurement and weight are also recorded, and this provides information on the health and development of the young owl.

The female barn owl being ringed...

Weighed...

and admired by the warden!

Matt then gave the box a bit of a clean out – as you can imagine, droppings and bedding start to build up over the years, leaving the owls with ever more cramped living quarters as the seasons go by. It was amazing to see the amount of old bedding, droppings and pellets that kept falling out of it! The owls must have much more room to stretch their legs now!

If you are interested in putting an owl box up, you can get lots of advice from the RSPB website, where you can find out how to make one, and the best places to put it. To find out more, just click on this link.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/advice/helpingbirds/nestboxes/owlskestrels/index.aspx

Blog post: from sheep to wheat - come to our harvest walk!

Keeley Spate — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 11:38:00 GMT

Don't forget it's out Harvest Walk this Sunday! Meeting for a 10am start from the RSPB Winterbourne Downs Carpark, just outside Newton Tony. We will be taking you off the beaten path, and giving you an insight in to the year on the farm - from sheep to wheat and everything in between! It would be great to see you there!

Blog post: Can you help?

Keeley Spate — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 09:49:00 GMT

The Nature of Farming Awards, a national competition run by the RSPB for wildlife friendly farmers, is in its last week of voting. If you have not done so already, will you help us by giving your vote?

Voting is very easy - just go to www.rspb.org.uk/farmvote and vote for your favorite farmer. There are four to choose from, including Wiltshire Farmer Henry Edmunds, who we work very closely with, and who we are supporting in the competition.

Every vote is important as it shows support for the good work farmers are doing for wildlife on their farms, plus you will automatically be entered in to a prize draw to win a luxury weekend away at a spa hotel!

Thanks for your support

Blog post: Thankful to be human

Keeley Spate — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 14:53:00 GMT

Ever seen one of these before? This cute and fluffy creature is a Hornet Robber Fly. They are a Biodiversity Action plan species, meaning they are a priority for conservation. This particular specimen was found in our Farm Managers conservatory, but are they usually found living on heath and downland, and are especially associated with dung, where they lay their eggs. Hornet Robber Flies are hunters, feeding on unsuspecting dung beetles, grasshoppers and wasps. As you can see if you study the photo, this insect is made for hunting. They use piles of dung or low vegetation such as stumps, as vantage points to seek out their prey - this is where its very large eyes come in useful. Their long, hairy legs help them to grab and catch whatever insect it is after. And that long, hard, beak like projection coming out of its head - that's for penetrating its prey and sucking them dry, a process which can take 10-30 minutes. Owch!

I can imagine what you are thinking - do they bite people? That looks painful! - Thankfully, they are harmless towards humans and other animals. We would take far to much sucking dry!

Blog post: Harvest walk

Keeley Spate — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 09:15:00 GMT

Join us for our annual Harvest Walk on Sunday 2nd September. We will be meeting at the Winterbourne Downs Carpark at 10am for a walk around the reserve to look for the late summer flowers and butterflies. We will also be joined by the farm manager who will tell us about the highs and lows on the farm this year. The event is free, just bring yourself and a suitable footwear for walking across fields.

To view the poster for this walk, please click on the link:

(Please visit the site to view this file)

Blog post: Who would swallow a moth?

Keeley Spate — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 11:28:00 GMT

This pile of large yellow underwing moths was found the other day in the doorway of one of our old farm buildings. All that remains of the moths are the wings, the legs and the head – the juicy body parts have been eaten!

So, what made this pile of yellow underwing body parts? At first I put it down to swallows, as the remains lie near where the birds nest. It looked like the birds had taken a liking for these juicy creatures, and had fed their young on exclusively on this moth species. However, this did not seem to make a huge amount of sense, as yellow underwings are night flying moths, and it would mean that the swallows would be hunting throughout the night.

On further investigation, I found out that the pile of moths was not the handy work of hungry swallows, but of something altogether different... what creature would hunt for night flying insects? A bat of course!

Accumulations of moth remains, especially the remains of yellow underwings, are a very common sign of brown long-eared bats. These bats take their prey to be eaten on perches, often in porches or barns, and they usually have a favourite spot, meaning that the insect remains start to pile up over time.

As well as catching insects in free flight, brown long-eared bats are gleaners, often flying slowly amongst foliage, picking insects off leaves and bark. Their broad wings and tail allow a slow, highly manoeuvrable, hovering flight. Sometimes they land on the ground to take insects, and can even take them from lighted windows. Their ears are nearly as long as their body, but are not always obvious as they often tuck them away under their wings while they are roosting.

So, if you ever come across a mysterious pile of moth remains, maybe you too will have found a brown long-eared bat eating perch