Trip reports

Brook Meadow

Tuesday, 2 January 2007

Brook Meadow is a dedicated conservation area within Nightingale Wood, South Marston - a village some 4 miles north-east of Swindon. Nightingale Wood, little over ten years old, is part of the Great Western Community Forest scheme. It is owned by the Forestry Commission. About 50 hectares (125 acres) in size, the conservation area is just 4.5 hectares. It is the only part of the wood to which there is no public access, but there is an always-open hide which looks onto the field.

In 2003 the Forestry Commission asked the North Wilts RSPB Group to furnish the empty hide and provide advice on conserving the field which is now known as Brook Meadow. From those early meetings we have together produced a five-year management plan that has seen several changes to the site.

The creation of a new scrape near the hide has, with the setting up of a feeding station, brought birds nearer to the observer. Looking beyond the brook you will see 2 acres of meadow which is now cut and baled annually. Removing the grass cuttings is important because this starves the ground of nutrients, thus improving conditions for wild flowers. Skylarks, displaced from the Corsican pine stands behind the hide, are now using this part of the reserve.

More flowers have been sown and planted throughout the field, thanks largely to the efforts of John Ball of 'Flowers and Butterflies'. Emphasis has been placed on useful flowers such as knapweed, fleabane, trefoils, valerian and purple loosestrife.

In the southern half of Brook Meadow little has been done because this is part of the local barn owls territory. The Forestry Commission will only strip mow this grass in sections over a five-year period.

So what could you see from the hide during the year? Resident birds include the usual garden-woodland species: robin, tits, finches (including bullfinch), blackbird and song thrush. Farmland birds like yellowhammer, linnet and reed bunting are present in good numbers. Sparrowhawk, kestrel and buzzard are common; red kite not so. The kingfisher is regular, if fleeting.
The summer brings willow, reed and sedge warbler, whitethroat and swallow, whilst in winter we have both common snipe and jack snipe, larger numbers of lapwing and irregular sightings of short-eared owl to supplement the resident barn, little, and tawny owls.

Another bird that we hope you will see is the grey partridge.
In early June 2006 we released eleven birds that had been reared in a wildlife sanctuary. Twelve eggs had been saved from desertion so the survival rate was excellent. Greys are already present at Brook Meadow, albeit in small numbers. Coincidentally, we had earlier prepared a small test area in the meadow to sow a bird mixture crop (mainly quinoa and sorghum). We shall now await winter with some interest.