Seeing the Great Bustards on Salisbury Plain (1 Viewer)

[wolfbirder]

I gather these can often be seen from roads in the area. Anyone able to give details as I don’t really want to go on a tour to see them, if at all possible.

Thx in advance.

 

[Farnboro John]

All the details you need are that they are not yet Cat C and there is increasing doubt as to whether they will ever make the grade, given the many years over which success has continued to elude them.

John

 

[WalterRayle]

Saw eight easily this morning at a regular site where I've had up to 19, but am not prepared to give details of where. They are fairy easy to find in a number of places around the Plain.

 

[wolfbirder]

Ok thanks both. I totally understand the views both of you express, just thought I’d like to see them.

 

[Owene]

They’re quite impressive even if they aren’t tickable. I’ve done the tour but you can’t get there without going through MOD land and I’m not sure it’s doable as a private visitor.

 

[Farnboro John]

The MOD land is mostly open access at least at weekends but you do need to be careful of passing Challengers and so on upon some of it. The roads allow you to survey much of the landscape and there are public footpaths whose name means exactly what it says.

Most winters there are one or two off the Plain, in coastal Dorset Butterstreet Cove and Portland Bill have both hosted individuals in the recent past.

John

 

[cheshirebirder]

All the details you need are that they are not yet Cat C and there is increasing doubt as to whether they will ever make the grade, given the many years over which success has continued to elude them.

John

Can you elaborate, John , because I thought I’d read that their numbers were building up ok ? Appreciate that they don’t start breeding for 3 years or more but thought they’d reached the stage of having a good number of breeding birds.

 

[Owene]

You need multi generational success for self sustaining don’t you. 3 years a generation with feeding the whole time for single figure a year increases seems a long way from category c. On the other hand if it’s not about ticks they seem to be going up at a time many farmland birds are going down.

 

[cheshirebirder]

You need multi generational success for self sustaining don’t you. 3 years a generation with feeding the whole time for single figure a year increases seems a long way from category c. On the other hand if it’s not about ticks they seem to be going up at a time many farmland birds are going down.

The project’s website isn’t very informative as regards the ages of their birds or even how many there are out there. Think I read somewhere that there are over 100 now . Given how long the project has been going there must be a good spread of breeding aged birds now and some must be second generation wild-born ?

 

[Farnboro John]

The project’s website isn’t very informative as regards the ages of their birds or even how many there are out there. Think I read somewhere that there are over 100 now . Given how long the project has been going there must be a good spread of breeding aged birds now and some must be second generation wild-born ?

The numbers are almost entirely due to releases, when the one horse project falls over the numbers will begin to drop. There is hardly any breeding and certainly not at a sustainable level.

John

 

[cheshirebirder]

The numbers are almost entirely due to releases, when the one horse project falls over the numbers will begin to drop. There is hardly any breeding and certainly not at a sustainable level.

John

Just been reading back through their Twitter feed . They rescued a number of eggs from nests in agricultural fields that would have been destroyed, and successfully managed to hatch and raise a good number of birds to subsequently release. Mentioned 8? nests in just one field. So , are you saying that this is what’s happening with the majority of nests ie. few birds are breeding naturally?

 

[Himalaya]

I think they are having some success but I am guessing this will take longer to establish than say another large bird like White Tailed Eagles. The Bustards are mobile and have crossed over to Jersey and France too on a number of occasions.

If I remember the first time they had hatched young was only back in 2009 or 2011.

 

[KenM]

I have heard on the grapevine that a “presumed” GB has occurred on farmland c 5miles North of my abode and stayed for a period several years ago, don’t know exactly where, or the outcome. 😮

 

[Andy Adcock]

The MOD land is mostly open access at least at weekends but you do need to be careful of passing Challengers and so on upon some of it. The roads allow you to survey much of the landscape and there are public footpaths whose name means exactly what it says.

Most winters there are one or two off the Plain, in coastal Dorset Butterstreet Cove and Portland Bill have both hosted individuals in the recent past.

John

The 'beware of tanks' signs are a bit unnerving!

 

[Farnboro John]

Just been reading back through their Twitter feed . They rescued a number of eggs from nests in agricultural fields that would have been destroyed, and successfully managed to hatch and raise a good number of birds to subsequently release. Mentioned 8? nests in just one field. So , are you saying that this is what’s happening with the majority of nests ie. few birds are breeding naturally?

Basically yes. Mind you, this is not a new problem: Stone Curlew nests are marked so tractor drivers can go around them (but any marking that visible is a potential draw to eggers) and I can remember Great Bustards in Germany being assisted in the same way on The World About Us, which gives you some idea of how long ago it was an issue even in their core range!

Obviously removing eggs for incubation is not a long-term sustainable strategy.

John

 

[Andy Adcock]

Basically yes. Mind you, this is not a new problem: Stone Curlew nests are marked so tractor drivers can go around them (but any marking that visible is a potential draw to eggers) and I can remember Great Bustards in Germany being assisted in the same way on The World About Us, which gives you some idea of how long ago it was an issue even in their core range!

Obviously removing eggs for incubation is not a long-term sustainable strategy.

John

It's not actually correct to say that they're not self sustaining then is it? If the only reason that they're being assisted, is to stop nests being destroyed by tractors, they would surely increase in number without that threat and without aid?

 

[Farnboro John]

It's not actually correct to say that they're not self sustaining then is it? If the only reason that they're being assisted, is to stop nests being destroyed by tractors, they would surely increase in number without that threat and without aid?

No, without it all the nests would fail (plus there is no evidence one way or the other as to whether "natural" predation - mind you, to me tractors are natural predation in the context of British agricultural land - would cause them to fail later) and the adults would eventually die. I would be interested if some of our Continental comrades - no lets not use that word, Continental friends - would explain the situation of Great Bustard populations where they are. I have a feeling I've read that intensification of agriculture always causes issues for them and the erosion of, for instance, the Spanish steppe is eroding the bustards as well, but I've no idea where I picked that up.

Salisbury Plain is too intense despite being one of the Army's playgrounds, and is also too small with no equivalent surrounding habitat for the bustards to expand into. They are a curiosity and not a future conservation success.

John