Today I went on a two hour visit to the Great Bustard Project on Salisbury Plain. I'd heard about the project several years ago and had been meaning to book a trip for some time. I arrived in good time for the 9.30 trip, and waited at the meeting point at Enford village hall until the Landrover turned up with the group leader. There is a maximum of 6 people per trip but this morning there were just three of us who had booked; myself and another couple, where the lady had been given the trip as a birthday gift from her husband. She was very excited about it!
As we were taken onto the plain, we were told of the origins of the project, how the birds had once been native to Britain but had been hunted to extinction in the 19th century and how the Great Bustard Group had been formed in 1998 to establish a wild population, now 100 birds.
Of course Salisbury plain boasts plenty of other wildlife too and driving along the track we saw yellow wagtails, swallows, red kite, buzzard, meadow pipits, skylarks , red legged partridges, corn buntings and a ringtail (female) hen harrier. After a while we stopped to be given our first views of great bustards. A female and male were in the field on our right along the hedge line.
We turned off the road, passed through a gate and down a rough track and stopped right behind the hide and disembarked. We sat at the windows and looked out onto the landscape ahead of us; it looked like a series a steps cut into the hillside, some grassed, and some rough stony ground. At first everywhere looked deserted then we gradually noticed some great bustards, sadly quite distant, but nevertheless unmistakable. More birds seemed to appear from nowhere, some flying from over the top of the hill. It was towards the end of the 'Lek' but several males were still displaying to the females, looking incredibly 'white' as they showed their underneath white tail feathers to try and attract a mate.
Male Great bustards are about a metre tall and are the heaviest flying birds but looked stunningly graceful when they did take to the air. We probably saw up to a dozen birds during our visit. Also from the hide we noticed stonechats, reed bunting and some lapwings with a chick. After leaving the hide we got back into our Land Rover and went a short distance to a hut which had been equipped as a souvenir shop, selling items ranging from t shirts and mugs to pin badges and tea towels.
Our visit had ended but was most enjoyable and we felt we had learned a lot from it.
I've included a few photos but the bustards were very distant. The final photo is one I took of a print we were given at the end of the visit.
cornbunting
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