Wildlife - Winchester Downs Cluster

Wildlife

The Winchester Downs Farm Cluster Group is a group of farmers and land managers working together to improve wildlife and biodiversity on a landscape scale.

In order to do this, we need to baseline to find out what we already have on our farms, so carrying out surveys is an important part of the work of the group. This enables us to plan future projects and identify where there are successes or areas of opportunity.

Bird Surveys

These have been carried out over the past few years with grateful thanks to volunteers from the Hampshire Ornithological Society This involves 4-6 visits between April – June.

In 2023 17 farms were surveyed and 76 different species of birds were recorded.

A number of these are red listed species which have shown a 50% decline over recent years and also amber listed which are 25%-50% in decline.

In 2024 we are surveying 21 farms, these results will be available later in the year.

2023 Results

Red Listed			Amber Listed			Green Listed
Bird	Count	No. Sites	Bird	Count	No. Sites	Bird	Count	No. Sites
Corn Bunting	4	1	Bullfinch	20	12	Barn Owl	4	4
Cuckoo	1	1	Dunnock	97	17	Firecrest	35	9
Greenfinch	48	15	Grey Wagtail	1	1	Woodlark	9	5
Grey Partridge	0	0	Kestrel	18	13
House Martin	68	10	Mallard	27	9
House Sparrow	88	9	Moorhen	2	2
Lapwing	10	2	Reed Bunting	0	0
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker	0	0	Rook	693	13
Linnet	223	12	Song Thrush	96	17
Marsh Tit	11	4	Sparrowhawk	4	3
Mistle Thrush	53	14	Stock Dove	163	14
Skylark	198	16	Tawny Owl	2	2
Spotted Flycatcher	14	6	Whitethroat	98	14
Starling	67	8	Willow Warbler	4	4
Swift	48	10	Wood Pigeon	1450	17
Tree Pipit	1	1	Wren	274	17
Yellowhammer	96	13

Source: HOS 2024

BioBlitz

In June 2024 a BioBlitz will take place at the Holt Estate. This is a 24hr observation of all things wildlife and plant life, which provides a snapshot in time of the local environment and species found.

The previous BioBlitz at the same location was held in 2018, results will be compared to see how things have changed in the years since.

For more information on what is a BioBlitz?

Hedge laying

Projects

Wildlife

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