Staffordshire is a large county with a surprising variety of habitat, varying from urban and industrial via mixed agriculture to heath and moorland. It also houses a number of large water bodies, both natural and man-made and is crossed from north-west to south east by the valley of the river Trent.
Despite this variety, and the many different birds it attracts, Staffordshire has not been well served by its own avifaunas or bird atlases, all more recent records being subsumed into the greater West Midlands. It is the purpose of this atlas to go some way towards rectifying this.
The large reservoirs of Rudyard and Tittesworth in the north, Belvide, Gailey and Blithfield in the centre and Chasewater in the south are a good starting point for watching. All have a wide variety of resident wildfowl and regularly attract many different migrants and winter visitors, including Osprey and a number of the more unusual terns and gulls. They also have other habitat, such as grassland and scrub, which acts as host to plenty of different passerines, both visitors and breeders.
Keeping to the wetland theme Westport Lake, in the urban area of Stoke on Trent, provides a welcome oasis for birds while the floodplain of Doxey Marshes, on the outskirts of Stafford, is an important area for many breeding waders and holds good winter populations of Snipe, Golden Plover, Lapwing and Water Rail. The gravel workings in the east of the county are also well worth searching for unusual migrant waders as well as for their breeding populations of wildfowl and Sand Martins.
During spring and summer the Staffordshire Moorlands have breeding waders, Twite and Meadow Pipit as well as the elusive Ring Ouzel and the chance of good views of hunting Long Eared Owl.
The vast area of Cannock Chase in the middle of the county is an outstanding area of heathland with nationally important populations of Nightjar and Woodlark, as well as Stonechat, Yellowhammer and both Tree and Meadow Pipits and a large population of Skylark. The surrounding plantation conifers have Crossbill and the oakwoods, Wood Warbler, Redstart and Pied Flycatcher. In winter the visitor centre at Marquis Drive regularly attracts large flocks of Brambling.
The county’s woods and farmland hold one of our local specialities, Tree Sparrow, as well as all of the usual lowland wood and farmland bird species including the rather scarcer Corn Bunting and Yellow Wagtail.
For up-to-date information on the birds at Belvide, please visit the Belvide BLOG.
To understand our bird populations, and to inform the management of local SSSIs and the County Biodiversity Action Plan we need a steady flow of bird records and observations. We also need people willing to participate in local and British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) bird surveys to provide more detailed and targeted information on individual species and habitats.
Please submit your bird records to our County Recorder on staffs-recorder@westmidlandbirdclub.com or on line to the BTO using BirdTrackwww.bto.org/birdtrack
If you would like to know about opportunities to take part in bird surveys please contactstafford@westmidlandbirdclub.com
The Barn Owl Action Group (BOAG) was set up in Staffordshire in 2001 when it was estimated that there were only about 30 pairs of Barn Owls left in the county. The decline of the Barn Owl is due to changes in farming practices which have led to loss of suitable habitat, nesting and roosting sites. Barn Owls hunt over open, rough pasture where their prey of short-tailed voles is readily available. Barn Owls roost and nest in old hollow trees and in barns many of which have been converted into housing. Pushed to their outer limits Barn Owls hunt along the verges of roads and dual carriageways and become regular victims of road kills. The Barn Owl is now a protected species under the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981 and a BAP species of the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust.
BOAG is run by a small group of volunteers within the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust whose aim is to encourage the conservation of the Barn Owl in the county. To date over 90 Barn Owl boxes have been installed in areas where Barn Owls are known to exist. BOAG is currently setting up a monitoring programme of its boxes to determine their success. In successful sites other boxes will be installed to extend the territories of fledged Barn Owls.
BOAG relies on the public to contact the Wildlife Trust with any sightings of Barn Owls. These sightings are recorded and the data is important in establishing the Barn Owl population in Staffordshire. Records of Barn Owls are important for planning purposes to establish whether there may be Barn Owls in or near a barn that has a planning application for conversion. As the Barn Owl is protected it is an offence to disturb it during the nesting season and provisions such as installing a box can be made to provide an alternative nesting site. BOAG is also interested in records of dead Barn Owls whether from road kills, poisoning, drowning in water troughs or from starvation. These records help to build up a picture of how Barn Owls are doing in the county.
BOAG can be contacted on boag@staffs-wildlife.org.uk or send your records via the SER website.
