3: Coalpit Heath
I have been birding my patch since 1991. My patch is predominantly arable farmland that arcs around the north
and east of Coalpit Heath from Frampton End to Ram Hill, and is split by the A432. The advantage to me is that I
can fit in a quick visit when time is tight and I can get to it without using the car.
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Migrants have included Red Kite, Pied Flycatcher and Redstart, with Spotted Flycatcher in most years. A Reed
Warbler sang from a dry biomass crop one May. Hearing Nightingale song from my bed in 1999 led to my
discovery of a brand-new colony on the railway bank; they nested for three years. For around 15 years a family of
noisy Hobby would appear each August and September stocking up on dragonflies. Little Owl and Yellowhammer
are resident, but winter brings thrushes en masse with motionless Lapwing resting on the open fields. Woodcock,
Snipe, Jack Snipe and Barn Owl are all sporadic and flocks of 300 Chaffinch and 400 Linnet have occurred. Even
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and Waxwing visited one winter, though it’s many years since I recorded Grey
Partridge. At 89 species, I am at one on my patch.
Mike Jackson
