A good spot to find migrating birds, plus winter raptors
This former World War Two and Cold War airfield has largely been returned to arable farming, but its relatively elevated position means it makes a good spot from which to observe visible migration and to find passerine migrants on passage in spring and autumn, while winter sees raptors hunting it.
WHERE TO WATCH
1 From the hard-standing where you park, scan all around for raptors, with Kestrel and Buzzard regular, and Red Kite increasingly so. In winter there’s the possibility of the likes of Peregrine and Merlin, while Short-eared Owls regularly winter around the airfield.
2 The main access into the site is along the concrete path from the hard-standing. Take plenty of time to check the small copse that you immediately pass through, for Great, Blue and Long-tailed Tits, Chaffinches (with possible Brambling in winter), Robin, Dunnock and Blackbird. During migration times, expect the likes of Willow Warbler and Blackcap in good numbers, too.
3 As you proceed along the track, keep an eye out for all those raptors all around, while farmland birds such as Yellowhammer are always possible on the occasional trees and bushes.
4 The area around the old shooting wall is often good in spring for Wheatears and Ring Ouzels.
5 Scan across the former airfield itself for possible waders such as Lapwing, Golden Plover or Curlew on passage, as well as more Yellowhammers, Sky Larks in spring and summer, Meadow Pipit, and of course those raptors again. Check any birds perched on the old bunkers, too – while many are corvids, there’s also a chance of Black Redstart or Stonechat.