Although Alton
Water was designated a County Wildlife Site primarily on the
basis of it’s winter wildfowl population it has become
increasingly important as an oasis for the declining farmland
birds. Skylarks regularly breed and benefit from the recent
changes in grassland management. Linnets use the newly planted
boundary hedges as do corn buntings.
To enable visitors to
enjoy seeing woodland birds, as well as the wildfowl, a small
feeding station has been in operation at the Larchwood hide
for several years now. This is maintained by the Alton Water
Volunteers. A range of feed is on offer throughout the year
and it is hoped that species such as tree sparrows will once
again return to this area.Record sheets are available both at
the Larchwood and the Coralline Hide for the Public to record
their observations using a simple tick list.
These records are fed
into the national Birdwatch database run by the British Trust
for Ornithology and play a vital part in monitoring all our
birds both at local and national level. It is a simple but highly
effective way that visitors can help put something back into
the management of Alton Water.
