Whittington

Whittington SF. December 28, 2014

To the east of SO88 is Whittington which covers an area of some 400ha. The whole area was once an haven for birds when the old sewage disposal resulted in spreading the sewage over the fields which the birds, in particular curlew and snipe, were attracted to for food.

There are three farms in the area: Roundhill Farm, Whittington Farm and Whittington Hall Farm. Gibbet Lane is to the north with Gibbet Wood and Roundhill Sewage Treatment Works, which is managed by Severn Trent Water Authority, along the lane. Whittington Hall Lane cuts through the middle from Norton and mets the A449 at the Whittington Inn. Bunker's Wood (owned by the Woodland Trust) is half way along the lane  To the south is Hidden Pool and Southern Pool with the largest pool in the area, Island Pool.

The numbers of birds has greatly reduced nowadays due to the modern method of sewage treatment. The curlew flock, which had an all time high of 340 in December 1975, is now none existent. In summer it was always a favourite place for corn bunting but they, if there are any left at all, are precariously hanging on,

It's not all bad news as arable fields, and in particular set-aside fields, attract a large number of finches and thrushes in the winter months.

And it was these species I saw when I went for a walk along Gibbet Lane, past the Roundhill Sewage Treatment Works, on through Gibbet Wood and across farm land to a set-aside field.

There were redwings and fieldfares in the arable fields and a flock of chaffinches in a large set-aside field.

Grey Alder Catkins - new and old

Set-aside Field

Grey Alder