Manor Farm Bird Fair

Waterside Natural History Society goes to a Bird Fair

We were due to go for a walk around Dibden Enclosure for this month’s outdoor meeting but we took the opportunity to visit a bird fair at Manor Farm Country Park instead.
Not many years ago a bird fair would mean the sale and exchange of chickens or game birds and their eggs but nowadays it is all about watching wild birds in the countryside. Bird watching has become ever more popular as the number of birds has declined. When sparrows and swallows crowded under the eaves of every house and wild birds cleaned up after the harvest most people thought birds were a nuisance and only small boys went out to gather birds eggs. The reason for their decline may be conveniently complex but if you have ever seen a meadow dying after been sprayed by herbicide the reason becomes all too clear. It is the loss of habitat and food that means birds cannot survive in the wild. Nevertheless people are rising to the challenge and going to ever greater lengths to spot birds in the wild and take their own photographs.
Birdwatching is becoming a big business. Wild bird food is sold in many outlets and highly technical photographic equipment is snapped up by the discerning amateur. You can now watch pigeons mating on your garden fence without having to look through the window.
On arrival at the bird fair we decided to go on one of the organised walks which was due to depart imminently. We would then have our lunch followed by a walk round the exhibits and if time allowed we would then walk on our own around the park. The guided walk was to be a stroll through the woods looking for birds and anything else that was brought to our attention. Unfortunately it is a bad time for bird spotting at the moment as leaves are still on the trees and many of the birds have started their migrations. It did not help either that the group consisted of over fifty people shuffling and talking their way behind the guides.
Birdspotting is rather an anomaly however and the poor viewing conditions did draw attention to the fact that birdhearing might just as easily be used. Identifying birds by their calls is a difficult skill to master. Even if your hearing is good you have to associate the sound with a particular bird and more importantly you have to remember the sound for the next time you hear it. Teaching music in schools is not regarded a priority these days but it would definitely be an advantage with bird identification. Fortunately the guides were skilled in this area and nuthatch, tree creeper and members of the tit family were all identified before they were seen.
There may be a shortage of bird sightings at the moment but this is compensated for by the abundance of fungi. One of our guides was able to identify a number of fungi from the many thousands that occur in the country and he pointed out that when starting to identify fungi the best idea is to first identify the group or species to which it belongs. It is also a good idea to know what to look for. Does the stem snap like chalk, is it tough and spindly or is it fibrous? Does the fungi have gills or is it spongy? One of the boletes turned from lime green to blue within seconds when cut with a knife and one called a beefsteak looked exactly like its namesake. The fly agaric is one that can be identified by most people and we were fortunate to find a perfect example as we neared the end of our walk. It is a good idea to assume all fungi are poisonous and wash your hands after handling.
The exhibits in the fair consisted of stalls representing the various countryside organisations such as the RSPB, Hampshire council and Hampshire and IOW wildlife trust. There were sales of bird food and refreshments but surprisingly none of birdwatching equipment. Demonstrations went on during the day but when we went round a tawny owl with its handler was the only sign of bird life.
One of the stalls had, as a means of attracting interest, a box of bird feathers and the stallholder asked passersby to identify from which bird they came. I thought this was quite difficult as none of the feathers were from common birds and lots of people did not even try. A young girl with her mother picked up one of the feathers and suggested tentatively what she thought it was and to everyone’s surprise it was correct. She then went on to correctly identify all the rest of the feathers in the box. One that she identified as a greater spotted woodpecker was in fact from a green woodpecker but was nevertheless pretty impressive. I had never thought that young people would be so interested in nature and that you had to be old to appreciate it but perhaps the future is in good hands after all.