The Butts at Hawley – Farmland Birds

Habitat: Arable Farmland

Time of Year: Spring/Summer

An area of farmland bounded by the villages of Hawley, Wilmington and Hextable, near Dartford in Kent, is locally known as “The Butts” consisting of a set of fields upon which a variety of arable crops are grown on rotation along with irrigated vegetable crops. Wheat, Barley, Oilseed Rape, Peas, Linseed and Onions are the main crops usually grown here but there are areas of pasture where horses are kept as well as a large hay field. There are also some mature hedgerows and a small area of woodland bordering the west of the site adding some habitat diversity to the area. The area is traversed by the A2 and M25 motorways and the verges of these have allowed many species of wildflowers to spread in the area including Pyramidal Orchid.

I have been visiting this area since I was able to walk and some species of birdlife associated with farmland continue to do well here; it is a particularly pleasant place to walk on sunny spring and summer evenings.

Birding Highlights
Bird List

Although there is a variety of common farmland birds to see at The Butts the most obvious reasons to visit this location is to enjoy a pair of farmland species that are in decline across the United Kingdom; namely Corn Bunting and Eurasian Skylark.

Even though the land here is fairly intensively farmed large numbers of Skylarks can be seen and heard all over this site and the number of Corn Bunting territories here is still in double figures. In fact this site is probably the stronghold of Corn Bunting in Northwest Kent and in late Spring into Summer it doesn’t take much walking before one is heard calling from an elevated perch.

For anyone who wants to get close to these farmland birds this site presents a great opportunity. With Corn Bunting now absent from large parts of the British countryside this location is worth a visit for anyone who is targeting this species for either the first time or to get more familiar with a bird perhaps seen on a very infrequent basis. Equally, for birders who want to get close views of singing Skylarks this is a very good spot and presents a lot of opportunities to photograph them as they ascend into song flight.

A few pairs of Western Yellow Wagtails occasionally breed in some of the fields wherever puddles form around areas of irrigation. This species can also turn up as a passage migrant in Spring and Autumn along with Meadow Pipits and a sometimes a Wheatear or two. Huge numbers of Common Swift can sometimes be seen feeding here before their departure in late July and small numbers of Barn Swallow breed in a few farm buildings while commoner birds include Linnet, Common Whitethroat and House Sparrow.

Greylag Goose – Anser anser
Canada Goose – Branta canadensis
Egyptian Goose – Alopochen aegyptiaca
Mallard – Anas platyrhynchos
Red-legged Partridge – Alectoris rufa
Common Pheasant – Phasianus colchicus
Feral Pigeon – Columba livia
Stock Dove – Columba oenas
Woodpigeon – Columba palumbas
Collared Dove – Streptopelia decaocto
Common Swift – Apus apus
European Golden Plover – Pluvialis apricaria
Eurasian Dotterel – Charadrius morinellus
Northern Lapwing – Vanellus vanellus
Eurasian Curlew – Numenius arquata
Black-headed Gull – Chroicocephalus ridibundus
Common Gull – Larus cranus
Herring Gull – Larus argentatus
Yellow-legged Gull – Larus michahellis
Lesser Black-backed Gull – Larus fuscus
Great Black-backed Gull – Larus marinus
Grey Heron – Ardea cinerea
Little Egret – Egretta garzetta
Western Marsh Harrier – Circus aeruginosus
Eurasian Sparrowhawk – Accipiter nisus
Red Kite – Milvus milvus
Common Buzzard – Buteo buteo
Great Spotted Woodpecker – Dendrocopos major
Eurasian Green Woodpecker – Picus viridis
Common Kestrel – Falco tinnunculus
Eurasian Hobby – Falco subbuteo
Peregrine Falcon – Falco peregrinus
Ring-necked Parakeet – Psittacula krameri
Eurasian Jay – Garrulus glandarius

Common Magpie – Pica pica
Eurasian Jackdaw – Corvus monedula
Rook – Corvus frugilegus
Carrion Crow – Corvus corone
Eurasian Blue Tit – Cyanistes caeruleus
Great Tit – Parus major
Eurasian Skylark – Alauda arvensis
Sand Martin – Riparia riparia
Barn Swallow – Hirundo rustica
Common House Martin – Delichon urbicum
Common Chiffchaff – Phylloscopus collybita
Long-tailed Tit – Aegithalos caudatus
Eurasian Blackcap – Silvia atricapilla
Common Whitethroat – Sylvia communis
Goldcrest – Regulus regulus
Eurasian Wren – Troglodytes troglodytes
Common Starling – Sturnus vulgaris
Mistle Thrush – Turdus viscivorus
Song Thrush – Turdus philomelos
Redwing – Turdus iliacus
Eurasian Blackbird – Turdus merula
Fieldfare – Turdus pilaris
European Robin – Erithacus rubecula
Northern Wheatear – Oenanthe oenanthe
Dunnock – Prunella modularis
House Sparrow – Passer domesticus
Western Yellow Wagtail – Motacilla flava
Pied Wagtail – Motacilla alba
Meadow Pipit – Anthus pratensis
Common Chaffinch – Fringilla coelebs
European Greenfinch – Chloris chloris
Common Linnet – Linaria cannabina
European Goldfinch – Carduelis carduelis
Corn Bunting – Emberiza calandra
Yellowhammer – Emberiza citrinella

Travel Information

The interactive map below shows the route, by road, from junction 2 of the M25 motorway (A) to a suitable parking location on Capel Place (B) and onto the centre of the site where a public footpath crosses Shirehall Road.

Car/Motorcycle

The only places to park are in residential areas close to the fields. Capel Place is a suitable spot with no houses along part of the road meaning that obstructing local residents should not be a problem. Alternatively it is usually possible to find somewhere to park along Ethelbert Road or Alfred Road in the vilage of Hawley.

Rail

The nearest railway stations are Dartford, Farningham Road and Swanley. All three are 2-3 miles away from the birding site.

Finding Birds

1. Entering The Butts along this footpath, a large hay field is on the left. From early spring good numbers of Skylark sing and in late May to early July huge numbers of cockchafers emerge from the hedgerow and are fed upon by clouds of Swifts and up to 5 Hobbies; the latter sometimes stay around to breed.

2. Arable fields are criss-crossed by footpaths and are good spots to watch singing Skylarks, Linnets and noisy calling Corn Buntings. Corn Buntings have become scarce or absent in many areas, but this is still a great place to see them close-up and in July it is easy to watch the parents feeding their chicks, often following the combine harvesters and catching the insects that they disturb.

3. Some scrubland and horse pasture is home to Whitethroat, Kestrel and a few pairs of Yellowhammers, as well as many common species: the pasture is where most passage migrants turn up in spring.

4. Irrigated crops, often including onions, sometimes host a few pairs of Western Yellow Wagtails in spring and early summer while the buildings associated with the horse paddocks provide nesting opportunities for a few pairs of Barn Swallows which can be seen hawking over the surrounding fields in summer.