NEW YEAR BIRD RACE 2022

 January 2021 saw a pandemic-affected Race where it was only individuals or teams of two who could take part, and they had to stay local. However, 15 “teams” raised nearly £1200 through donations and sponsorship, and amassed a species list of 119. Living near one of the coastal hotspots was a major advantage, though the highest total, of 71, came from the Arun Valley, and was submitted by our Newsletter Editor!

With Christmas just around the corner, and with the hope that “normal” rules will apply in 2022, it is time to start thinking about organising teams and routes, and to twist a few arms to get sponsorship. Some members prefer to just give a personal donation, and several teams stick to a particular area, trying to better their previous year’s total, or to find new species for their patch. Whatever is organised the main aim of the Race is to enjoy it, have a great day’s birding and make a contribution to bird conservation in Sussex.

Here are the main rules for the Race:

• it must be carried out on a single day in the first two weeks of January
• you must confine yourself to within county boundary
• teams should consist of at least 2 people
• all members of the team should see or hear the species claimed, unless the team consists of 4 or more, in which case 3 must record the species

Good luck to everyone who takes up the challenge – I’m sure my team will be ready to trek the round the Henfield countryside once again, hopefully in a team of four rather than two teams of two!

The Race Pack for 2022 is available from Val Bentley on chetsford@talk21.com or ring 01273 494723. 

Membership is only £14 p.a. (£17 joint). If you join before the end of 2021 your membership will run to the end of December 2022, so you will get THREE Sussex Bird Reports for your year’s subscription – the most recent (2019), the 2020 edition, hot off the press, PLUS the 2021 report which will be published later in 2022.

In addition, we are planning a full programme of walks in 2022, a “virtual” Conference, and you will receive 4 newsletters a year, by post or email as preferred.

Life membership is a bargain £200 (Joint Life £250), and if you are a full-time student or Under 21, the rate is just £4.50

Too good an offer to miss?  Click on “Join us” on the toolbar.

We are  working on setting up an online payment facility, but until then, bear with us and use cheque or bank transfer to make your first payment.

There are still some places left on these two walks.

Places limited and must be prebooked

Meet at 09.30 at the big layby on Pett Level Road, beside the pools (TQ900144). We will spend around an hour looking over the sea, foreshore and pools nearby, so latecomers will still find us there. We will then move on for a longer walk around the levels. Total about 4 miles, finishing at about 1.30 – 2.00pm. Toilets in Pett Level village. Bus 101 Hastings-Rye (hourly) will stop at the pools by request. BOOKING ONLY, numbers restricted to 10 per outing, please contact Chris Barfield, the leader, to book (cjrbarfield@gmail.com or 07508 633909).

Many thanks to everyone who submitted entries for the Sussex Photographer of the Year Competition 2020-2021. As to be expected, the standard of entries is extremely high, and it will be a very difficult task to choose the winners. We plan to announce the results at the SOS AGM, which is to be held on the evening of Friday 7th May on Zoom, as well as on our website. The competition winners and runners-up will be contacted in advance.

Under the Covid restrictions which came into place on Boxing Day, the whole of Sussex is moved into Tier 4, with tight rules on travel and meeting, and though a review is due on 30th December, it looks unlikely that things will be relaxed then.  As I read the new guidance, we are meant to “stay at home” though can meet up with one other person in an outdoor public space providing social distancing is maintained, and we can take unlimited exercise. 

Unless things are relaxed on 30th December, as far as the planned limited outings for January are concerned, we’re sorry to say that these will need to be cancelled. 

With regard to the Bird Race, it looks as though two people can go out for a socially distanced walk for exercise, and record the birds while doing so.  So we’re setting you a “New Year Sussex Species Challenge”, so see how many different species can be seen on a single day by members (either on their own or with one other person) in Sussex in the first two weeks of January – choose a suitable day, send your list to me with an account of your day, and I’ll tot up the overall totals! The general rules will still apply, though obviously not those relating to the usual Teams of more than 2.  The  Race Pack containing a species checklist and sponsorship/donation forms is available from me at chetsford@talk21.com. Good luck if you are able to take part! 

Hot on the heels of the Bird Report, your winter newsletter should be with you very soon.  Slight delay due to the handover from Anthony to Martin, which did not go quite as smoothly as they would have liked – grateful thanks to both for persevering!

There will be a article on how you can participate in our annual New Year Bird Race, with guidelines on how to safely take part, even on an individual basis.  We don’t envisage carloads of merry SOS folk charging round the county this time!

Please give it some thought, and if you are able to join in, then email me for a race pack on chetsford@talk21.com