There is a national seabird census and the focus this year and next is on breeding gulls in urban areas. The survey is simple – only one visit needed. But there are lots of urban sites in Sussex to cover so we need lots of volunteers. Can you help?

Click Here for more details.

Now is the ideal time to sign up to take part in the BTO Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) and to come along to an informal practice session along with other volunteers.

This national monitoring scheme is administered by the BTO and jointly funded by the BTO, JNCC and RSPB. It has been running since 1994 and its primary aim is to provide population trends for common and widespread bird species in the UK. Population trends for Sussex are also produced and published in the Sussex Bird Report.

Survey plots are randomly-selected 1-km squares of the National Grid, and the same squares are surveyed each year. Volunteers visit their squares three times each year during the breeding season, once to record simple habitat data, and twice to walk a fixed route, recording birds seen and heard. There are more than 150 BBS squares across Sussex, covering every type of habitat, and new volunteers are always needed.

Volunteers must be able to recognise common and widespread birds, but previous experience of survey work is not necessary. Help and support from experienced volunteers can be arranged if required, and some informal group practice sessions are planned for late March 2019, to which new volunteers will be invited.

The BBS squares (asterisks indicate priority squares that have been surveyed before) in Sussex which currently need volunteers for the 2019 breeding season (updated 29/3/2019) are:

SU7802 Cobnor Point
SU8027 near Rake*
SU8029 near Liss Forest*
SU8624 Tote Hill near Midhurst
SU9017 Heyshott*
SU9113 near East Dean*
SU9216 Graffham Down*
SU9228 near Blackdown*
SZ7996 East Wittering*
SZ8696 near Pagham Harbour*
TQ0111 Houghton*
TQ0124 near Kirdford*
TQ1531 Broadbridge Heath
TQ1904 Lancing*
TQ2122 Cowfold*
TQ2721 near Goddard’s Green*
TQ2828 Staplefield*
TQ2836 central Crawley
TQ2904 Hove*
TQ3304 Brighton Whitehawk
TQ3916 near South Chailey*
TQ4002 Telscombe*
TQ4136 Ashurst Wood*
TQ4738 near Blackham*
TQ4800 Seaford*
TQ4806 Firle Beacon*
TQ4817 near Isfield*
TQ5231 Crowborough*
TQ5514 near Chiddingly
TQ5707 Abbot’s Wood
TQ5738 Tunbridge Wells*
TQ5901 Willingdon
TQ6419 Earl’s Down*
TQ6521 Dallington Forest*
TQ6727 near Stonegate*
TQ7028 near Hurst Green
TQ8013 Baldslow*
TQ8413 near Three Oaks
TQ8518 Udimore*
TQ8613 Guestling Green

For further information, please contact Helen Crabtree, 01444 441687, hcrabtree@gmail.com.

The breeding season is already underway for some birds. Please respect the special protection for species listed in Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (see list here).

For scarce breeding species in Sussex, please do not publish locations on social media, including this website, unless the sites are well-known and protected. If entering records on BirdTrack consider marking them as “sensitive”. As a guide, the SOS recommends this approach for Honey-buzzard, Goshawk, Marsh Harrier, Stone-curlew, Long-eared Owl, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Peregrine, Woodlark, Grasshopper Warbler, Dartford Warbler and Tree Sparrow. In addition, please avoid publicising locations of nests of other species such as Barn Owl, Kingfisher and Nightjar that could be vulnerable to disturbance. And if you are lucky enough to find something rarer that might be breeding (are we due another pair of Black-winged Stilts!?), please also avoid publicity, at least until protective measures, where practicable, have been put in place.

Whilst we don’t want you to share on public forums the breeding locations of the species listed above, we do want records of your observations of these species, including breeding evidence. This will happen automatically for BirdTrack if you have authorised the BTO to pass us your records. Especially if you find a new potential breeding site for a scarce breeder, please do let me know straight away at recorder@sos.org.uk to help ensure that annual coverage is as complete as possible. For Stone-curlews, please tell the RSPB Stone-curlew Project Team Richard.Black1@rspb.org.uk and for Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, please inform Ken Smith at ken.smith.lsw@gmail.com.

Many thanks.

Mark Mallalieu
SOS Recorder and Chair of Scientific Committee

SOS – Countywide survey in 60 tetrads

Volunteers needed – can you help?

Two morning visits in May/June and June/July.

The Turtle Dove is one of the most rapidly declining species in UK and elsewhere in northern Europe, we want to find out how it is faring in Sussex.

The objective of this project is to look for changes in the distribution of Turtle Doves in Sussex over the last decade by re-surveying a sample of tetrads which held breeding birds during the 2008-11 Sussex Atlas.

The atlas simply recorded presence and the breeding status in each tetrad. To arrive at an estimate of the numbers of breeding Turtle Doves in the county we will map and count the ‘purring’ males within the randomly selected tetrads.

Survey method

We have selected at random 60 tetrads occupied by Turtle Doves in the 2008-11 Atlas.

We are asking volunteers to choose a tetrad and make two visits to check out all the suitable habitat as closely as possible. The first visit between May 11 and June 20 and the second visit between June 21 and July 24. Visits should be in the early morning (between first light and 09.00) in good weather conditions. We will provide 1:25,000 maps of your chosen tetrad.

If you are interested, please contact the survey organiser Ken Smith.

Full details of the background to the project, survey methods, tetrads selected and Ken’s contact details can be viewed and downloaded here

It’s that time of year where I start to compile images taken throughout 2018 for the annual bird report. If you have any images taken last year (and in Sussex) that you would like to see included in the 2018 report, please send the high resolution/original file to me with the species, location and date in the image name (it saves me a massive job!)

If you have too many to email, please use www.WeTransfer.com, instructions on how to use this website can be found here – www.tinyurl.com/yccfh56u

My email is lukedray226@hotmail.co.uk

If you have any queries, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Surveyor needed urgently from 2019

This long running survey monitors 21 breeding species with emphasis on heathland specialists by the simple method of detecting males holding territory. The core heaths of West Sussex have been surveyed for over nineteen years and we are now in need of a surveyor for the important site of Lynchmere & Stanley Commons SU8631.

Nightjar, Woodlark, Dartford Warbler, Tree Pipit and Stonechat are the prime targets however this heath has an excellent Redstart population.

The Survey starts in mid-February, (to find the Woodlarks taking up their territories) and carries on until late June. We try to cover the individual sites entirely on at least four occasions, including one early year visit as mentioned, and two visits (more if you have the inclination and the time) about two weeks apart during May when song activity is at its peak. There will be at least one evening visit in May or June to detect Nightjar.

The survey is not particularly demanding but the continuous nature of it over more than nineteen years has enabled us to providing superb data, assisting with management and other conservation issues.

If you are interested please contact Alan Perry for more details on 01798 344417 or email ap@alanperry.uk.com

Please note the time of this walk is 9.30am NOT 2pm as printed in the Programme card.

SOS – Countywide survey in 60 tetrads

Volunteers needed – can you help?

Two morning visits in May/June and June/July

Click here for details.

Now 18 Teams (surely a record?) have completed their Race, and the totals stand at

107  Ruff ‘n’ready (Tim Squire, Josh MacCallum Stewart)

97 The Martlets (Peter Plant, Hugh Horne, Peter Davis, Sophie May Lewis, Gary Trew)

96 Dynamic Duo (Elliot Chandler, John Thorogood)

96  Mike’s Mergansers (Mike English, Jan Jupp, Lesley Milward, Mike Russell, Charles Waters)

91 Wild Park Wanderers (Ben Benatt, Paul Cole, Peter Whitcomb)

91 Rolling Turnstones (Colin & Juliet Nicholson, Alan & Angie Locke)

89 Slow but Sure (Cliff Dean, Alan Parker et al)

88 Ryenecks (Bob Greenhalf, David Bentley, Kelvin Cawte, Pat Bonham)

81 Leisurely Gentlemen (Alan Perry, Joe Nobbs)

77 Treasurer’s Team (John Hall, Ted Merrikin, John Underwood)

73  The Great Twits (Chris Barfield, Nigel Barnes)

66 TQ01ers (Jackie,Pete, Alice, Mark & Linda)

64 Just the Two of Us (Brian Crawford & Kathleen Hutchinson)

57 Fab Four ( Val Bentley, Nigel Colgate, Will Green, Nigel Parsons)

56 Passing Passerines (Sarah Cooper, Alison Playle, Erica Hutchby, Sue Dennis)

55 West Weald Wanderers (Dave Burges, Paul Matson)

50 Adur Hobblers (Brian Clay, Chris Fox, Clive Hope, John Newnham)

38 The LBJs (Tim & Samuel Roberts)

Well done to all  and many congratulations to Josh and Tim on their success this year!

If you are planning to do the Race – remember it has to be during the first two weeks of January – don’t forget to let me know and to ask for a Race pack.

My team are up for it again!

Val Bentley: chetsford@talk21.com or ring 01273 494723