In recent years, the Sussex Ornithological Society has worked hard to protect good places for birds from being damaged or built on, and to make district plans more sensitive to wildlife. Often acting in partnership with the Sussex Wildlife Trust (SWT), RSPB and other conservation charities, we’ve had some successes in preventing harm to wildlife habitats. The flip side of this coin would be to partner with some of the many exciting local projects underway to enhance the wildlife habitats in the Sussex countryside. And that is exactly what we now want to do – through you, our members.

You might be surprised by how many of these projects there are, ranging from those covering just a few acres to several thousand. There are many underway through the Wilder Horsham District initiative alone through a partnership between the District Council and SWT. Some members have been helping landowners with bird and other wildlife surveys across the county for a long time and you may have read about bird survey work with farmers between the Arun and Adur and on Pevensey Levels.

Would you like to participate in an expansion of this effort? If so, please let us know. Here are some immediate options:

1. The SWT is looking for volunteers who can help with bird surveys and training others to do bird surveys, in the Horsham District and on some SWT reserves including Rye Harbour.
2. Natural England is looking for help with bird surveys at Kingley Vale.
3. The Arun to Adur Farmers Group would welcome help with bird surveys.
4. We have a request to help survey the birds on a farm near Hartfield.

Wherever you live, do let us know if you are interested in getting involved and we’ll try to connect you with a local project. We’ve called this the Neighbourhood Survey Initiative to encourage a low carbon footprint, though you may of course have low carbon options for travelling longer distances.

We hope that you will prioritise national surveys through the BTO and others, and the SOS species surveys (Corn Bunting in 2024) as well as our winter survey, but if you have space for this additional local effort that would be much appreciated and hopefully very rewarding. Importantly, it may also give SOS access to some private sites that would otherwise have few bird records.

If you are interested, including in the requests mentioned above, or would like to know more, please contact me at in the first instance at Adam@red-inc.com. This year, 2024, is very much a trial year, and we want to learn as much as we can about how to make the initiative a success.

If you’ve already been active in this kind of work using your personal contacts with landowners and land managers, do please let us know, so that the Society can build up a picture of the number and range of activities that members have been engaged in.

Thank you.

Adam Huttly

SOS Neighbourhood Survey Initiative

20 March 2024

SOS member and Member of the Society of Wildlife Artists, Robert Greenhalf, has produced many fine illustrations over the years for the Sussex Bird Report. You will see from your spring newsletter that he has very kindly donated three lovely original watercolour paintings as featured in the 2022 Report, and now is your chance to own one. They are:

Curlews & Lapwing (p5, 15 x 21cm)

Avocets & Wigeon (p18, 15 x 21 cm)

Redshanks (p292, 12 x 18cm).

They are on artist’s paper/card (unmounted), and we invite bids (suggested minimum £40 each) for these.

Email Val Bentley on chetsford@talk21.com or ring 01273 494723 before 6th April with your offers!

Corn Bunting © Pete Hughes

SOS are appealing for volunteers to get involved in this year’s Corn Bunting survey.

There are over 100 2km squares (tetrads) to choose from and the survey website is here: https://sussexcornbunting.birdsurvey.org.uk/

If anyone wants to learn (or be reminded of!) the Corn Bunting song or get familiar with what they look like, a currently very good and accessible site is just west of Chantry Post car park or just east of Kithurst Hill car park, at TQ 08095 12224 (what3words: screamed.recover.imprinted) where there is still a wintering flock of at least 50 Corn Buntings and several birds singing regularly right alongside the public right of way.

I would also ask anyone who encounters Corn Buntings in Sussex over the next few months to record them onto Birdtrack with a precise location so we can build an accurate picture of their distribution and numbers.

Peter Hughes.

Enthusiastic young birder, SOS Council member and social media inflencer Mya Bambrick challenged herself to do 21 walks for wildlife before her 21st birthday and raise £2,100 for the British Trust for Ornithology.

This is a recording of a webinar Mya presented for Sussex Ornithological Society in February 2024. Mya covers the highlights of the 21 walks that cover some of the best places for wildlife in the UK. She talks about her other work with various organisations and how she got involved in birding after being enthused from a very young age.

There’s a great question and answer session following the presentation, chaired by Jack Thompson, SOS member and RSPB Conservation Officer.

21 Walks for Wildlife

Following extensive consultation, including with the RSPB Crime Monitoring Unit, the Rare Breeding Birds Panel, neighbouring ornithological societies and our membership, the Sussex Ornithological Society (SOS) decided in 2022 that the time had come to be more open about some of the sites in the county where there is a chance of seeing Honey-buzzards and Goshawks in areas where they may breed.

For Goshawk, the decision was reasonably straightforward as the species is now doing well in Sussex, with 50-60 pairs breeding annually and the population probably still increasing. Honey-buzzards are much less numerous, but Sussex has perhaps the largest population of any county in the UK, with 20 pairs found in 2023. Three viewpoints for the species have been made public in counties with many fewer pairs and an assessment of risk concluded that some sites and viewpoints in Sussex could also be made public, subject to meeting certain criteria.

The just published ‘Where to Watch birds in Surrey and Sussex’ by Matt Phelps and Ed Stubbs includes a number of sites and viewpoints for both species in Sussex. Those for Honey-buzzard in particular do not provide guaranteed sightings, in part because of the species’ often cryptic behaviour, but also because sites are not necessarily occupied every year. The sites chosen are a mix of more reliable ones and those for which more records are needed: something that the SOS hopes that the new book will encourage.

The SOS has asked the Bird News Services only to publish inland sightings of Honey-buzzards where these are from the sites and viewpoints mentioned in the book.

Mark Mallalieu
Chair, Scientific Committee, Sussex Ornithological Society
16 February 2024

Some informal practice sessions are planned this year in Sussex for the BTO/RSPB/JNCC Breeding Bird Survey and anybody who is considering taking part in the BBS is welcome to come along to one of the sessions. Anybody of any age is welcome and young people are especially welcome although under-18s must be accompanied by an adult. The planned dates are:

1. Saturday 9th March at the Knepp Estate (Dave Boddington);
2. Saturday 16th March at Pulborough Brooks RSPB (Helen Crabtree);
3. Friday 22nd March in Burgess Hill (Helen Crabtree);
4. Sunday 24th March at Lewes Railway Land (Nevil Hutchinson);
5. Wednesday 27th March in Arundel town (Helen Crabtree);
6. Saturday 6th April at Sedlescombe village (East Sussex) (Christine George).

The aims of these morning outdoor sessions will be (1) to give confidence to new and nearly-new BBS volunteers, (2) to sort out any problems that volunteers may have with the BBS and to provide a chance for volunteers to ask questions about the survey, and (3) to give everybody involved a chance to meet and socialise with other BBS volunteers. Anybody attending who does not currently take part in the BBS should be able to find out what is involved and then hopefully sign up for a square.

Please contact Helen Crabtree at hcrabtree@gmail.com if you would like to attend one of these training sessions/social meet-ups, and you will be sent further details nearer the time.

All teams have now submitted their lists and congratulations are due to the Hot Shot Harriers (Matt Eade & Tim Squire) on finding 115 species on 1st January.  Not quite a record – that still stands with The Splash Pointers’ 123 back in 2018 – Matt was part of that team too!

In 2nd place were The Dynamic Duo (Elliot Chandler & John Thorogood) with 96 and Mike’s Mergansers (Mike Russell, Lesley Milward, Mike English & Charles Waters) were 3rd with 91.  Joint 4th with 90 were The Martlets and Whelpley Waders.

Many thanks to all teams who took part – the highest ever number of teams and participants.

There will be a more detailed report in the Spring newsletter.

At the Annual Conference on 27th January there were four inspiring talks highlighting the efforts being undertaken to restore vital habitat and protect and help many different species.  For members and others who missed them on the day you can now catch up with all the presentations:

Rye Harbour https://youtu.be/wZBLUEG7vmA

Barry Yates talk on his 30 years at Rye Harbour Nature reserve detailed the ups (and downs) of species, land acquisition and conservation efforts during that time – though his personal highlight must still be the discovery of “Squeaker” the only British Least Tern which returned every year from 1983-1992!

Lewes Swifts https://youtu.be/MkbVpEcTvlU

The difficulties faced by Swifts are well known, and Mike Ramsey showed how local initiatives undertaken in Lewes by forming a Swift Group, raising awareness and taking practical action to monitor nest sites and install boxes, can really benefit the breeding population of this iconic summer visitor.

Perching Manor Farm https://youtu.be/Zg8zaJm0Djo

During the afternoon session David Ellin explained how a working commercial farm is improving habitat for farmland birds by sensitive farming, reducing pesticide use, using no drill methods and taking advantage of agri-environment schemes. The farm has seen numbers of farmland birds increase – including the return of breeding Lapwings. This family-owned farm won the FWAG National Silver Lapwing award in 2015 for its efforts.

Broadwater Warren https://youtu.be/6XWOEicfYOo

Finally one of the RSPB’s newest reserves, Broadwater Warren, has received much support from SOS, and Alan Loweth showed that the transformation of this previous conifer forest into a mosaic of heathland and wet woodland has led to breeding success for species such as Nightjars, Woodlark and Dartford Warbler. Many thanks to our Conference Organiser David Porter for arranging the event, and to all those who helped both before and during the day.

Many thanks to Jonathan (Jonno) Cook for recording and uploading these. Enjoy !