Hope that many of you will soon be organising your teams for the SOS New Year Bird Race!  Last year there 16 different teams which took part; they saw 139 species and raised over £1500! The winning Team, on 102 species, were The Dynamic Duo (Elliot Chandler & John Thorogood).

Regular racers will know the Rules, and there will be further details in the winter newsletter, but the main ones are

• it must be carried out on a single day in the first two weeks of January
• you must confine yourself to within the county boundary
• teams should consist of at least 2 people
• all members of the team should see or hear the species claimed (though doesn’t have to be the same individual bird), unless the team consists of 4 or more, in which case 3 must record the species

Very good luck to all those planning to Race, which should include myself!

Contact me on chetsford@talk21.com or ring 01273 494723 for the Race Pack

The 2021 Sussex Bird Report is now out, full of fascinating information derived from your observations and survey work. There are papers describing a remarkable upward revision of the Marsh Tit population estimate, the exciting results of the Honey-buzzard survey, as well as on Dartford Warblers in Ashdown Forest, urban gulls, and Nightingales and Turtle Doves in Chiddingfold Forest. Plus lots of beautiful artwork from three well-known artists, gorgeous photos and of course the systematic list and all the other regular features. Huge thanks to Editor Mark Mallalieu and his team.

SOS members receive a copy through their letterbox, non-members can purchase a copy for £13 (includes P & P) from Val Bentley, Lanacre, Blackgate Lane, Henfield BN5 9HA mandpcommittee@sos.org.uk Cheques payable to Sussex Ornithological Society, or contact Val for bank transfer details.

BUT join the SOS now (your membership will run until 31.12.23) and get the brand new Bird Report, plus the 2022 edition when it is published this time next year  click on “Join us” for this 2 for 1 offer. Due to the amazing take up of the previous 3 for 1 offer we have now run out of 2020 Reports, but it’s still a fantastic deal!

Membership is only £14 p.a. (£17 joint). If you join between 1 November and 31 December 2022 your membership will run to the end of December 2023, so you will get TWO Sussex Bird Reports for your year’s subscription – the 2021 edition, which has just come out , PLUS the 2022 report which will be published  in autumn 2023.  We have now run out of 2020 Reports – sorry!

In addition, we are planning a full programme of walks in 2023, an in person Conference in January, 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.

The Wealden Heaths Breeding Bird Survey 2022, results and brief commentary, are available here

Thanks to the enthusiasm and dedication of so many amazing volunteers 184 squares have been surveyed for the BBS in the Sussex region this year which is a new record!

Available here are trend graphs plotted for 36 common species using Sussex BBS data for 1994 to 2021; these can be compared with national and regional trend graphs available at http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/bbs/latest-results/trend-graphs. The trend graphs are plotted using the percentage changes each year since the start of the survey in 1994, presented as indices relative to an arbitrary index of 1.0 in 1994. Some of the graphs show encouraging stability of population levels or even increases. House sparrow and song thrush numbers in Sussex appear to be increasing slightly after years of stability, and the long-term declines in starling and mistle thrush numbers appear to have halted. Population levels of skylarks and yellowhammers in Sussex appear to be more or less stable. Obviously the real concerns are cuckoo, chaffinch, greenfinch and swift; the real value of the BBS is in identifying these most seriously declining species.

Now is a good time of the year to consider taking part in the BBS, because if you take on a square you will also have the option to take part in the Sussex Winter Bird Survey (SWBS) by surveying the same square over the coming winter, beginning on 1 November 2022.

The BBS is a national monitoring scheme 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 annually. 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 200 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 will hopefully be planned for March 2023 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 2023 breeding season are (updated 6/1/2023):

SU7800 near West Itchenor
SU7808 near Woodmancote*
SU8102 near Bosham Hoe*
SU8307 near West Stoke*
SU8527 near Milland*
SU8602 Chichester Canal*
SU8605 central Chichester*
SU8612 West Dean
SU8624 Tote Hill near Midhurst
SU8926 Henley Common
SU9113 near East Dean*
SU9127 near Fernhurst*
SU9207 near Boxgrove*
SU9304 Westergate*
SU9729 near Northchapel*
SZ7996 East Wittering*
SZ8199 near Birdham
SZ8696 Pagham Harbour*
SZ8698 Sidlesham*
TQ0124 near Kirdford*
TQ0503 north Rustington*
TQ2022 Cowfold*
TQ2122 Cowfold*
TQ2536 Gossops Green
TQ2638 Langley Green*
TQ2733 Tilgate Forest*
TQ2828 Staplefield*
TQ2836 central Crawley
TQ4612 near Ringmer*
TQ4738 near Blackham*
TQ4821 Uckfield*
TQ4938 near Blackham*
TQ5026 High Hurstwood
TQ5128 near Crowborough*
TQ5130 central Crowborough
TQ5220 Blackboys*
TQ5228 near Crowborough*
TQ5435 near Eridge Station*
TQ5511 Lower Dicker*
TQ5738 Tunbridge Wells*
TQ5829 near Mark Cross*
TQ5901 Willingdon*
TQ6419 Earl’s Down*
TQ7111 near Ninfield*
TQ7811 Hollington*
TQ8326 Northiam Station*
TQ8413 near Three Oaks
TQ8518 Udimore*
TQ8722 Peasmarsh*

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

In view of recent government statements on environmental issues, members may like to find out more by seeing the RSPB’s response on

https://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/rspb-news/rspb-news-stories/uk-government-attack-on-nature/?from=hphero

Please take a moment to complete this short survey on the White-tailed Eagle project, which is very relevant to Sussex given the frequent presence in our county of birds released on the Isle of Wight.

The new WeBS season starts in September and there are sites across Sussex that need new volunteers; now is a really good time to get started with this survey.

WeBS is the principal monitoring scheme for non-breeding waterbirds in the UK which aims to provide data for the conservation of their populations and wetland habitats. The data collected are used to assess the size of waterbird populations, assess trends in numbers and distribution, and identify and monitor important sites for waterbirds.

Once-monthly, synchronised counts are carried out (primarily September to March) at as many wetland sites as possible. Counts can take anything from 15 minutes to 3 hours depending on the size of the site. Dates of the counts are pre-determined by the BTO and are set on Sundays. It is generally accepted that a count can be carried out a day or more either side of these dates if counters have other commitments and there is not an interchange of species with other neighbouring sites.

Sites requiring new volunteers are listed below (updated 25/10/2022). For further information please contact:

CHICHESTER HARBOUR: Pete Hughes (peter.hughes@conservancy.co.uk)

Three vacant sectors: counts carried out each month September to March on a Saturday

ARUN VALLEY: Helen Crabtree (hcrabtree@gmail.com)

Pulborough Brooks (to join existing team): counts carried out each month on a Monday morning

COASTAL SITES: Dave Boddington ( davebodds@yahoo.co.uk)

INLAND SITES: Helen Crabtree (hcrabtree@gmail.com)

Bewl Water (to join existing team)
Bodiam Castle Moat
Darwell Reservoir
Ditchling Common
Forest Mere
Pond Lye
Gravetye Lakes
Herstmonceux Castle Lake
Lurgashall Mill Pond
Manxey Level  (Pevensey Levels)
Manxey Moat  (Pevensey Levels)
Mark Dyke  (Pevensey Levels)
Marsh Foot and Church Farm (Pevensey Levels)
Old Haven  (Pevensey Levels)
Wakehurst Place Lakes
Whelpley Level (Pevensey Levels)

Members may be aware from local news reports that the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) are running a public consultation with a view to finalising an Action Plan in regard to the former cement works site at Upper Beeding. When published and approved, this document would offer prospective developers a guide as to the types of acceptable development for this very large and important site.

The consultation document recognises the importance of this site for wildlife, but assumes that some form of built development is inevitable. A mix of housing, light industrial and tourism uses is envisaged. Unfortunately, the cost of making the site safe so that development could go ahead would be in excess of £23 million, and in order to recover these costs any development will need to be on a large scale – which SOS does not expect to see in a National Park.

The SOS submission makes the case that the lower Adur Valley is already under stress, and roads and recreational use have reduced its value for wildlife. We do not feel that this situation should be allowed to deteriorate further. We also do not believe that development on the huge scale required to provide any return on the investment would achieve the Authority’s stated aim of enhancing the landscape.

Instead, at a time when we face a biodiversity crisis, there is a unique and lower cost opportunity to restore and create an exceptional site for nature and people by allowing the area to re-wild. Indeed this is probably the largest habitat restoration opportunity in the whole of the National Park.

A copy of the Society’s submission letter can be viewed here.

If you wish to input to this public consultation please email your views to the SDNP at planningpolicy@southdowns.gov.uk or complete those parts of the on-line consultation that you feel are appropriate for your views, here.

The latest guidance from the RSPB is here. This includes further information on the recent outbreaks and their devastating impact on seabirds as well as advice on how you can help, including by reporting dead waterfowl (swans, ducks, geese), any seabirds or birds of prey to Defra.