A Year of Finding Birds in Sussex

admin
, 17 December 2015
A Year of Finding Birds in Sussex
hobby / Jon Hawkins

By Mike Russell

Senior Conservation Advisor

2015 is nearly over and as usual the year has flown by, as have the birds. Someone asked me recently how many species were recorded on my various Sussex Wildlife Trust birding courses and field trips across the county this year so I checked through my records and this year the total was 151.

Now in the great scheme of things, lists of species aren’t particularly important but it does indicate the great variety of birds that can be found across Sussex in a year. What is important is to give people the opportunity to experience this variety, the different habitats they occur in, the link between them and then emphasise their contribution to maintaining these habitats by supporting the Trust and our work. But above all, I want people to enjoy the experience; seeing wonderful birds in great places in the company of other like-minded people. Enjoyment is the first step, leading to awareness and then concern, followed by the acquisition of knowledge and then, hopefully, action.

So, what were the highlights? Difficult to choose and everyone would have their own ideas but often big numbers of birds in flocks is always a great experience, from the huge skeins of Brent geese around Chichester and Pagham Harbours to the beautiful flocks of golden plover that fell like confetti onto the reserve at Rye Harbour. Both Rye Harbour and Combe Valley provided spectacular aerobatic displays by hobbies where in complete contrast, at West Dean Woods a tiny pair of firecrests displayed just a few feet in front of us.

At Broadwater Warren as the result of heathland creation project were there to see with a number of singing wood larks, to my mind their song every bit as beautiful as a sky lark, while at Hastings Country Park we managed to enjoy a peregrine hovering in the wind within about 30-40 metres from us. Migration time is always exciting and in the autumn, a number of places we visited we were fortunate to see birds passing through, common redstarts, spotted flycatchers, yellow wagtails and whinchats among them.

Coastal sights are always great places to sort out your bar-tailed from your black-tailed godwits, dunlin from sanderling and whimbrel from curlew, all these being seen well at times. The new reserve at Medmerry provided brilliant views of some spoonbills and it is always a thrill to see a kingfisher which we did on a number of occasions this year. One memory that does stand out was a very obliging little owl near Cissbury Ring which allowed us all to get cracking views through the telescope.

Sussex has great birds and great places to see them in, but without the support of all the people that enjoy going out to see them then there survival here won’t always be guaranteed.

See what wildlife courses and events we are offering in 2016.

wheater / Mike Russell

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1783660193.71250 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1783660193.7370.0245Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1783660193.73710.0001Server address: 216.73.217.88
1783660193.73720Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1783660193.73720Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/a-year-of-finding-birds-in-sussex
    [s] => a-year-of-finding-birds-in-sussex
    [1] => a-year-of-finding-birds-in-sussex
)
1783660193.73740.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783660193.73850.001 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1783660193.74030.0019 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22850367
1783660193.7410.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22850367
1783660193.74150.0005 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-07-10 05:09:00' AND saleTo>'2026-07-10 05:09:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1783660193.74310.0015 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='a-year-of-finding-birds-in-sussex')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-10 05:09:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1783660193.7460.0029 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783660193.74660.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=1038 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-10 05:09:00'
1783660193.74750.0008 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1783660193.74810.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1783660193.74870.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=34 LIMIT 1
1783660193.74920.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783660193.74940.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1783660193.75030.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-10 05:09:00' AND postSlug='a-year-of-finding-birds-in-sussex'
1783660193.77130.021Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783660193.7720.0007 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1783660193.77360.0016Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1783660193.77380.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1783660193.77480.0009 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1783660193.77610.0014 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783660193.77930.0032 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783660193.77990.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783660193.78210.0022Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1783660193.78210 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783660193.78290.0008 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783660193.78340.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783660193.78590.0025 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783660193.78690.001 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783660193.78760.0007 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783660193.79010.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783660193.7910.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1783660193.79320.0022 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1783660193.79360.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783660193.79390.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1783660193.79470.0007Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1783660193.7950.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='a-year-of-finding-birds-in-sussex')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-10 05:09:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1783660193.79690.0019 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783660193.79740.0005 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783660193.79960.0022Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1783660193.80080.0013 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=1038 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1783660193.85020.0493 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1783660193.85040.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783660193.85070.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1783660193.85150.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1783660193.85210.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1783660193.85250.0004 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783660193.85460.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783660193.85530.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783660193.85710.0018 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783660193.85790.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783660193.85850.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783660193.8590.0005 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783660193.86140.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783660193.8620.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783660193.86390.0019 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783660193.86740.0035 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1783660193.86810.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1783660193.86860.0005 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783660193.87080.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783660193.87130.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783660193.8730.0017 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783660193.87550.0025 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783660193.8760.0005 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783660193.87650.0005 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783660193.87840.0019 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783660193.87890.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783660193.88070.0018 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783660193.88150.0008Request time: 0.1703
1783660193.88150Process time: 0.1701
1783660193.88150Memory: 1.6244