Sussex Bird Race 2026 - chasing the century

admin
, 14 July 2026
Sussex Bird Race 2026 - chasing the century
Bird Race team

Jamie Parsons

Head of Nature Reserves

A 2:45am start is never going to feel sensible. Still, that’s when it began: a small group of us, with limited sleep, and a simple aim, see how many birds we could record in a day. This year’s Sussex Bird Race, where you race to see or hear as many species of bird in a day as you can, was going ahead despite only having one team entered, but we were excited to explore the area for this year’s race, Chichester and Arun.

Barn Owl © Peter Brooks

We headed first for Ebernoe Wildlands, to try for an early Nightingale. It paid off quickly. The sound of Nightingales drifting through the open car window followed by a Barn Owl floating across the road in front of us, an encouraging start and a reminder of why the early alarms are nearly always worth it.

Iping Common was next, and this was where the list really took shape. We logged 45 species in quick succession, with Nightjars churring and Woodcock roding. Tree Pipit, Woodlark and a Spotted Flycatcher also all made an appearance, alongside plenty of Dartford Warblers. A Hobby shot through briefly, and Woodpecker chicks hinted at busy nests. We left with 47 species on the board and a very proud [Area Manager, West] Ryan!

Millie [Brand - Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre GIS Senior Officer] joined us at this point, good timing for a quick breakfast break, then straight back out to Cocking Hill. It was a short but very useful stop, adding five species, including an unexpected Hawfinch and Raven, both worth the detour.

Juvenile Little Ringed Plover © Barry Yates

Pagham Harbour delivered the next big push. Ferry Pool held Little Ringed Plover, Avocet and Godwits among others, while a Honey Buzzard moved over Mill Pond Marsh. At the harbour mouth we picked up Little, Common and Sandwich Terns. By the end of this stop we’d added 39 species and were well placed going into the afternoon.

Not everything fell our way. A Sparrowhawk seen by only Callum [Forster, Assistant Ranger] as we drove into Chichester didn’t make the list, one of those small frustrations that tend to stick with you.

We paused at Chichester Cathedral for lunch with Peregrines and a welcome break in the shade of the churchyard. This took us to 92 species, and the idea of reaching 100 creeped into thought.

Kingley Vale didn’t bring anything new, but it was a magical reset. In the shade of the ancient Yews, it was easier to slow down slightly and enjoy species already counted, including Firecrest moving through the canopy. The heat was building and the pace was catching up with everyone.

Swanbourne River and Lake pushed things forward again. Sand Martin, Pochard, Grey Wagtail and Lapwing were among seven additions, bringing us to 99. Close enough to start thinking seriously about the century.

With time running down, Callum suggested one last effort, a quick drive, a bridge over the river Arun, and a tip-off that seemed worth a try.

Curlew © Barry Yates

It worked. With seven minutes left, a Curlew flew overhead, clear, unmistakable, and exactly what we needed. That made 100 species which led to a well-deserved pint at the pub.

Bring on 2027!

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1787380148.84120 [907] 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
1787380148.87650.0353Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1787380148.87660.0002Server address: 216.73.216.140
1787380148.87670Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1787380148.87670Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/sussex-bird-race-2026-chasing-the-century
    [s] => sussex-bird-race-2026-chasing-the-century
    [1] => sussex-bird-race-2026-chasing-the-century
)
1787380148.87690.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787380148.87810.0012 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1787380148.88010.002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=24371340
1787380148.88080.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=24371340
1787380148.88140.0006 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-08-22 06:29:00' AND saleTo>'2026-08-22 06:29:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1787380148.88260.0012 [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='sussex-bird-race-2026-chasing-the-century')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-08-22 06:29:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1787380148.88860.006 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1787380148.88940.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3963 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-08-22 06:29:00'
1787380148.89060.0012 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1787380148.89150.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1787380148.89230.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=73 LIMIT 1
1787380148.89310.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=29 LIMIT 1
1787380148.89370.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=45 LIMIT 1
1787380148.89440.0007Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787380148.89470.0003 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1787380148.89580.0011 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-08-22 06:29:00' AND postSlug='sussex-bird-race-2026-chasing-the-century'
1787380148.9250.0292Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787380148.92540.0004 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1787380148.9270.0015Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1787380148.92720.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1787380148.92830.0011 [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
1787380148.92980.0015 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1787380148.93440.0046 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787380148.93530.0009 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787380148.93820.0029Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1787380148.93840.0002 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787380148.9390.0006 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787380148.93940.0004 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787380148.94140.0019 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787380148.94240.001 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787380148.94280.0004 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787380148.94490.002 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787380148.94590.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1787380148.94890.003 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1787380148.94940.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787380148.94970.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1787380148.95050.0009Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1787380148.95080.0003 [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='sussex-bird-race-2026-chasing-the-century')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-08-22 06:29:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1787380148.95360.0028 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1787380148.95410.0005 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787380148.95610.002Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1787380148.9570.0009 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3963 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1787380149.03780.0808 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1787380149.0380.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787380149.03830.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1787380149.03940.0011 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1787380149.04050.001 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1787380149.04130.0008 [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
1787380149.04460.0034 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787380149.04540.0008 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787380149.04860.0031 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1787380149.04930.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1787380149.05050.0012 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1787380149.05130.0008 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1787380149.05480.0036 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787380149.05570.0008 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787380149.05870.0031 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1787380149.06220.0035 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1787380149.06330.0011 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1787380149.06390.0006 [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
1787380149.06730.0033 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787380149.0680.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787380149.07090.0029 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1787380149.07280.0019 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1787380149.07380.001 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1787380149.07450.0007 [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
1787380149.07780.0033 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787380149.07870.0008 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787380149.08180.0031 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1787380149.08320.0014Request time: 0.2431
1787380149.08320Process time: 0.2429
1787380149.08320Memory: 1.631