Up to 300 Snipe did their own version of a Starling murmuration on the Adur Estuary RSPB reserve this week, with ‘wisps’ of these gorgeous little birds dashing around above the incoming tide. Snipe are common in the winter on the RSPB reserve (by the Norfolk Bridge) although due to their incredible mottled brown camouflage...
Plans to replace a mitigation pipe on the Widewater Lagoon in Lancing are the focus of a BBC story. Click here for story – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgjdvljrjeo Water levels dropped severely during the summer courtesy of a broken pipe, with local fish and birdsspecies affected. The Environment Agency will now replace the mitigation pipe and its timber...
Three Common Cranes have been spotted at Amberley Wild Brooks – stunning birds who are most likely just passing through Sussex. There is a small breeding population in Norfolk and also a reintroduced population in Somerset as these magnificent birds regain a foothold in the UK. This location is superb at this time of year,...
SDOS outings are legendary and our January trip to Dungeness and Rye was no exception, with a whopping 93 species spotted. Stop-offs on the way, at Hastings and Pett Level, was very productive, with Fulmar, Red Throated Diver, Bearded Tit and White-Fronted Goose some of the highlights. On to Dungeness where we spotted Great White...
The recent Storm Goretti knocked a Puffin off course, with the little bird, an uncommon site on the Sussex coast, washed up on Hove Beach on at the weekend. Bad weather at sea regularly throws up birds rarely seen on our beaches or inland, with Great Northern Divers and Guillemots occasionally seen sheltering in Shoreham...
This month’s Inside Shoreham & Southwick magazine features the fabulous Widewater Lagoon, an accessible urban location full of fabulous birds and often visited by rarities.
Around 200 Gannets have been feeding off Shoreham and Lancing beaches this week, no doubt making the most of a generous supply of fish. Their dramatic dive-bombing is a sight to behold and not surprisingly, there were plenty of people watching this extraordinary behaviour. They were still fishing off the beach on Sunday afternoon so...
Two 1st-winter Little Gulls have been feeding in the surf by Southwick Power Station. They’re the world’s smallest gull species and the uber-talented Richard Allan even managed a shot of one bird with a Great Black-backed Gull in the background which is the world’s largest gull species! Little Gulls are doing well and expanding in their...
This week our pre-Christmas stroll attracted over 30 people – a superb turnout on a warm and pleasant morning. The aim was to showcase Brooklands as a brilliant location for urban birding. And with at least 26 species seen or heard, I think that we succeeded. What makes Brooklands special is that it’s so accessible: mainly good paths, not...
Some very heartening news courtesy of the fantastic SDOS-linked Worthing and Adur Swifts Group, how have put up their first two Swift boxes at Greystoke Manor luxury residential care home in Ferring. With four more sites in the village set to take boxes before the spring, this is really positive news for our Swifts. The...
