Author: Alan Duffy (Alan Duffy)

Inside Shoreham & Southwick magazine takes a look at the Merlin app, a superb tool for identifying birds by their calls and a great way to get people into birding.

Widewater Lagoon continues to be a super bird magnet these days, with a Slavonian Grebe the latest unusual visitor to the very special area of brackish water. Slavonian Grebes are not uncommon in the area but are usually seen on the sea, not on the lagoon, so this is a special visit for a bird...

13 hardy souls met at Farlington Marshes reserve on Tuesday, on a sunny but bitterly cold day. The day started quite bright, but very cold. A first visit to the reserve, which is near Portsmouth, for SDOS certainly delivered, with over 45 species seen, including Brent Goose, Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit, Marsh Harrier, Red Breasted Merganser,...

After a contentious public consultation which returned a ‘split vote’, Adur & Worthing Council have shelved plans to introduce a dogs-on-leads public order for the paths on either side of the Adur River in the Site of Special Scientific Interest, which runs upstream from Cuckoo Corner to the glass bridge by Coronation Green. In place...

We had another fantastic talk last week, courtesy of SDOS committee member and all-round legend Jenny Holter. About 55 people attended SDOS committee member Jenny’s superb Birds of Brazil talk on Thursday evening. The talk spanned two important bird-rich areas – The Pantanal and the Atlantic Rain Forest. The audience were wowed by the stunning,...

Local birders have been flocking to Beeding Brooks to get a look at a very rare winter migrant, the Great Grey Shrike. Famed for their penchant for creating a larder in a thorny bush, where prey such as mice, birds and insects, are impaled, these handsome birds, about the size of a Thrush, move south...

A Pallas’s Warbler was seen at Brooklands Park in Lancing on Tuesday, November 5th. This gorgeous little bird favoured a large and dense patch of sallows with a few sycamores, hanging out with a number of Goldcrests and Firecrests. The hyperactive warbler consistently gave views and, thankfully, a lot of people go to see this...

Local birders have been flocking to Woods Mill near Henfield to catch a glimpse of a very rare visitor, an Isabelline Shrike/ More commonly found in Central Asia, this cute long distance traveller has stayed around the reserve for a number of days, giving everyone decent views. Apparently, Isabelline Shrike is a collective name for...

In rather incredible news, SDOS membership hit the 400 milestone recently (406 to be precise) and we would like to thank all our members for the incredible support. This growth in membership reflects positively on the work of SDOS Council and other volunteers. Together, we have promoted the society through regular articles in local magazines;...

The local council has committed to a wide range of policies to protect nature from the South Downs to the coast. Their ‘new vision’ was announced on October 15 and includes a pesticide-free policy for Adur and Worthing, street tree planting and work with local groups to protect local habitat. One area top be targeted...