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JOURNAL


A sunny morning at the brooks
The filter beds were busy with birds at Waltham Brooks this morning, with a Grey Wagtail singing his metallic song being very hard to...

Wildstarts
Feb 26, 20221 min read


American Robin in the South Downs!
It doesn't get much better than an American bird turning up in Sussex... except when it's in the South Downs National Park too! The first...

Wildstarts
Feb 14, 20222 min read


February's Raptor Ramble
We were excited to run our second Raptor Ramble event near Burpham on Saturday, following the success of the first last November. We and...

Wildstarts
Feb 7, 20222 min read


Level best
I ventured quite far out of the National Park this afternoon to spend an hour at Pett Level, which has been great for winter geese...

Wildstarts
Jan 25, 20221 min read


Rare treats
There has been a Shorelark wintering on a large stretch of beach in East Sussex lately. These unobtrusive birds have a face splashed with...

Wildstarts
Jan 24, 20222 min read


Year list booster -- trip 2
The mist hung over Arundel in the twilight early this morning, our second of this year's year list booster days, but thankfully not...

Wildstarts
Jan 15, 20223 min read


Sunshine finches
It was another beautiful winter morning, calm, cool and bright. The harsh, yet subtle, sounds of Hawfinches and the bizarre notes of...

Wildstarts
Jan 9, 20221 min read


Little Bunting, big days
The two days just gone saw me tour widely across the South Downs National Park and the nearby Sussex coastline in the EV. The weather was...

Wildstarts
Jan 7, 20222 min read


West Sussex 2022 Year List Booster
An early start in the Arun Valley got the day off to a good start. I met with Sally and Andy from Hampshire who joined me for the day to...

Nick Bond
Jan 4, 20222 min read


Hello 2022!
2022 got off to a flying start for David with Peregrine Falcon, Purple Sandpiper, Snow Bunting, Yellow-legged Gull and Hooded Crow.

Wildstarts
Jan 1, 20221 min read


Caspian Gull at Goring Gap
The coastal fields at Goring Gap have, in recent years, become the go-to site to look for Caspian Gull in West Sussex. In neighbouring...

Wildstarts
Dec 24, 20211 min read


Bird walk diaries -- Winter Birds of Arundel
Walk report for our Winter Birds of Arundel guided walk on 15th December, where we saw a variety of stunning wildfowl and woodland birds.

Wildstarts
Dec 20, 20212 min read


West Sussex Winter Wonders
During the month of November, a spell of cold weather enticed a nice selection of unusual winter visitors to our area. The blast from...

Nick Bond
Dec 14, 20212 min read


Arundel Delights!
A bright winter's morning inspired me to head out for some birding around the Arundel area and was very glad I did as was really...

Nick Bond
Nov 29, 20212 min read


Birding the brooks
Waltham Brooks is a real gem in the South Downs National Park. 51 species of bird were logged in under two hours of birdwatching this...

Wildstarts
Nov 10, 20212 min read


A walk in the woods
The autumn colours are just fantastic right now and Westdean Woods was the perfect place to enjoy them this morning. This is one place...

Wildstarts
Nov 9, 20212 min read


Bird walk diaries -- Raptor Ramble!
We were very excited to lead our first Raptor Ramble at The Burgh, near Burpham, on Saturday. The conditions were promising, with...

Wildstarts
Nov 8, 20212 min read


Bird walk diaries -- Billigreen
Today Nick and David guided on a special birding walk put on by South Downs Wildlife in Billingshurst, for local environmental group...

Wildstarts
Oct 30, 20212 min read


Ring Ouzel
We couldn't resist having another look at the Ring Ouzels at Cissbury Ring. They were still gorging on the bumper crop in one of the yew...

Wildstarts
Oct 29, 20211 min read


Bird walk diaries -- Cissbury Ring
We'd been looking forward to our Autumn Migration at Cissbury Ring walk for a long time, so we were gutted when the weather forecast for...

Wildstarts
Oct 24, 20212 min read
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