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JOURNAL


Cissbury bird walk
John and I were greeted at Cissbury last week by a singing Corn Bunting perched at the top of a bush -- a nice start! Making our way up...

Wildstarts
Jun 1, 20232 min read


Westdean walk
Yesterday's Sussex Guided Bird Walk with Carol, Tom and Charlie at Westdean Woods started well with a showy Firecrest. Typically, the...

Wildstarts
May 14, 20231 min read


Redstart ramble
As Jo and I headed out onto Ashdown Forest for Friday's private Sussex Guided Bird Walk, the voices of Redstart, Goldcrest, Greenfinch,...

Wildstarts
May 13, 20231 min read


Whistling Whimbrel
We decided to switch our itinerary in order to avoid the fog and heavy drizzle, making our way to the Adur Estuary to kick off our Sussex...

Wildstarts
May 8, 20232 min read


Warnham and Pagham mini-tour
We arrived at Warnham Local Nature Reserve shortly after opening time for a recent Sussex Birding Mini-Trip with Stuart and his mother....

Wildstarts
May 7, 20232 min read


Wood Warbler bonus!
We met Jennifer in the busy car park at 10am on a splendid, sunny day at Pulborough Brooks for our one-to-one Sussex Guided Bird Walk...

Wildstarts
May 6, 20232 min read


First Iberian Chiffchaff for Sussex
The first Iberian Chiffchaff for Sussex was discovered at Abbot's Wood near Eastbourne this morning by Charlie Peverett. Iberian...

Wildstarts
May 5, 20231 min read


Burning off the mist
Florence, Peter, Melanie and I were greeted by thick fog at Waltham Brooks last Sunday morning but also a healthy chorus of birdsong....

Wildstarts
May 5, 20232 min read


Nightingales and raptors!
The first stop for Sue, Gill and I on Monday's birding tour was Knepp Wildlands, where we were greeted by a Green Woodpecker in flight....

Marc Read
Apr 29, 20231 min read


White-crowned Sparrow in Sussex
On Saturday, Sussex's first White-crowned Sparrow was discovered on Seaford Head in the South Downs National Park. The bird proved very...

Wildstarts
Apr 27, 20231 min read


Half-day birding tour in West Sussex
I met Karen and Allan at at Burton Mill Pond at 8am on Monday last week for what turned out to be a fantastic Sussex Birding Mini-Trip....
Matt Phelps
Apr 26, 20232 min read


A chance encounter
It's always worth going out even when it doesn't seem all that promising outside. A relatively quiet — but very wet and cold! — morning...

Wildstarts
Mar 26, 20231 min read


Where snipe swim
Tuesday's private Sussex Guided Bird Walk with Jennifer started with the sounds of Greenfinch and Nuthatch as we headed out from the...

Wildstarts
Mar 10, 20232 min read


A bird-filled week!
We've led two exciting personalised birding tours over the last few days, with a packed day tour for John and Lizzie from Tennessee on...

Wildstarts
Mar 3, 20231 min read


Forest mini-trip
No sooner had we started walking into the woods on a beautiful Sunday morning than a Goshawk appeared low over the canopy before...

Wildstarts
Feb 24, 20232 min read


Old Lodge bird walk
As we entered the reserve from the car park to embark on our Sussex Guided Bird Walk outing we heard our first couple of species of the...
Matt Phelps
Feb 18, 20232 min read


Spoonbill and wheeling flocks
Rachel, Keith and I were greeted by a chorus of Song Thrushes and a beautiful calm Saturday as we started our Sussex Birding Mini-Trip....

Wildstarts
Feb 15, 20231 min read


Shots from another birding day tour
We had a brilliant time guiding Simon and Celia on Monday, straying just into Hampshire for the Sabine's Gull and enjoying some quality...

Wildstarts
Feb 12, 20231 min read


Woods, coast and downs — a winter birding day tour!
On Monday I had the pleasure of guiding Ben, who was on a break in London from Chicago, on a day of winter birding and a quest for...

Wildstarts
Jan 25, 20232 min read


Sabine's Gull in Hampshire!
I couldn't resist a short trip into Hampshire to admire the adult Sabine's Gull that has been delighting crowds on the edge of Langstone...

Wildstarts
Jan 15, 20231 min read
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