The last confirmed bird in our parishes was the long-stayer in 2002/3, which spent its days on Mount Caburn and the levels at Rodmell, and reportedly roosted in Firle.

The trees elsewhere in the Park had an array of birds – noisy Jays and Nuthatches, a dozen Fieldfares and a handful of Redwings, both Song and Mistle Thrushes in song (daily features at the moment), Great Spotted and Green Woodpeckers, and a charm of around a dozen Goldfinches – almost always around the crown of a big horse chestnut.

Cormorant overlooking the Long Pond

Today on the escarpment just east of the bostal road, there were at least 40 Skylarks feeding on the arable that’s recently been converted to sheep pasture, a couple of dozen Meadow Pipits and three skulky Dunnocks in the green cover, one Reed Bunting out of the corn, and a fat Buzzard on the fence near the Plantation.

It brought seven new species to my Firle patch list, a wonderful Hoopoe nearby and the realisation that some fine birds have likely been living right under my nose without me noticing.

First quarter

Early on, it was cold but quiet – the Bittern seen at Glynde Reach on New Year’s Eve 2010 wasn’t found again, and looking back at the (lack of) blog posts I could have happily hibernated for two months without missing much.

But in March things livened up. For a start, our mangled, pub-fancying Herring Gull made a return, this time with a friend. They were seen on and off until April, and did a good impression of a couple in search of a lovenest, but they didn’t linger to breed.

It was about this time that I started making regular visits to the Decoy Pond on the southern edge of the Park, and the string of smaller ponds that feed it. Although it hosts our local heronry, I hadn’t spent much time there before because there’s no access to the main lake itself and it’s hard to see the water through the trees.

So it was great, peering through the branches, to see my first Firle Tufted Ducks there on 13 March. It’s little surprises like this that stoke the imagination, and when I returned the following day I was rewarded with a Green Sandpiper and a pair of Teal – both rare to me - on the smaller ponds.

Over the next few weeks, I realised that the sandpiper was usually to be found along the ponds (on two occasions, there were likely to have been more than one bird), along with the Teal and a pair of Grey Wagtails, as well as my first Coot for the patch.

This autumn, repeats visits have yielded up to nine Teal (yeah, take that Slimbridge) and the Green Sandpiper back again. So I have to concede, after more than five years living here, that birds I’d decided were occasional at best on the patch may well be there every winter, along the muddy margins a few hundred yards from my house.

Also out of the blue in April came a pair of Egyptian Geese, which trundled around Firle Park for a few weeks (at least until the end of June, according to local non-birders). There’s been an increase in the number of records this year in East Sussex, and although these two don’t appear to have tried to nest, the Park seems a good bet for future colonisation (i.e. it’s rather like Petworth, their preferred territory in West Sussex).

Breeding ups and downs

A spring migrant that stuck was the Willow Warbler that turned up at the Allotments early in April and sang all through the summer. Again, on many patches this might not be worth a mention – but it’s the first time in five years that one has set up territory here. It shared the allotments with all three common warblers (Common Whitethroat, Blackcap and Chiffchaff) as well as a singing Lesser Whitethroat.

Spotted Flycatchers also had a positive year – for the first time, I’m sure that there were two separate nests in the village, with one fledging five chicks and the other at least one.

Three more Cuckoos than were seen in Firle in 2011

Not all the summer migrant news was as good. Other fast-declining birds seem to have become virtually extinct. I didn’t hear a Cuckoo in Firle at all (though the Glynde village birds where there all spring) and the only Turtle Dove was seen briefly in August. Not a single one purred in spring, which is a profound loss.

Meanwhile, I heard second-hand that Grey Wagtails bred inside the courtyard at Firle Place, raising at least two young; three very-recently fledged Goldcrests were seen lined up along a yew branch in the nature reserve on wet morning, and a young Stonechat seen in early August on the escarpment was likely the local product of a pair noted there earlier in the year.

Autumnals

Another tick for the patch list (fourth of the year) came in July, when a flock of Crossbills flew through. They’re like buses – there were two other records in Firle before the end of the autumn.

Other flyovers included a Common Sandpiper (tick number five), heard in the dead of night only because I was out of bed to throw water over a cat.

The escarpment directly south of the village is a natural bowl that’s good at catching migrants from time to time. The game cover over the fence there attracts finches, buntings and other birds, while the scrub hides warblers and chats and things. A couple of visits on sunny early autumn mornings found up to six Whinchats, and at least three different Redstarts, as well as many Wheatears. I wonder what more regular watching might turn up.

Glynde stole the show in September with that most exotic of visitors, a Hoopoe. So often a one-day-wonder, and with none seen anywhere near here for decades, this one was relatively obliging. Although it gave some birders the runaround, it lingered for five days, mainly on the grassy bank up the hill from the Forge. Lots of residents and visitors were able to get a look, and it may be many years before we see another.

A few weeks later, after a wholly predetermined push to see a Ring Ouzel on the patch (there had been lots in Sussex over previous days), I found a couple of them on the escarpment in October, in that same productive corner where the game cover adjoins a few blackthorn bushes. Great birds, one of which hung around for several days showing off its white stuff.

Meanwhile, for the first time Firecrests decided to linger in the village for a proper stay. After three brief previous records, a sighting in October near the Post Office heralded a string of records reaching into 2012, with two birds noted together on one occasion at Firle School.

Brent Geese reappeared after a gap of six years, with around 40 flying through in late October. Meanwhile the lone Golden Plover heard over the house in early November was an overdue addition to the patch list, and another type of ‘first’ was the Tawny Owl that flew around the field near the Decoy pond one bright morning, harassed by magpies. It’s the first I’ve seen flying in broad daylight in 26 years of birding.

By December, everything was pretty static again, and with no prospect of cold weather it was up to the Firecrests, Green Sandpiper and Teal to keep things interesting until 2012. Wonder what this one will bring?

In time for festive strolls, the Winter Walk page has been updated in line with the new look and feel of the blog.

The map’s a little larger, and hopefully the route’s easier to follow (but further suggestions for improvement are welcome).

The picture above, which provides the new header for the page, was taken in Firle Park last Christmas day. Doesn’t look like it will be another white one this time…

Happy walking!

Surprisingly, this is the first I’ve recorded in Firle. A lone bird was recorded several times one winter in Alciston when we lived there – the mournfulness of the call seemed exacerbated by its lack of companions.

On 26 October, a party of around 40 Brent Geese flew SW over Place Farm – almost six years to the day after my one previous record.

Not far away at Rodmell, up to five Short-eared Owls have been drawing admirers over recent days. These increased visits by birders have also resulted in reports of Great Grey Shrike, Hen Harrier, Merlin and even a Stone Curlew.

It’s well worth a visit – I’ve posted a brief guide to the birds of Rodmell Brooks, which includes a map and access information.

A late-ish Wheatear flew in front of the car as I arrived at the top. Didn’t get a proper look, so it will have to remain as a ‘probable’ Isabelline.

Dropping down onto the access land there were very few birds to start with. The sun is so low now that most of the hollow was still in the shade at 10am. But there was a lone House Martin over the plantation, and a few Skylarks, mipits and finches (including Siskins) flying through.

Having heard nothing remotely Ouzel-like from the scrub, I’d decided that the male Stonechat, where the game cover borders on the access land in a right-angled corner, was probably going to be the best bird.

But then some chunkier noises (like a Stonechat on steroids) and there it was – a Ring Ouzel sat in a hawthorn on the edge of the crop. Silvery wings and a scaly front, not much of a crescent on the breast, sat there flicking its wings and scolding me.

As I moved round the fence it dived into cover, continuing to call, and when I flushed it back across the game cover another flew out with it. These are my first since some in Alciston about five years ago, and my first ever in Firle, though I guess they’re regular along the escarpment at this time of year.

Ring Ouzel 2
Stonechat 1
Wheatear 1
House Martin 1
Chiffchaff 1
Reed Bunting 2+
Yellowhammer 3+
Siskin 2+
Sparrowhawk 1
Buzzard 2

A map of the location.

*Update* - a strongly-marked bird with full white throat was seen there by Paul S later in the day, and was still there three days later when I returned.

At the allotments, 20+ Mistle Thrushes flew over into the nature reserve, where they were soon spooked by a Sparrowhawk.

On the big ploughed field the Littledene side of the Bostal Road, lots of Rooks, Jackdaws, Herring and Black-headed Gulls, with a hard-to-count group of Skylarks (including one in full song).

The paddock that sits on the corner between Firle Bostal and Chalky Road has recently been fertilised, ploughed, and is a magnet for passerines. In one corner there were Chiffchaffs, Wrens, Chaffinches, Blue and Great Tits jumping out of the hedge to feed on the deck, with a few dozens Meadow Pipits and at least seven Pied Wagtails out in the open. The local male Kestrel was hunting low along the back hedge.

Overhead four Common Crossbills went south, my third record in Firle (and all since July this year). A Reed Bunting (locally scarce) went over too, as well frequent Siskins.

Yesterday, there was at least one Firecrest in trees opposite the Post Office, along with a very agitated Goldcrest.

A HOOPOE turned up in Glynde on Saturday, the first local record for decades.

It’s been seen over the last three days in the northern end of the village in various spots, but favours the steep grassy bank adjacent to the main road, running from the Old School House up to the church.

After a fruitless attempt to see on Sunday morning, I caught up with it late afternoon with the kids. It was feeding a few feet away from us in the grass until we flushed it, when it disappeared in a flurry of pied wings over the hedge.

I’m hoping some patient villager or visiting birder will get some photos of this bird, and if so that I can post some here….

My next most recent Hoopoe (and the only other one I’ve seen in Britain) was a bird that wintered in Barnstaple in the 90s. It was poking about in the old railway sidings near the train station. This one has better taste.