One small paddock, four species of gull

Passing by the paddocks at Place Farm around 7 this morning, I was pleased to see (after a few weeks’ absence) our very own scraggy-tailed Herring Gull amongst around 30 Black-headed Gulls.
Coming back past a few minutes later, these had all moved on – but in flew three Common Gulls and a Lesser Black [...]

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The one with the Red Kite: Safari Britain walk, 9 August

There was hardly a bird to be heard as we gathered at the Safari Britain campsite on a lovely August morning. The previous day had been hot, but this morning was warm with a welcome breeze and a little light cloud cover.
Moving down from the campsite towards the Coach Road, the beech trees started to [...]

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Littledene to Stump Bottom

A walk on Saturday morning from Littledene to Stump Bottom, returning via Blackcap Farm, was productive despite the strong winds and occasional showers.
At Littledene there were 2 Red-legged Patridges and halfway up the escarpment a couple of  displaying Meadow Pipits, and the first of at least 18 singing Skylarks along the route.
Around the gorse at [...]

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Glynde Reach, 8 November

A walk with Paul up Glynde Reach, in the gloom of Saturday afternoon.
Apart from the clouds and the wind, the afternoon belonged to thrushes: at least ten Blackbirds in hawthorns by Glynde Station, and party after party of Redwings in the scrub along the Reach, vastly outnumbering the seven Fieldfares.
Apart from thrushes, passerines were fairly [...]

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Safari Britain, 26 July

Belated report from the last Safari Britain walk.
Six of us enjoyed the best weekend weather for ages on a 2.5 hour walk around Firle Beacon. Virtually the first birds were two distant Hobbies, streaking around in the direction of Middle Farm. As we cut down through the field of corn, the regular Chiffchaff made apologetic [...]

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Safari Britain, 19 July

The wind kept the first part of the Safari Britain walk virtually birdless, but it livened up later on.
First up was our reliable Wren, just up from the campsite. Invisible Woodpigeons called from the treetops and a few anonymous birds (possibly Nuthatches and Blue Tits) called indistinctively but refused to show themselves.
Out on the escarpment, [...]

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Safari Britain, 12 July

Less windy than last weekend, but rather chilly when the sun was in. Nine guests of the Safari Britain camp came along for a short walk along the escarpment, and the birds didn’t let us down.
Close to the campsite, a couple of Kestrels manoeuvred themselves in the breeze, showing off the skills that give them [...]

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Safari Britain, 5 July

Mid-morning, early July, and the wind was whipping along the escarpment. But the rain held off, and we had a good walk, with six guests of the Safari Britain camp.
Around the campsite itself, little was singing bar the obligatory Chiffchaff, which apparently stops for nothing. A Red-legged Partridge was disturbed from the corn, while [...]

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Mainly mud

A brief walk along Glynde Reach late on Sunday afternoon didn’t yield too many surprises, but did remind me how promising the area looks at this time of year.
The sedgy fields either side of the Reach just east of the train station at Glynde are superbly soggy, and look good for Snipe and perhaps Jack [...]

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