Floods, kites and a limping Roe deer.

The best place to be on a bright, clear, sunny New Years Day is on the crest of the South Downs.  We took the easy option and drove up the escarpment to Chantry Post above Storrington and then walked west towards Amberley Mount.  So did lots of other people and the South Downs Way was very busy.  Northwards views extend over The Weald to the North Downs and to the south you look over Blackpatch and  Harrow Hill to the sea and to the far west the Isle of Wight.  It is like being on top of the world.  At Rackham Banks we looked down on the floods in the Arun Valley.  Amberley Wild Brooks looked like a vast lake and Pulborough Brooks to the north seemed as if it was a lake lapping at the edge of the town. These places regularly flood in winter, but there did seem to be a lot of water down there.  Flocks of birds could be seen moving over the water, but too far to be sure what they were.
A steep coombe reaches up from the south towards Rackham Banks, funnelling a stiff breeze on which three Red Kites circled together, wings angled, primary feathers splayed out like fingers and wedge-shaped tails twisting this way and that to keep them balanced.  They circled closely around one another and I am not sure if the interaction between them was friendly or not.  Gradually they climbed higher and their circles widened and we, having to watch our footing on the muddy path, eventually lost sight of them.  Later three buzzards circled languidly above the coombe in their place.  
From Amberley Mount we turned south towards the Burgh.  This is the Angmering Park Estate, rightly famous for its wildlife-friendly farming practices.  Fields are left overwinter in stubble and there are broad headlands, often sown with plants which provide winter feed for wild birds.  A great flock of goldfinches rose and fell over a patch of teasels and in every hedge there seemed to be a flock of yellowhammers.  These are common enough on the Downs, but I do not think I have ever seen so many in one day.  There was even a Reed Bunting, a long way from its normal summer haunts
With so many people taking a New Years Day hike and the sound of shooting coming from two directions, it is not surprising that deer were disturbed and on the move.  Around the plantation on Springhead Hill we saw one group of three Roe deer and a little later another group of four.  It is unusual to see so many in one area at one time as they are not a herd animal.  Sadly, one was struggling with a bad limp and seemed to have lost a rear hoof.

Cowslips...and an aggressive crow

The cowslips on Beeding Hill are still looking really good. They favour the north facing slopes of the Downs, but they do need the grass to be kept reasonably short by grazing, which it is here. On the nearby south facing slopes of Anchor Bottom there are hardly any. In fact, at this time of the year Anchor Bottom has few flowers except for some patches of bird's foot trefoil and some milkwort and the like. All that will change in a few month's time when this hillside is covered in downland flowers - at least I hope it will be. I am really looking forward to getting up there again in the summer months and seeing the profusion of flowers and insects that usually cover these slopes.

We were entertained on our walk by a crow mobbing a buzzard. These encounters are usually fun to watch as they often involve some spectacular aerobatics, especially if the buzzard flips upside down to show its talons to the crow as this one was doing. They can go on for quite a long time, but on this occasion the crow broke off attacking the buzzard to have a go at a passing raven. The raven did not seem interested and just croaked rather irritably and flew on. A pity, because ravens' aerobatics can be spectacular.