Downland Scheme Bird Survey

Bird Survey

This morning we met at 8:00 a.m. at the Bowling Green to carry out a bird survey on the Steyning Downland Scheme.  Five of the regulars, including me, turned up and we split into two groups. Pete and I set off up the track to cross the rifle range and head up into the woods, round the top and back down again.  We got off to a good start as the first thing we saw as we turned into the rifle range was a buzzard.  It had probably been feeding in the grassland at the end by the butts and took off unhurriedly and slowly headed into the woods.  Do buzzards never do anything in a hurry?  It was a promising start, but a false promise.  By the end, we had a total of only 11 species, by far the smallest number I can recall since we started.

When we started this project back in spring 2012, we thought we might log as many as fifty species of birds. This morning when we set out the total was already 76, far more than we had ever imagined.  This includes some birds that we would never have expected to see: Bittern and Water Rail are hard to see anywhere; Little Egret, Snipe and Shoveller seem unlikely in this patch of downland with its spring and small, tree-enclosed ponds.  One obvious bird missing from our list when we set out this morning was Redwing and the others saw one on their way round their patch, bringing the total up to 77.  Amazing.  

So although Pete and I had a rather disappointing time this morning, it will not put us off.  And I sure that this patch will continue to yield surprises in the future.  Even if you do not see any spectacular or exciting birds, this is still a great place to be early in the morning.

Vikings and Kingley Vale Great Yew Forest, Monument to an ancient battle?

Ancient Yews at Kingley Vale

I have just come across a reference in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle to a battle between the Vikings and the men of Chichester in 895 AD.  The passage reads as follows:

When the host that had besieged Exeter sailed on its way back home, it harried inland in Sussex near Chichester, but the garrison put them to flight and slew many hundreds of them, capturing some of their ships.

Now, there is a legend that the yew trees of Kingley Vale were planted in commemoration of a battle fought by the men of Chichester and they were planted to provide a future supply of yew staves for long bows.  It is a nice story and the passage quoted above might be the basis of it.  You can believe it if you like.

Kingley Vale is unusual in that although Yew Taxus baccata is common on the South Downs, it is not usually a dominant component of woodland, and certainly not on such a scale as this.  It is the combination of size and the dominance of Yew over much of the area that makes Kingley Vale special.  

A S Watt surveyed Kingley Vale in 1926 and came to the conclusion that one of the factors that led to the establishment of the Yew forest was the exposed nature of some parts of the site which provided conditions under which Juniper Juniperis communis could become established and that this then acted as a nursery for the Yew which ultimately took over.  Watt also studied beechwoods on the South Downs and the experience may have contributed to the formulation of his influential ideas on ecological succession.  

RSPB Pulborough Brooks

This blog does not normally do restaurant reviews, but I do recommend the bacon and onion suet pudding at the RSPB Pulborough Brooks cafe.  With a large helping of that to warm us on our way we took a tour of the reserve.  Generally rather quiet, but with good numbers of Teal, Wigeon, Lapwing together with a few Shoveller, Pintail and Schelduck and, of course lots of Canada Geese.  The female Peregrine was in her vantage point in the Willow tree.  

Fallow Deer at Pulborough Brooks

As usual there were a lot of Fallow deer.  These are the rather uniformly grey-brown animals that are typical of descendants of the Parham herd.  In the background of this photo you can see the back of one animal which is the more typical sandy brown of wild fallow deer.  I have noticed a few like this in the Arun Valley recently and it suggests some interbreeding with deer from further afield.  

Notice the red  berries in the background.  These are actually rose hips. It is a very abundant year for nuts and berries of all sorts.  We had our first sighting today of a substantial flock of Fieldfares, a sure sign that winter is just around the corner.  They are going to find plenty to feast on this winter.

We ended the afternoon by walking through Wiggonholt Common to get a view of the Brooks from the western end.  Lots more wildfowl here and two marsh harriers.  One sat perched on a tree on the far side while the other cruised back and forth in front of us over the marsh as the light faded.  A couple of crows mobbed it in a desultory sort of way, and it seemed to take no notice but twice it put up great flocks of teal, wigeon and lapwing: a great kefuffle of flapping, quacking and whistling.

More about Owls

Last year there was a great influx of short-eared Owls and they overwintered in many parts of Britain including the Adur Valley where we seemed to have anything up to half a dozen through most of the winter months.  I saw three in the air at once on one occasion and it seemed to be impossible not to see one during a stroll up the riverbank.  This invasion was not repeated this year and I have seen few owls of any sort until today.  Almost the first bird I saw as a glanced out over the meadows was a Barn owl.  It had just taken off from a tree and it methodically quartered the fields below Bramber Castle before heading over the river and away.  I saw it, or another individual twice more during my walk and then I thought, a fourth time as I entered the meadow by Upper Beeding church.  I quickly realised that it was not another Barn Owl, but a Short-eared Owl and I spent some time watching it working its way back and forth across the field.  Eventually it dropped down and remained hidden from view in the long grass for several minutes, emerging to rest on a tall tussock, presumably to digest its catch a little before taking to the air again.  

The muddy conditions must be deterring dog walkers at present as there have been fewer than normal about recently.  This must make it easier for the owls to hunt these usually busy areas.

Pulborough Brooks RSPB Reserve

The main attraction of a visit to the RSPB reserve at Pulborough Brooks at this time of year is usually to see the flocks of wildfowl, but the outstanding feature today was a very good view of five bullfinches feeding on the buds of hawthorn and blackthorn.  There were three males with their stunning pink breasts and black and white head markings and two somewhat less glamorous females.  The usual view of a bullfinch is a white rump disappearing over a hedge or skulking in the top of a tree, so this was a rare treat.  Another bird that gave a long, uninterrupted audience at close range was a goldcrest, almost within the close-focus distance of my binoculars, moving around in the hedge and also posing between the spars of a five-bar gate.  

Barn Owl

I first saw the Barn Owl sitting on a fence post by a frequently used footpath and spent some time watching it.  A lady came by with a dog and it took off and circled around the field flying low and periodically alighting on fence posts as it went.  It would spend a few minutes on each one and once or twice dropped to the ground but without seeming to catch anything.  Then it disappeared into some long grass for a couple of minutes, eventually flying up onto another post, carrying something in its beak.  Unfortunately, it sat with its back to me, but turned around to reveal a large black object, presumably a vole in its beak.  It threw its head back a few times and when it turned round again the prey item had gone.  Swallowed whole.  It rested for a while and then flew away over the tree tops.

I have watched Barn Owls in these fields on a number of occasions and I was struck this time by how frequently that it landed on fence posts and how long it remained on each one.  Clearly this is an energy efficient method of hunting and very appropriate for this cold weather.

Herons

How often do you see a Heron and how often do you see one catch a fish?  Herons are common enough around here; there is a heronry a mile or two up the river so we see them pretty frequently.  One even flew over our house today.  Usually you see them standing at the edge of a stream or pond wary and watchful, or hunched up and grumpy.  But it is not often you see one actually catch something and so we were thrilled to see a Heron fly up from the river with a large fish in its beak.  The fish was silvery and had bright pink fins, so a Rudd, I guess and about 20 cm long.  It flew across the fields and over the treetops to the east and I did not see where it settled to enjoy its lunch.

This came a short while after our first good views of a Barn Owl for some time.  We did get a brief glimpse of one a few days ago, but this time it was flying low in and out of the hedges north of the river bend.  

Snipe have moved in to the Bramber Castle meadows in large numbers and we counted 29 today.  Fieldfares are here in large flocks too and we have seen lots of Lapwing.  They now have to contend with sleet and it is good to see that some are finding food in the meadows around here.  A Fieldfare has taken to eating the apples in that we have put out into the garden and he defends them against all-comers, but has to take his turn when a Green Woodpecker tucking in to them.