This breeding season, the RSPB, in partnership with the South Downs National Park Authority, is undertaking a survey to establish the number of breeding lapwing on the chalk soils of the South Downs.

Following similar surveys in 2002 and 2007, which discovered 119 and 123 pairs respectively, this provides a fantastic opportunity to track the fortunes of this important population. Despite a background of national decline, the stable numbers between 2002 and 2007 highlight the importance of the South Downs landscape for this iconic farmland bird.

By establishing the number of breeding birds, and where they are choosing to nest, we can use the information to continue our work with farmers and landowners to provide suitable habitat and give them every chance of success.

If you are out birding on the South Downs and see breeding lapwing this spring, we would love to hear from you. Information such as location (grid reference ideally), habitat, number of birds present and activity can be sent by e-mail to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or records phoned in to 01273 763555.

The SOS would like to make a real effort this year to establish just how many (or how few!) Willow Tit, Hawfinch and Wood Warbler remain in the county this breeding season. We have a number of people specifically “looking out” for them, but you can help too. If you are lucky to come across any of these three species between now and mid-June (mid July for Wood Warbler) please let me know as soon as possible (contact details below). Please also let me know the 6-figure grid reference of where you see any of these species. Feel free to request confidentiality for any sightings that you share with me - such confidentiality will be respected.

Willow Tit

On the BTO website there is a helpful video telling you how to distinguish Marsh Tits from Willow Tits - www.bto.org/about-birds/bird-id/telling-apart-marsh-and-willow-tits.

Key points to note are:-

• listen for Willow Tit’s distinctive calls and songs, best heard during the first hours after daylight, and particularly for its nasal eez-eez-eez call which is so different from Marsh Tit’s explosive pitchew call. The BTO video above gives plenty of examples of calls and songs.
• note the habitat (Willow Tits prefer wet scrub and young broad-leaf woods, whereas Marsh Tit prefer woods with mature broad-leaf trees. Remember that Willow Tits excavate a hole in the tree for their nest, so they tend to avoid having to excavate through the hard bark of a mature tree, whereas Marsh Tits find ready-made holes in which to nest.)
• the only definitive visual characteristic is a pale spot on the upper mandible (which is definitive on the Marsh Tit, and absent on the Willow Tit). However, also make a note of whether there is a pale patch on the wing (present on adult Willow Tits but not on young birds. Unfortunately it can also appear on a few Marsh Tits too), and assess whether you believe the cap on the head is shiny (Marsh Tit) or dull (Willow Tit) and whether the bird has warm buff flanks (Willow Tit).

The call and song are the best ways to tell the two species apart, but assess all the factors above as the more boxes are ticked the more certain the ID.

Hawfinch

Hawfinch is not an ID challenge, but finding them is! Listen and look out for them in mature woodlands, especially in the few places where there are mature yew trees and nearby mature broadleaf trees. They frequent the tops of trees, and their song is a halting teek, teek, teek, teek, tur-whee-whee. They have a variety of calls; a short ptik, ptik-it or pix, a thin Blackbird-like tzeeip or srree, and a harsh chi. If you don’t have BWPi the best sound recording I have found of Hawfinch calls on the internet is on YouTube (Click Here).

Wood Warbler

A relatively easy warbler to identify, it is the largest Phylloscopus Warbler, and has long pointed wings, a lemon-yellow supercilium and throat, and white underparts. Wood Warblers arrive back in the county any time from early April onwards, with the average first date of arrival being 22 April. It is a great songster, singing whilst moving among tree foliage or whilst in flight. Call is a piping piu repeated many times, whilst the song is a trill stip, stip, stip, stip, stip, stip-stip-stip-stip-stip-stip which rises and then falls away.

In Sussex they favour the sandstone ridges with birch, beech and oak woodland, so look out for them especially in the far north-west of the county close to Haslemere and on Ashdown Forest.

Your help in finding any of these species will be really appreciated.

Richard Cowser.

01903 770259 / This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Many of you submit your bird records using the Society's Record Capture 2 (Microsoft Excel) software, while a few still send us paper records.

The BTO BirdTrack system helps users to submit their records in a consistent form, and (with your consent) your records for Sussex are sent to the County Recorder for inclusion in the Society's database. This is our preferred means of receiving your records (it also creates the least work for our volunteer team) and we would like to encourage you to use it in preference to the other methods.

For more information on this topic, please read the updated "Submitting your Records" section of the website.

And just to remind those of you who regularly post to the Sightings page that many of the sightings cannot be imported into the Society's database, and therefore do not appear in the Sussex Bird Report nor can they be used for wider conservation or survey work. Please consider entering details of your sightings into BTO BirdTrack too.

I have just started compiling the information together for the 2011 Sussex Bird Ringing Report and am keen to receive any information on sightings within Sussex.

If you have seen or in the future see any ringed or colour-marked birds in the county I would be really grateful for any photos, information and details you may have got on these birds. I can be contacted on This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Sam Bayley
Sussex Bird Ringing Co-ordinator.