Enthusiastic young birder, SOS Council member and social media inflencer Mya Bambrick challenged herself to do 21 walks for wildlife before her 21st birthday and raise £2,100 for the British Trust for Ornithology.

This is a recording of a webinar Mya presented for Sussex Ornithological Society in February 2024. Mya covers the highlights of the 21 walks that cover some of the best places for wildlife in the UK. She talks about her other work with various organisations and how she got involved in birding after being enthused from a very young age.

There’s a great question and answer session following the presentation, chaired by Jack Thompson, SOS member and RSPB Conservation Officer.

21 Walks for Wildlife

Following extensive consultation, including with the RSPB Crime Monitoring Unit, the Rare Breeding Birds Panel, neighbouring ornithological societies and our membership, the Sussex Ornithological Society (SOS) decided in 2022 that the time had come to be more open about some of the sites in the county where there is a chance of seeing Honey-buzzards and Goshawks in areas where they may breed.

For Goshawk, the decision was reasonably straightforward as the species is now doing well in Sussex, with 50-60 pairs breeding annually and the population probably still increasing. Honey-buzzards are much less numerous, but Sussex has perhaps the largest population of any county in the UK, with 20 pairs found in 2023. Three viewpoints for the species have been made public in counties with many fewer pairs and an assessment of risk concluded that some sites and viewpoints in Sussex could also be made public, subject to meeting certain criteria.

The just published ‘Where to Watch birds in Surrey and Sussex’ by Matt Phelps and Ed Stubbs includes a number of sites and viewpoints for both species in Sussex. Those for Honey-buzzard in particular do not provide guaranteed sightings, in part because of the species’ often cryptic behaviour, but also because sites are not necessarily occupied every year. The sites chosen are a mix of more reliable ones and those for which more records are needed: something that the SOS hopes that the new book will encourage.

The SOS has asked the Bird News Services only to publish inland sightings of Honey-buzzards where these are from the sites and viewpoints mentioned in the book.

Mark Mallalieu
Chair, Scientific Committee, Sussex Ornithological Society
16 February 2024

The time is sadly up for three of our SOSRC members: great thanks to Bola Akinola, Chris Ball and Derek Barber who have just finished their five-year terms and are stepping down – their input and expertise shall be solely missed!

Joining the Committee from 1st January are Andrew House and Jamie Partridge

Andrew has already served on the Committee and is a well-known figure at Selsey where he is a dedicated seawatcher and editor of the ‘Selseybirder’ blog.

Jamie has a great track record at finding BBRC rarities and is passionate about bird identification, having published papers for Birdguides and Dutch Birding. Welcome both!

David Thorns.

SOS Council member Mya Bambrick was presented with the Marsh Charitable Trust Young Ornithologist of the Year award at a ceremony on 2nd November.

Announcing the award, Marsh praised her work as a British Trust for Ornithology Youth Representative, which has seen her organise and lead events ranging from guided walks to beach clean-ups.

Marsh singled out Mya’s work at BTO’s Bird Camps, sharing her expert knowledge of birds and the natural world, her contribution to BTO surveys, and her photography and flm making, as well as her fundraising for BTO.

“Her passion for the natural world, combined with her supreme people and communication skills, makes her a shining example for young ornithologists to follow,” Marsh said.

25 years of the Wealden Heaths Breeding Bird Survey (Sussex) 1998-2022. An extended report (a short version appeared in the 2022 Sussex Bird Report) to include non-priority species, extra commentary and photographs of the individual heaths.

Download here

Alan Perry

WHBBS Organiser

SOS Conservation team, at the invitation of the Local Wildlife Sites (LWS) team at the Sussex Biodiversity Record Centre (SxBRC), is drawing up a list of locations that are important for birds in Sussex, but currently have no level of protection. SxBRC is run by the Sussex Wildlife Trust and has lead responsibility in the county for the LWS system. LWS status does not give statutory protection, but is nevertheless of some value in protecting a site from development. The SOS drew up the criteria for applying LWS status for sites good for birds, and these were accepted by SxBRC. The criteria are based mainly on the range of red- and amber-listed breeding species and the number of species recorded in the last decade. If you would see these criteria in full, please email me at the address below.

Most of the places birded regularly in the county already have some form of protection, from Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) like Pagham Harbour down to the lowest designation of LWS, such as at Wisborough Green. These designations help protect sites if they become the subject of planning applications to local councils. We are most keen to highlight those places of value for birds that currently lack protection of any kind with a view to encouraging LWS designation to be secured, and you may visit a little known site that deserves such status. SxBRC is focussing on LWS designation in particular, but the SOS is also keen to identify sites that may already have this designation, but merit stronger, statutory protection. West Rise Marsh is a good example of the latter.

It would assist the Conservation team if members of the Society provided details of sites, preferably with Ordnance Survey co-ordinates, that they are keen to see protected, but fear may have none, or might merit upgrading. The extent of the site is of little consequence. Notification of a site of concern will not guarantee the application of LWS (or better) status, but we will do our best, assuming the criteria are met. Please email details of your candidate locations to conservation@sos.org.uk in the first instance.

Terry Allen
Conservation Team

Sadly for the SOS Martin Orchard-Webb shall be stepping down from the role of Assistant Recorder, a post he has held for the last six years. Martin’s hard work and diligence over this time is much appreciated by all of us and he will be sorely missed!

Consequently we would love to hear from anyone interested in assuming this position. Tasks involve assisting the County Recorder by working in tandem, ensuring that the list of scarce birds reported (those requiring descriptions) is well maintained and up-to-date. Although the Assistant Recorder does not assess records, he or she will liaise directly (usually by email) with those on the Rarities Commitee, preparing batches of records for circulation and following up on them to ensure that they are assessed in a timely and efficient manner.

Interested parties are kindly asked to send an email to the following address : recorder@sos.org.uk

Wealden Heaths Breeding Bird Survey (West Sussex)
Surveyor needed urgently from 2024

This long running survey monitors 21 breeding species with emphasis on heathland specialists by the simple method of detecting males holding territory. The core heaths of West Sussex have been surveyed for twenty-five years and we are now in need of a surveyor for the important site of Weavers Down SU8130.

Nightjar, Woodlark, Dartford Warbler, Tree Pipit and Stonechat are the prime targets however this heath also good for Redstart and Linnet.

The Survey starts in mid-February, (to find the Woodlarks taking up their territories) and carries on mid-July. We try to cover the individual sites entirely on at least four occasions, including one early year visit as mentioned, and two visits (more if you have the inclination and the time) about two weeks apart during May when song activity is at its peak. There will be at least one evening visit in May or June to detect Nightjar.

The survey is not particularly demanding but the continuous nature, providing so far, twenty-five years of data has enabled us to assist with management advice and other conservation issues such as planning that might affect the heaths.

If you are interested please contact Alan Perry for more details on 01798 344417 or email aledgehill@outlook.com