Members may be aware from local news reports that the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA) are running a public consultation with a view to finalising an Action Plan in regard to the former cement works site at Upper Beeding. When published and approved, this document would offer prospective developers a guide as to the types of acceptable development for this very large and important site.

The consultation document recognises the importance of this site for wildlife, but assumes that some form of built development is inevitable. A mix of housing, light industrial and tourism uses is envisaged. Unfortunately, the cost of making the site safe so that development could go ahead would be in excess of £23 million, and in order to recover these costs any development will need to be on a large scale – which SOS does not expect to see in a National Park.

The SOS submission makes the case that the lower Adur Valley is already under stress, and roads and recreational use have reduced its value for wildlife. We do not feel that this situation should be allowed to deteriorate further. We also do not believe that development on the huge scale required to provide any return on the investment would achieve the Authority’s stated aim of enhancing the landscape.

Instead, at a time when we face a biodiversity crisis, there is a unique and lower cost opportunity to restore and create an exceptional site for nature and people by allowing the area to re-wild. Indeed this is probably the largest habitat restoration opportunity in the whole of the National Park.

A copy of the Society’s submission letter can be viewed here.

If you wish to input to this public consultation please email your views to the SDNP at planningpolicy@southdowns.gov.uk or complete those parts of the on-line consultation that you feel are appropriate for your views, here.

The RSPB Operation Turtle Dove project is looking for some help in Sussex. If you see a Turtle Dove please could you record your sighting on BTO Birdtrack and let me know on the contact details below.

Any help identifying where in Sussex Turtle Doves are should help the project engage with potential land owners to improve/create Turtle Dove habitats.

The RSPB is looking at repeating some of the national Turtle Dove survey squares from last year in Sussex. If you would be interested in becoming an RSPB volunteer and helping to survey for Turtle Dove please do get in contact at matthew.twydell@rspb.org.uk with the square you are interested in. The survey consists of 2 visits to the square between now and the end of July, each visit should only be a few hours of your time.

The following squares are free to survey

TQ1921
TQ1820
TQ1719
TQ1718
TQ1717
TQ1916
TQ2118
TQ2217
TQ2216
TQ2317

You can find more information about the project here https://operationturtledove.org/

Thanks

Matt
RSPB Turtle Dove Conservation Advisor

The County Recorder role is becoming vacant soon.

If you have a keen interest in the county’s birds, broad experience from Britain and overseas of rare and scarce species and some spare time, do please consider putting your name forward.

The Recorder works with a very experienced Assistant Recorder, a team of assessors and the Database Manager, so it’s very much a collective effort in which you will always feel well-supported. You will be a member of the Society’s Scientific Committee and Council.

BirdGuides and Rare Bird Alert give complimentary membership to county recorders.

If you are interested in finding out more about what the role involves, please contact Mark Mallalieu (Chair of Scientific Committee) at mallalieum@gmail.com or call on 07736 788 077.

This is a call to help survey the last remaining squares before the 14th of May.

There are still some squares left with the Sussex Nightingale survey. The methodology states that 2 visits need to be undertaken but if you are able to just undertake one visit to the available squares this week it would be of great help as this would increase the coverage of the survey.

Please forward this onto anyone you think might be interested as well.

http://sosnightingales.birdsurvey.org.uk/

Any sightings outside of the survey should be recorded on BTO birdtrack.

A big thanks to all the survey volunteers who have undertaken a square so far.

This year Sussex Ornithological Society will be asking volunteers to help conduct a county survey of Nightingales.

Nightingales are now back in the county, so if you would like to get involved in the survey see the link below. There are still squares available, especially in West Sussex so please take part or forward on to people who may be interested

Sussex is one of the most important counties in Britain for breeding Nightingales. A team led by Dr Chris Hewson at the BTO estimated in 2018 that the UK population of singing males is between 5095-5983 individuals, distributed at sites spread across the south and east of England. They were last surveyed in Sussex as part of the national BTO survey in 2012/13, when 852 Nightingale territories were identified in Sussex.

Read more…

We would like to welcome current and prospective new members of the Society to our online membership and enhanced online shop pages.

We really appreciate the loyalty of our membership for continuing their annual subscriptions. After taking account of our costs the remainder is available for deserving projects for the protection and conservation of the Birds of Sussex. We are very grateful for all donations and legacies.

Our particular thanks go to members who renew their membership by standing orders. However, we know several of you prefer to use cheques, which of course is fine, but due to the closure of many local banks makes it more difficult for the Treasurer to pay them into our account. We would like to encourage both existing and new members to use our new online membership facility.

In the future the Society will move over gradually to an online membership database which will handle everything. Please give it a go and you will be surprised how easy it is to carry out your renewal via the website.

View the online membership guide

And if you haven’t yet renewed your subscription for 2022, please do so as soon as possible!

Last summer Center Parcs announced that they proposed building a new 900-lodge holiday village at Oldhouse Warren, an ancient woodland on the east side of the M23 near Crawley. Ancient woodland is an irreplaceable habitat where trees have grown for at least 500 years and probably for millennia. We also know, from limited but authorised survey work (Oldhouse Warren is closed to public access) that it is a good site for birds. It is also in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and both ancient woodland and AONB’s are highly protected under the planning system. We are, therefore, extremely concerned about these proposals.

The SOS, the Woodland Trust, Sussex Wildlife Trust, CPRE-Sussex and RSPB, acting as the Sussex Planning for Nature Group, are working together to oppose this development. Having previously written to Center Parcs we were concerned that their response failed to recognise the grave impact their proposals would have on an irreplaceable habitat in Sussex. We have therefore sent an open letter to Center Parcs asking them to look again at where they are proposing to build their next holiday village and to explain to us why a company that prides itself on its environmental credentials is considering such a damaging development in a highly protected ancient woodland which is also in a highly protected AONB.