An original painting by John Reaney (dec’ d) of a Marsh Harrier alarming Coots.
John was a keen long-standing member of SOS and his artwork is in the 1996 Avifauna of Sussex Birds. He was also a member of the Society of Wildlife Artists who exhibit annually at the Mall Gallery.
When purchased in 1996 £295 was paid. Sensible offers will be considered. If interested email Alan Perry at ap@alanperry.uk.com
This winter, we are facing the worst outbreak of bird flu we have known and if this outbreak follows previous patterns there is likely to be a larger peak later in the winter. Impacts are already significant in the north of England and Scotland for Svalbard Barnacle Geese. The infection in wild birds is now widespread throughout the UK.
Whilst cross contamination to humans is rare, advice is:
It is also important to keep garden feeding stations clean (weekly) using mild disinfectant and using gloves etc. This is important for Trichomonosis as well.
Jonathan Cook
Since 1948 a Sussex Bird Report has been produced annually. From 1962 onwards, these have been published by the Sussex Ornithological Society. Hitherto digital copies of the reports between 1948 and 2010 were available on a DVD but now all the reports up to 2017 are accessible on the society’s website.
Additionally there is a helpful index to all the ‘papers’ in the reports. Also included are the 1996 book The Birds of Sussex and the 1987 Birds in Sussex 1962-87, the latter published to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the society.
It is hoped that amateur and professional ornithologists, and indeed anyone with an interest in the wildlife of Sussex, will enjoy using this compilation, which serves as a testament to the dedication of many people in the county over nearly 70 years.
To see the new pages, click Downloads under Publications on the main menu, or go here
A brief commentary and graphs for 2021 have been added to the Wealden Heaths Breeding Bird Survey section of the site
A heads up that the society will be offering more online talks in 2022 after the SOS Conference. These will include one on Barn Owls and one on the important work that the society does on conservation issues in Sussex. Full details of these and other talks will be announced in the New Year.
Also, you will see on our Youtube channel two excellent additions to the “Your videos” playlist, including one just added showing in slow motion young Barn Swallows being fed by an adult, filmed by Tom Forbes.
If you would like to give an online talk, do please let me know, and likewise I would be delighted to add short videos that you have recorded to the society’s Youtube channel.
Mark Mallalieu
mallalieum@gmail.com
Here are the questions and answers that we could not address on the day. Steve Egerton-Read has been on leave, hence the slight delay. The talk was and remains (based on YouTube views so far) one of our most popular ever talks. If you’ve not had a chance to see it, it’s here.
| Question | Answer(s) | |
| 1 | What did they do differently that led to success [compared to the Fair Isle attempt]? | This pioneering project only released four birds, juvenile mortality is high – approximately 40% survive to adulthood (five years old), unfortunately none of these birds are thought to have survived to adulthood. Subsequent projects not only refined release methodology but released a greater number of birds, however without this pioneering project things could be very different today. The reintroduction in Scotland is well-documented by a number of authors. |
| 2 | Didn’t see the episode but i was told Countryfile showed a clip purporting to show a WTE taking a lamb in 2017. have I been misled? | Conflict with livestock farming is not documented in the nearby Netherlands or other parts of north-western Europe, nor has it been documented to date following the Irish reintroduction. Conflict in Scotland has been reported, though the reasons behind this conflict are complex – one possible reason is the lack of naturally available prey in western Scotland. The project anticipates that white-tailed eagles will not come into conflict with livestock farmers here in southern England, as the landscape, land-use and natural prey availability is similar to that of the Netherlands. |
| 3 | Where do they go in the non-breeding season? | Territorial pairs typically occupy their home range throughout the year across most of lowland Europe. Some populations are more migratory, particularly in the far north of their range, where food is much less readily available during the winter months. Juveniles tend to be more nomadic throughout the year. |
| 4 | I see that white tailed eagle was seen at Rye harbour nature reserve recently. Does this mean that they are nesting in the area or are they traveling long distance to feed? | There are presently no breeding white-tailed eagles in England, the birds released on the Isle of Wight aren’t expected to start breeding until 2024. Juvenile white-tailed eagles wander great distances, the Isle of Wight released birds have been seen across much of England but there are also occasional Continental juveniles that appear from time-to-time. |
| 5 | Why won’t the project reach 60 bird releases in 5 years? | The project is licensed to release up-to 60 birds over a five-year period. To date the project has released 25 with two years left on the present licence. |
| 6 | Is there a danger of WTEs trying and failing to replicate the artificial IoW “nests”? | No, white-tailed eagles will not try to replicate the release aviaries. The same methods the project uses on the Isle of Wight have been used in successful reintroduction projects in Scotland and Ireland, where white-tailed eagles have re-established as breeding birds. |
| 7 | Do they eat carrion? | White-tailed eagles are generalist predators, taking what is most readily available in the environment. Carrion can be an important consituent of these birds diet, particularly for juveniles during their first winter. Across much of their range, fish is taken preferentially when available. |
| 8 | We’ve had a lot of visits from G408 in the Arun Valley this year – is this a good sign that a pair will choose this location to breed? And when do you hope the first pair from the IoW scheme will breed? | A number of white-tailed eagles from the project have spent time in the Arun Valley, hopefully in the not too distant future white-tailed eagles will breed in Sussex again, as to where, we will have to wait and see. First breeding is not expected until 2024 at earliest. |
| 9 | Would the eagles be a threat to the white storks breeding at Knepp ? | White-tailed eagles and white storks co-exist throughout many parts of Europe. |
| 10 | Does the fact that the translocated birds are not fed by an adult bird affect the way they will provision their own young when they breed? | The project replicates a wild nest as closely as possible, the juveniles collected are capable of tearing up their own food and at that age, adults will simply leave food in the nest for them. Other reintroduction projects in Scotland and Ireland have used the same methods and as a result, white-tailed eagles have re-established as a breeding species. |
| 11 | Do you test the birds you translocate genetically so that there is variation in the translocated population? | The project collects birds from as wide an area in Scotland as possible but it may be possible for an academic institution to investigate the relatedness released by the project. |
| 12 | Where do the original reintroduction birds come from and is there sufficient genetic diversity? | Juveniles are sourced from Scotland under licence from NatureScot, the population is still expanding in Scotland and now exceeds 150 pairs. This population was established from several reintroduction efforts, with birds sourced from Norway – one of the last strongholds for white-tailed eagles in Europe. |
| 13 | At what point will you stop taking birds from nests and rearing/releasing them? | Presently, the project holds a five-year licence from Natural England to release white-tailed eagles on the Isle of Wight, this licence was granted in 2019. |
| 14 | The map showing where birds have visited on their explorations seemed to show that they’re not too impressed with Wales, any known reason for this? | White-tailed eagles travel widely in their first few years before returning to their natal area to set up breeding territories. We hope an academic study using the GPS data may help us understand more about these journeys. The map in the presentation was only a snapshot of the data we have, one bird G318, a female released in 2019, visited north Wales earlier this year. |
The SOS has combined with the Woodland Trust, CPRE Sussex, SWT and the RSPB to issue the following Joint Press Release (Click Here) opposing Center Parcs’ plans to site a new holiday village in Oldhouse Warren, alongside the M23. This press release is being sent to national and Sussex press and TV.
Although Oldhouse Warren is not open to the public we do know from limited and authorised bird survey work that is an excellent area for birds. Whilst we are not opposed to Center Parcs building a new holiday Center in the South of England we jointly believe this is the wrong site, being an Ancient Woodland which is also in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Everything under national planning law says that Ancient Woodland and AONB’s are supposed to be protected and that planning permission for such a development should never be given. Whilst no formal planning application has yet been submitted we want to put a stop to this proposal now, before a planning application is even submitted, and convince Center Parcs to think again. You can really help us by contacting Center Parcs, the local MPs and the leader of the Mid-Sussex District Council, expressing your opposition to this proposed development. Click here for some points to make.
Their contact details are as follows:
Center Parcs: Tweet @CenterParcsUK or post on their Facebook Page using the hashtag #SaveOldhouseWarren
Although on the east side of the M23 opposite Crawley, Oldhouse Warren is in the Horsham Parliamentary constituency. The MP is Jeremy Quin – jeremy.quin.mp@parliament.uk. It is also worth contacting the Crawley MP Henry Smith – henry.smith.mp@parliament.uk and Mid Sussex MP Mims Davies – mims.davies.mp@parliament.uk
The leader of Mid Sussex District Council is Jonathan Ash-Edwards – jonathan.ash-edwards@midsussex.gov.uk
or Tweet @JAshEdwards or post on his Facebook Page
If you live in the Mid-Sussex area please also contact your local councillors.
And if you have any queries please contact myself.
Richard Cowser
(conservation@sos.org.uk)
This talk is now available here on the SOS Youtube channel. The answers to the many excellent questions that we could not deal with on the night will be posted on the SOS website soon.
The Sussex Bird Report, No. 73, 2020
Fingers crossed this report will prove relatively error-free, but please note the following.
Long-tailed Tit. The last sentence on page 145 should read: ‘During the GBW they were recorded in 61% of gardens surveyed with an average peak count of four. [JA Hobson]’
Northern Treecreeper: the text on page 161 should read: ‘The individual found at Patching on 28 Dec 2019, the first for Sussex, remained until 7 Jan. [M Mallalieu]’
For Long-tailed Tit, we will include in the Winter Newsletter an erratum that can be cut out and inserted at the bottom of page 145. You can also print and cut it out here.
Please email me at breditor@sos.org.uk if you spot any other errors or omissions. Thank you.
Mark Mallalieu
The latest Bird Report will be landing on members’ doormats very shortly! As well as the regular features including, among others, Review of the Year, Systematic List of all the species seen in Sussex in 2020 and Ringing Report there are special papers on:
It’s a mammoth task to pull everything together so very well done to new Editor Mark Mallalieu and his team, as well as the many writers of accounts and articles.
Non-members can purchase a copy for £13 (includes P & P) from Val Bentley, Lanacre, Blackgate Lane, Henfield BN5 9HA mandpcommittee@sos.org.uk Cheques payable to Sussex Ornithological Society, or contact Val for bank transfer details.
A small number of copies have been cut with a slight flaw between pages 193 and 224. If you receive such a copy and would like it replaced, please let Val know at the email address above and we will immediately send you a new copy.
