There are still some places left on these two walks.

Places limited and must be prebooked

Meet at 09.30 at the big layby on Pett Level Road, beside the pools (TQ900144). We will spend around an hour looking over the sea, foreshore and pools nearby, so latecomers will still find us there. We will then move on for a longer walk around the levels. Total about 4 miles, finishing at about 1.30 – 2.00pm. Toilets in Pett Level village. Bus 101 Hastings-Rye (hourly) will stop at the pools by request. BOOKING ONLY, numbers restricted to 10 per outing, please contact Chris Barfield, the leader, to book (cjrbarfield@gmail.com or 07508 633909).

Many thanks to everyone who submitted entries for the Sussex Photographer of the Year Competition 2020-2021. As to be expected, the standard of entries is extremely high, and it will be a very difficult task to choose the winners. We plan to announce the results at the SOS AGM, which is to be held on the evening of Friday 7th May on Zoom, as well as on our website. The competition winners and runners-up will be contacted in advance.

Under the Covid restrictions which came into place on Boxing Day, the whole of Sussex is moved into Tier 4, with tight rules on travel and meeting, and though a review is due on 30th December, it looks unlikely that things will be relaxed then.  As I read the new guidance, we are meant to “stay at home” though can meet up with one other person in an outdoor public space providing social distancing is maintained, and we can take unlimited exercise. 

Unless things are relaxed on 30th December, as far as the planned limited outings for January are concerned, we’re sorry to say that these will need to be cancelled. 

With regard to the Bird Race, it looks as though two people can go out for a socially distanced walk for exercise, and record the birds while doing so.  So we’re setting you a “New Year Sussex Species Challenge”, so see how many different species can be seen on a single day by members (either on their own or with one other person) in Sussex in the first two weeks of January – choose a suitable day, send your list to me with an account of your day, and I’ll tot up the overall totals! The general rules will still apply, though obviously not those relating to the usual Teams of more than 2.  The  Race Pack containing a species checklist and sponsorship/donation forms is available from me at chetsford@talk21.com. Good luck if you are able to take part! 

Hot on the heels of the Bird Report, your winter newsletter should be with you very soon.  Slight delay due to the handover from Anthony to Martin, which did not go quite as smoothly as they would have liked – grateful thanks to both for persevering!

There will be a article on how you can participate in our annual New Year Bird Race, with guidelines on how to safely take part, even on an individual basis.  We don’t envisage carloads of merry SOS folk charging round the county this time!

Please give it some thought, and if you are able to join in, then email me for a race pack on chetsford@talk21.com

If you haven’t received your 2019 Sussex Bird Report, you will soon!  A couple of errors have come to light in the Ringing Report:

1. The figures in in the table on p222 were reversed, so it should read:

2. On p223, the number of Blackcaps ringed by RBRG should read 4869.

With apologies.

The Covid-19 restrictions which apply from Thursday 5th November unfortunately mean that the number-limited outings which we have recently restarted, will need to be put on hold again until further notice.  Looks as though we will be back to birding in our own local areas again, and mostly solo.  However, there have been some interesting birds around – maybe more will be found in the less-watched places if the more popular sites are off limits!

Best wishes to all

Val Bentley

Chair, SOS Membership & Publicity Committee

Membership is still only £14 p.a. (£17 joint). If you join before the end of 2020 your membership will run to the end of December 2021, so you will get THREE Sussex Bird Reports for your year’s subscription – the most recent (2018), the 2019 edition, due out before Christmas, PLUS the 2020 report which will be published before the end of 2021.

Too good an offer to miss!  Click on “Join us” on the toolbar.

We are currently working on setting up an online payment facility, but until then, bear with us and use cheque or bank transfer to make your first payment.

As you know, when the UK Government instigated a “lockdown” we, like many similar organisations operating outings for members, suspended our 2020 Outings programme. The UK Government
eased some restrictions and as a consequence we are trying a partial reopening of the Outings Programme.

I had planned to lead walks at Arlington Reservoir (Sunday 6th September), Beachy Head
(Saturday 10th October) and Cissbury Ring (Sunday 18th October). We announced in the recent newsletter that we are trialling these on a first-come-first-served basis for a maximum of 5 members (6 to include the leader). All other outings remain suspended.

The first event was very soon after the publication of the newsletter, and the second is already fully booked.

If you are interested in the outing to Cissbury Ring, please contact me by phone (01435 873576 or 07793 416375) and if I am not available please leave your name and telephone number together with the outing you are interested in attending. If you are successfully booked but subsequently are unable to attend please let me know so I can make this place available to somebody else.

These outings will be in accordance with the latest Government advice (e.g. social distancing) and regrettably we will seek to avoid sharing telescopes; you might like to bring some personal hand-sanitizing gel.

Outings are always on an “at own risk basis” of course. Should restrictions be eased further before the winter newsletter is due, any changes to arrangements will be announced on the website.

Mark Wright (Outings Organiser)