There is still plenty of time to sign up to take part in the BTO Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) for this breeding season. Some squares have recently become available and there are plenty of squares available right across the county. This national monitoring scheme is administered by the BTO and jointly funded by the BTO, […]

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 […]

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 […]

This survey will be continuing in 2022. This will be primarily to improve national coverage in some other areas of England. Although coverage was really excellent in Sussex thanks to some amazing volunteers, it will be great to use the opportunity to fill in some small gaps in coverage. Please consider whether you can take […]

SOS Conservation: Helping Sussex’s Birds, Richard Cowser, 2nd March 2022 The recording of this excellent online talk can now be watched on the SOS YouTube channel here. There were lots of great questions, which were largely answered after the talk. Two that were not dealt with, with the answers, are here. 2-3000 Dark-bellied Brent Geese/ […]

You may have noticed Log in and MySOS options at the end of the More menu on the right hand side of the page. They are there because we are in the process of creating a system where members can join/renew their membership online. At the moment these links do not allow existing members to […]

The South Downs farmland bird monitoring project started in 2014 as part the South Downs Farmland Bird Initiative. The project is a collaboration between the RSPB, Natural England, the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT), the South Downs National Park Authority (SDNPA), the BTO, the South Downs Land Management Group and the Sussex and Hampshire […]

The Society is delighted to announce that, after the very popular Conference talks, there will be further SOS virtual talks next month. As we become ever more aware of the threats facing Sussex’s birds, the first talk, at 19:00 on Wed 2 March, is a very timely one by Richard Cowser on the work of the […]

New volunteers in Sussex are being sought to help to monitor national breeding woodcock numbers. Annual monitoring of roding woodcocks has taken place at a number of sites across the UK each year since 2003; a summary of the results can be found at http://www.bto.org/volunteer-surveys/woodcock-survey/results. Three visits to a site are required between 1st May […]

  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 […]