Letter from Sussex

As in most parts of the country, it has been a long, cold albeit dry winter, but recent rain and warmer temperatures - this is the last week of March - mean that spring is arriving at last.  The winter is a busy time in Pagham Harbour because all the winter birds arrive.  Wigeon and teal were coming in large numbers in October but the brent geese were rather late.  However, when they did come it was good to see many family parties with juveniles, unlike last year, so the breeding season in their northern territories must have been successful.  Eventually we had at least about 3500 brent geese, 3000 wigeon, 2500 teal and a very good 700 pintail in the harbour, as well as large numbers of lapwing, golden plover, knot, dunlin and black tailed godwit among others.  Small numbers of spoonbill usually visit us in autumn on their way south but seven at one time in November was exceptional.

As many of you know, we have a good population of little egrets here, with two pairs breeding near the herons last spring.  In mid-December, however, three egrets seen in the north fields turned out to be cattle egrets.  They have stayed and are still around now, and I understand that other groups have been seen at various locations.  Maybe they will emulate the little egrets and stay here.

Still with birds, I was interested to read comments about feeding birds in the last bulletin.  I put food out for most of the year.  Seeds, peanuts and fat balls are hung from trees, and extra seed, sultanas and bread are scattered on the ground.  The bread is to lure the seagulls away from the other food, the sultanas are for my blackbirds and robin, and the seeds feed the wood pigeons, collared doves and occasionally chaffinches.  A small amount of meat on the bird table is for my male kestrel who has been coming for six years and knows me well.  There used to be five or six greenfinches plus sparrows on the hanging feeders, but this year the peanuts have been ignored and even sunflower seeds have not attracted them.  The fat balls have gone mouldy and had to be thrown away.  I wondered if the gulls - which include herring gulls - have kept the smaller birds away, but I don't really think so.

Turning to mammals, the water vole survey continues and showed an increase over all this year.  I have not found any on my patch yet, but hope springs eternal! I had a good sighting of some other attractive animals when visiting Church Norton on a cold but quiet morning in January.  I disturbed three roe deer feeding in the field just beyond the churchyard, and sent them bounding away, as surprised as I was.  Good news of brown hares too, at least six having been seen in the north fields. Wild flowers, like the garden varieties, have been late this year, but coltsfoot, lesser celandine and primroses are out now and the blackthorn is flowering in the hedges.

A good spring to you all!!

BRENDA CHAPMAN