A good trip to Rodmell.

 

Friday 13th December 2024

Rodmell nr Lewes (p.m.)

Ashdown Bird Group

(5 members present)

 

 

Our target species today was short-eared owl.  The best time to see this bird is just before sunset, hence today’s p.m. schedule.  Rodmell had previously proved very rewarding so it was a “no-brainer” as our preferred choice of venue. 

The weather was dry but the thick cloud completely blocked out the sun and the temperature was only 5C-6C.  It was very wet underfoot and wellies were the order of the day.

 

 

Our route today started at the National Trust car park near Monk’s House and took us out on the Sussex Ouse Valley Way to the River Ouse where we turned south and followed the river bank towards Southease Station.

We had to wait almost 2 hours before we saw our target species.  In the meantime there were several sightings of interest:-

• 4 gull species were seen today – a couple of common gulls, several black-headed gulls and lots of herring gulls on the ground and a great black-backed gull in flight.
• There was a small gathering of winter thrushes on the ground by the hedge running north of the Sussex Ouse Valley Way including a few redwings, a song thrush and several blackbirds   to add to a single flying fieldfare seen earlier.
• We had a couple of good sightings of a marsh harrier, flying over the reeds, one early on and another near the end of our visit. 
• There were at least 3 kestrels around the site and we had flight views as well as views of them perched in trees.
• Equally prevalent were the buzzards that we saw.
• A sparrowhawk flew over us as we headed back to the car park.
• 2 stonechats were seen but there was no sign of the usual corn buntings. 
• Lots of greylag geese flew by us on at least 2 occasions.
• Starlings were the most numerous species seen today as they flew around in large flocks.

 

The long wait to see the short-eared owl was well worth it as what followed was a rich birding experience that lasted for well over 30 minutes.

• At 3.17 pm we were looking at a kestrel sitting at the top of a nearby tree when we noticed another larger raptor perched some 25 metres further away at the top of another tree.  Initially we thought it was a buzzard but when Ian got the scope view he realised it was a short-eared owl, much to the delight of all present.  Soon afterwards the owl took flight and went in search of food, swooping low over the reeds,  occasionally dropping down to grab some prey before resuming its flight.  After several minutes it returned to the same tree.   The owl then repeated the routine many times before we left.  What a treat! 
• On the way back to the car park, things got even better when a barn owl appeared and flew around us on the Ouse Valley Way for several minutes.  What a bonus!

 

Unfortunately no-one had brought a camera today because of the very poor light.

 

Wanting to share our experience with the birding community, we posted our sightings on the Sussex Bird Alerts site (SBA).  Unbeknown to us, the Sussex Ornithological Society (SOS) had previously advised its members against reporting owl sightings at Rodmell publically.  Some prior, poor behaviour by photographers had caused them to take this drastic step.  Our post thus caused a bit of a furore and was soon deleted by SBA along with the accompanying unsavoury comments that it generated.  The post subsequently reopened the whole debate around the SOS’s original decision.

 

 

Thanks for choosing another fantastic venue John.

Thanks Martin for organising the day – what a pity it generated such controversy!

 

 2024 species count=206