Just Fledged: April 2025

Friday, 28th March 2025

RSPB Broadwater Warren

09.00 to 13.00

Ashdown Bird Group

(10 members present)

Trip Report

The above post by Alan Loweth on the ABG WhatsApp page generated a huge interest in RSPB Broadwater Warren and ultimately led to today's visit. The Lesser-spotted Woodpecker is rapidly becoming the "Never-spotted Woodpecker" in these parts of the county, so this opportunity to see one was grabbed with both hands.

This site is also one of the best places to see Woodlark and Dartford Warbler, and they rightfully become items two and three on today's wish list.

· Kevin Hyde kindly volunteered to show us around. His vast experience of the site proved invaluable.

· Thankfully, the early morning forecast for rain was inaccurate and we hardly got any. By the end of the visit, we were enjoying bright sunshine and clear skies.

Woodlark

It didn’t take too long to find our first target species. Near the halfway point between the car park and the Nightjar viewpoint, on the eastern heath, we heard the distinctive song of the Woodlark, and looking up, we saw four birds flying overhead. Shortly afterwards, others joined in, and before long, it felt like we were in “Woodlark heaven,” with sweet sounds emanating from all over this delightful heathland habitat.

Courtesy of Charles Waters.

This final image from Charles shows most of the attributes of Woodlark – short tail, broad wings, and clearly singing.

What a great start!

Dartford Warbler

Things were not so straightforward with the Dartford Warbler. We heard one in the area where we saw the Woodlarks but it was not until near the end of our visit that we returned to get the views we had wanted. A male popped up and showed well at the top of the gorse bush ahead of us before flying away. Not long after, a female appeared and stayed for a little while longer.

Courtesy of Charles Waters

What a great finish!

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

As expected, this was our toughest challenge and only John managed to see this elusive bird.

One and a half hours into our walk, as we congregated around the 300-year-old oak tree, John alerted us to a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker that had just flown from an adjacent oak at the junction with the path to the Sussex Wildlife Trust's Eridge Rocks site. It was all over in about five seconds - unfortunately, no one else was able to get a sighting and despite our best efforts, that was our only success.

It was frustrating to get so close to the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and not make the ID. Nevertheless, we can take the positives and use this experience to plan a further follow-up visit.

Well done John!

We observed 33 species during this brief visit, primarily woodland birds.

Species List:

Name:	Count	Name:	Count
Blackbird	1	Lesser Spotted Woodpecker	18
Blue Tit	2	Linnet	19
Buzzard	3	Long-tailed Tit	20
Canada Goose	4	Marsh Tit	21
Carrion Crow	5	Meadow Pipit	22
Chaffinch	6	Nuthatch	23
Chiffchaff	7	Raven	24
Coal Tit	8	Robin	25
Dartford Warbler	9	Siskin	26
Dunnock	10	Song Thrush	27
Goldcrest	11	Stock Dove	28
Great Spotted Woodpecker	12	Stonechat	29
Great Tit	13	Treecreeper	30
Green Woodpecker	14	Woodlark	31
Grey Heron	15	Woodpigeon	32
Herring Gull	16	Wren	33
Kestrel	17