THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com  created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.

THE BIRDS OF CISSBURY RING

Copyright Valerie Martin 2007

The following is a list of bird sightings at Cissbury Ring over the years....in alphabetical order.... they are as comprehensive as I can make them.....

BLACK CAP.  One of these was seen in mid-June 2004 beside the steps climbing the north side of Cissbury Ring.  

BLACK KITE.   There are two recorded sightings of this rare vagrant.   The first flew northwards over Cissbury Ring on 5th May 1977.   

The second bird (or perhaps it was the same?) was seen in flight at the Washington Bostal area on two consecutive days, 12th and 13th July 1980.

COMMON SAND PIPER.    One of these visitors was recorded at Cissbury at the beginning of the 20th century.

CORN BUTTING.    This bird is associated with downland and a count of "21 singing males" was recorded between Cissbury Ring and Chanctonbury Ring in 1968 (perhaps this was a choir boys' day out?)   Alas this number was reduced three years later to six .

CORNCRAKE.   This one is regarded as a rare passage migrant and winter visitor.    During 1971, a couple were present at Cissbury.   A dead specimen (thought maybe to have been hit by a farmer's tractor) was also discovered.  

CROSSBILL.    A number of these visitors were recorded during one year in particular at Cissbury at the beginning of the 20th century.

A group of ten birds were witnessed at Washington between 8th April and 12th May 1957.

In 1964, a dozen or so were seen at nearby Wiston and Washington.   I can but only hope for a sighting of these yet again in the Findon environs.

FIELDFARE.   I have seen these on Cissbury Ring .....but not in great numbers.   The scrub areas provide many habitats for wintering birds and flocks of 600 fieldfare were recorded on the Cissbury downland back in the 1970s.  I think they enjoy stripping the hawthorn berries on the Downs.

FIRECREST.    Most recordings are of single birds.   One was seen at Cissbury on 11th November 1982.    

Again, an unusual sighting....at Nepcote in 2003 — and again in my garden on 14th October 2005.

GOLDCREST.   I have not seen this tiny bird but understand that 26 were on Cissbury Ring on 24th October 1980 and 50 on 17th October 1981.

GREENFINCH.      These are "regulars" to my bird feeder in my garden but I cannot compete with the great number of 1,200 recorded at Cissbury during one September in the 1980s.

GREEN SAND-PIPER.   This visiting bird was sighted at Cissbury at the beginning of the 20th century.

GREEN WOODPECKER.   Frequently seen and heard by me at Cissbury Ring.   Lots of "drumming" heard coming from large trees.

HEN HARRIER.     One was recorded over Cissbury Ring on 11th May 1969.

HOBBY.   One recorded visiting bird at Cissbury at the beginning of the 20th century.

Two hobbies reported flying around over Cissbury Ring on 21st April 2008.

HOOPOE.  (This piece on the Hoopoe was printed in Key Local, October 2007).    Keep your eyes peeled for this striking bird....see specimen (for identification purposes only) at the top of this page.   I have not seen one of these bizarre birds myself as yet.   It was documented as a visitor at Cissbury at the beginning of the 20th century... what a little prize if I could record one of these in the Findon environs in the 21st century. 

What is the plural of Hoopoe?   It’s Hoopoes, of course.   They did, in fact, breed in nearby Shoreham before 1849.    After that they became scarce migrants.   Records indicate that they now appear in the spring and autumn and this leads me to suspect that they overshoot their usual breeding grounds.   They could be blown west off their migration course ending up on our South Coast and in the past have stayed and occasionally bred. 

In April 1882 it has been recorded that Hoopoes were shot at Saddlescombe Farm just over the downland from Findon.  These were for the Booth's Bird Museum.  To read about the notorious Edward Thomas Booth (1840-1890) tap into www.taxidermy4cash.com/BoothII.html

The next record I can discover of a sighting was when one was shot locally at Durrington on 6th November 1902.  

The following is an extract from a Sussex County Magazine of 1935....

Here is a letter written just after the Second World War from East Sussex......

"At 8 p.m. on the 20th April 1945, I had the luck to have a Hoopoe on my lawn.  It was about twenty yards away when first seen, but later it came to within twelve feet of the window from which I was watching.

It appeared to be very hungry and hunted with vigour in the short cut grass of the lawn, thrusting its beak up to the hilt in what must have been worm holes, as the ground at the time was too hard for penetration by the beak.   Often, after it had got its beak half way down a hole, it would rotate or pivot on it round the hole, apparently to make it larger.

It succeeded in having a fairly substantial meal of what appeared to be scraps of worms and leatherjackets.   After feeding for half an hour it flew into a tree in the garden and I think it stayed there al night, as it was on the lawn again next morning, when I looked out.

It stayed about twenty minutes and then flew away.   After it had flown into the tree to roost at dusk, I could hear a gentle note "hoo-hoop-hoop-hoop" quite close to me but faint,.   It reminded me of a snipe bleating or the hooting of an owl, but the note was of a different itch.   As it sounded so close.   I think it must have been the hoopoe murmuring to itself.

When it flew away, I was at once struck  by its jay-like appearance,.  The other feature that struck me was the closeness of its body to the ground; the feet could not be seen during feeding, only just the front toes occasionally.   It raised its crest a few times for a second, apparently in annoyance or excitement when feeling its prey at the bottom of the whole.   It did not utter any loud note."

The thing that astounds me is the arrival of the Hoopoe just after the war years and all the bombing that went on along the south coast.

Most recordings have been of singles spied in the spring.... but after saying that, three were witnessed together at nearby Lancing College in April 1966.

In 1977,  a nest was recorded in Sussex... not sure of location... (another in Avon, Somerset and Surrey).   Disaster struck and out of the four nests, one fledgling Hoopoe was taken by a Sparrowhawk.... and at another locality both young and one of the parents were taken by Mr. Fox.  

When this colourful bird is reported it attracts a throng of admiring birders..  In 1980 a hoopoe was seen in East Preston on 23rd April.

Four years later, a specimen turned up in a Brighton garden on 6th May, 1984.  

Another year passed and a single Hoopoe was recorded at Cissbury Ring on 6th April 1985.     I did not live in Findon at the time so that is my excuse for not seeing it.

One actually winged its way to the Brighton Marina from the seaward direction on 17th April 1987 .  

After an absence of 19 years, a further sighting was at East Preston again, this time a week later than previously, on 1st May 1999.  

On 23rd March 2005, a Hoopoe was recorded at nearby Pagham Harbour.... I guess it had just flown in and was taking a rest.

A "probable sighting" of this exotic bird was reported on 17th April 2006 at around 5.50 p.m.    I am told this took place along the South Downs Way just before the gateway through to the hedged track leading downwards to nearby Botolphs (TQ 185 092).

I almost skipped with excitement when you thought you may have seen a Hoopoe at Cissbury Ring, Peter.   How thrilling.   I am throwing out a Hoopoe Challenge..    I want you all to look out for a Hoopoe for me this year.     It will be easily identified.... a little smaller than a Collared Dove and on the wing this bird apparently provides a dazzling effect like a rather erratically flitting butterfly with its wings alternately slowly spreading and closing.

Yes, your cuckoo, jackdaw, jay, magpie and woodpigeon are still on Cissbury Ring, Peter.

If it had landed a bit further south it would have settled on the summit of Cissbury and I may have seen it!  

It appears that these birds do frequent the same areas over and over again …. so keep your eyes peeled for them so that I can record further sights…. as I am positive there will be some one day.

To recap....Where to see them:   The best chance of seeing one is during spring migration along the south coast and not far inland, say the Findon area.

When to see them:   Hoopoes turn up in late April and May.

What they eat:  They feed on the ground searching out insects, spiders, worms and small reptiles.

Where do they nest:  They like to nest in cavities in rocks, trees and buildings.

Estimated numbers:  None in the Findon area at the time of writing.

LITTLE OWL.    The Little Owl was at one time extinct in Great Britain.  It appears that it was re-introduced into Kent in 1872 and has since become successfully colonised and has strayed over the border and is now a Sussex resident.  

The first local recorded sighting was arch 1877.  

By the late 1980s, it was said that its stronghold was between Cissbury Ring and Chanctonbury Ring with up to six pairs.

In April 2008 I saw not one, but TWO Little Owls perched in the same tree..... unfortunately one didn't like me looking at him and flew off before I could get my camera out....

click on pic etc.

MEADOW PIPIT.   Seen at Cissbury Ring on 17th August, 2003.

MISTLE THRUSH.   Sighted at Cissbury Ring on 18th June 2005.

NORFOLK PLOVER.   This was another visiting bird to be sighted at Cissbury at the beginning of the 20th century.

ORANGE-LEGGED HOBBY.    One visitor sighted at Cissbury at the beginning of the 20th century.

PHEASANT.  I was not going to include these game birds because they are usually escapees from the gun happy community but I have relented and given them a mention.    They are often seen and heard in Nepcote, the Findon Gallops, Rogers Farm and, of course, the slopes of Cissbury Ring.

QUAIL.   These are our summer visitors and were recorded at Cissbury at the beginning of the 20th century.   They have been flushed out of the grass on the Findon Gallops by Suzie and Katie in the 1990s.

RED-FOOTED FALCON.   This is indeed a rare vagrant but a female of the species was recorded at Cissbury Ring from 25th May until 1st June 1979.

RED KITE.   Early on the morning of Friday 9th March 2007 a Red Kite was sighted soaring over Cissbury Ring and being mobbed by rooks who were angry at seeing him in their territory.   I think this one is the first visitor to the Ring that has been observed.

It is hardly surprising because last year one was seen over nearby Kithurst Hill.

Again on Monday, 12th March 2007, I had a lovely sighting of a Red Kite in the clear blue sky over the Iron Age ramparts.   It was travelling as if it was jet propelled over the ramparts at the northern steps.

RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE.    This is not a native species to our area.  

There were several attempted introductions as long ago as the 1600s.   They had become established in the late 1700s.   

I can vouch for the fact that they are seen at Cissbury Ring in the 21st century when flushed out by Suzie and Katie.      Click on  Red Legs for more on this.

click on image to enlarge

REDWING.   Sighted at Cissbury Ring on 28th December 2005.

RING OUZEL.    See The Ring Ouzels of Cissbury

REDSTART.   Seen on Cissbury Ring on 18th June 2005.

ROUGH-LEGGED BUZZARD.  This is an irregular winter visitor and usually associated with our bitter N.E. winds. 

Sightings back in the 1980s were between Cissbury Ring and Chanctonbury Ring.

SPOTTED FLYCATCHER.   See Flying Over the Ring 

click on image to enlarge

SKYLARK.   These are reputed to be diminishing in numbers but I still see (and hear) plenty.   The following is an extract from a copy of a 1935 Sussex County Magazine concerning nearby Brighton in the 1860s.........

 "At the sixties at all the leading poulterers in Brighton there were dishes of small birds, nominally larks, trussed reading for roasting, and I believe for the true gourmand there were also wheatears, which shepherds were reported to catch in huge numbers.   Curiously, since they were protected by law, wheatears have certainly decreased on the Downs, but of larks there is no lack, for they are reinforced by huge flocks from the tundras of the northern lands".

 STONE CHAT.   Logged on 16th June 2003 at Cissbury Ring.    Also a rather unusual sighting of a male and female at North Farm on 5th February 2005.

TREE PIPIT.  In the 1980s there appears to have been a quite regular autumn passage of these noted at Cissbury Ring in early August.

WILLOW TIT.   Recorded in the 1980s at Cissbury Ring and Findon.     Good news..... it was seen at Cissbury Ring on 7th June 2003.

WOODCOCK.  I had a brief glimpse of a Woodcock on the Cissbury slopes (down in the hedgerows of the fields at Findon Valley) back in 2002.   Again up near the triangulation point in 2003. 

A sad note..... a disturbing find was a dead Woodcock on Monday 12th March 2007......  identified by its extraordinary long bill for probing the soil, and its plumage,   It is such a shame that good sightings can only be made when a bird is dead.  

YELLOW HAMMER.  In the 1980s it was said that flocks of 150 to 200 could be counted at Cissbury Ring.

Sighted at Cissbury in June 2003 and again on 17th August 2003.

I also glimpsed this colourful little sweetie singing its heart out in the morning of Monday 12th March 2007 sunshine on the northern steps... easily identified as a Yellowhammer.

Continue if you would like to read.... Texas Comes to Findon.

THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.