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Henfield - a great place for birds and people!

 

Welcome to the Henfield Birdwatch website. We are a group with an interest in birds and wildlife in general. We welcome people whatever their birding knowledge. We have group walks, talks, meet regularly for lunch and some people like to share their sightings online.

We aim to ensure that Henfield remains a great place for birds and some of our members like to become more involved by

  • regularly surveying and monitoring the local bird population and species
  • helping Henfield residents to be aware of our local birds and how to help them flourish

If this sounds interesting and you would like to join us you would be warmly welcomed.

Latest Sightings

Red-throated Diver

Still around on 1st Dec.  Photo from today

1st December 2023
Latest Sightings

Red-throated Diver

The Red-throated Diver is still present on the Adur, today it was loafing on the river south of Betley Bridge.

Editor, 28tb November 2023 29th November 2023
Latest Sightings

Area 11 survey

A couple of interesting counts on what was a fairly standard walk this morning. A pair of Stonechats by West Mill Farmhouse in the field of some sort of brassica crops growing as was a flock of Linnets that flew over the same crop in a different part of the field. A flock of 40 Skylarks flew up from the field alongside
Latest Sightings

Red Kite

Red Kite over my garden yesterday.

Roger French, 27th November 2023 28th November 2023
Latest Sightings

Chiffchaff

On a stroll around Henfield I stood in the wood at the top of Windmill Lane to look for Treecreepers and Goldcrests.

I wasn’t successful in that endeavour but did see a flock of 7-8 Long-tailed Tits and a Chiffchaff.

Debbie Colgate, 28th November 2023 28th November 2023
Latest Sightings

Bewick's AND Goosanders

There were a pair of Bewick's Swans on Henfield Levels yesterday morning, plus a pair of red-headed Goosanders there too.
David Buckingham, 26th November 2023 27th November 2023
Latest Sightings

Reed Bunting

Yesterday, on a stroll round the village, a Reed Bunting was calling from the reedbed on the common.

Today we had a Grey and Pied Wagtail feeding side by side in the garden. It was easy to see how much longer the Grey’s tail is and also that it is a much slighter bird. We also watched a Wren bathing in the shallows
Latest Sightings

Rye Farm

I will never not appreciate how lucky we are that within a few minutes of leaving our front door we are looking across from Rye Farm at these beautiful trees glowing in the late afternoon winter sun. The floods have receded a bit but there is still plenty of water still around and the number of wildfowl is increasing. We
Latest Sightings

Red-throated Diver

The Red-throated Diver was still present on the river on the 24th.
From SOS recent sightings, 24th November 2023 26th November 2023
Latest Sightings

Red-throated Diver

A Red-throated Diver was present on the river on 23rd, south of Betley Bridge. Also seen was a variety of geese: Canada, Greylag, Egyptian, Brent plus two White Storks.

Alan Burnage, 23rd November 2023 26th November 2023
Latest Sightings

Area walk - a nice flash of blue

Just Angela and myself this morning, setting off in the rain along the Downslink. A couple of Song Thrushes were singing as we started, though most things were quiet as it was wet. At the five crossways we heard the only Goldcrest of the day, then the embankment produced some Long-tailed Tits. From
Latest Sightings

Fieldfares

I walked along the track to Rye Farm and on to the causeway to Frog's Hole today.

A pair of Chiffchaffs, double figures of Long Tailed Tits and a singing Song Thrush (the first of the year for me) at the stinky pond, seven Coots on the water to the left of the track, another singing Song Thrush in the trees to the right
Latest Sightings

Grey Waggy

The first appearance this winter of a Grey Wagtail in the garden plus Debbie saw a Goldcrest.

Nigel Colgate, 20th November 2023

 

I also saw a Grey Wagtail with two Goldcrests last week, at the stinky pond, on the levels track.

Sally Hawes, 20th November 2023 20th November 2023
Latest Sightings

Funny five minutes on the balcony...

Just as Mike was moaning about the lack of birds in the garden to entertain us during our coffee break this morning, a mixed flock of 20+ Blue Tits, 16-ish Long-tailed Tits, four Great Tits, one Coal Tit and two Goldcrests arrived. As we were watching them, a Sparrowhawk dive-bombed in (we couldn't
Latest Sightings

Wetland Bird survey

I was joined by Roger for the monthly Wetland Bird Survey for West End, and it was extremely wet. Much flooding meant it was probably too deep to attract huge amounts of wildfowl besides the ubiquitous Mallards, but up towards Betley on the Ashurst side of the river there were three Shovelers and 19 Egyptian Geese.
Latest Sightings

Walk to Sainsbury's...

... via Broadmere Common this morning. A Sparrowhawk flew overhead, much to the annoyance of some smaller birds, then by the pond I was entertained by comings and goings of a flock of Long-tailed Tits. Reckon there were 10 -15 of them, in company with some Blue and Great Tits. 

Saw the first Blackbird in
Latest Sightings

Jackdaws

I've just been watching a flock of about 150 Jackdaws flying around Lower Station Road area. They seemed to eventually head off purposefully northwards towards the village.

Lesley Milward, 18th November 2023 20th November 2023
Latest Sightings

Area 2 walk

Well today Angela informed Hazel and me that we were very lucky because we benefitted from negative oxygen ions by walking in the rain. The BBC doctor says that is invigorating. Believe me, we must be well invigorated. However we clocked up 36 species. A flock of 150+ Wood Pigeons and mini Starling murmurations were interesting.
Latest Sightings

Stonechats

On a walk yesterday it was very quiet on the bird front. Highlights were 20 House Sparrows chirruping from hedges by The Old Railway and three Stonechats feeding by the big blue containers on the left about 100 yards after the Chates turning as you walk north.

Debbie Colgate, 11tb November 2023 12th November 2023
Latest Sightings

Cetti's Warbler

On my walk home I was very pleased to hear a very loud Cetti's Warbler by the small wooden gate on to the Mill Stream path. There hasn't been one singing from that area for about two years.

Angela Thyer, 9th November 2023 12th November 2023
Latest Sightings

Quiet on the river

I took a walk from Chates to Betley, then up to look at the floods a bit further north. A few of the common geese about, some Mute Swans and 27 Lapwing on the far side. A single Snipe on the same bit of mud, then four Pied Wagtails, and a Grey Heron on a tree over towards Brighthams. Heard calls of Stonechat, Meadow
Latest Sightings

Garden birds

This morning, the garden seems to have exploded back into life. Since early September, it has been extremely quiet and even the common birds disappeared. But today they have come back. Hopefully, it was because it has been a warm wet autumn and there has been plenty of natural food still around. Both a male and a female
Latest Sightings

Song Thrush

I heard a Song Thrush singing this morning, first for a long time.

Val Bentley, 7th November 2023 12th November 2023
Latest Sightings

Winter visitor

Among a group of Blue Tits this morning, a Redwing landed in our Box Elder tree.

Nigel Colgate, 7th November 2023

  12th November 2023