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Does anyone bird Ashdown Forest(Sussex)? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter joannec
- Start date
paulwfromtheden
Well-known member
joannechattaway said:
I shall be interested as well Joanne. I used to go camping when the boys were small at Crowborough, and we used to spend a lot of time at Ashdown Forest, but it was before I got bitten by the birding bug. I have planned to go back there are see what I missed.
There are some good heath areas to the south of the Forest which I have had in mind.
deborah4
Well-known member
joannechattaway said:
LoL Joanne, I suggested Ashdown Forest as a destination for our January Meet and you said no, it was too far!! :'D Anyway, as you know, I'll be going there tomorrow, so i'll let you know what we see. Check out the Hawfinches Again thread as there is a link there to Simon who runs a guided walk project around the area - Ive spoken to him and he knows the area very well - I'm sure John H will be able to help you as well.
JohnnyH
Aldershot till I die!
joannechattaway said:
Hi Joanne,
There was a Great Grey Shrike at Gills Lap last Winter which arrived in October & hung around until March/April. The Shrike is an almost annual visitor so fingers crossed will be back again soon. Old Lodge is also worth checking out for Crossbill,Brambling, Lesser Redpoll,Siskin & perhaps even Hawfinch over the Winter. Summer visitors at Old Lodge include Nightjar, Tree Pipit,Redstart in addition to breeders like Woodcock & Dartford Warbler. Hen Harrier is probable on any of the heathland areas in the Winter also. Grid refs & maps for these sites can be found on the SOS web site - http://www.sos.org.uk/locations/A.htm
Hope this helps,
ATB,
John.
paulwfromtheden
Well-known member
joannechattaway said:
I dont recall the Ashdown Forest being mentioned. The New Forest was considered, but dismissed because it's not very near Sussex!!
deborah4
Well-known member
LOL!!!!!! I'm on another planet - really sorry Joanne, have sent you a PM - and thanks for helping me out with another geographical gaff earlier - oh and also the Adur thing :gh: :gh: :gh: :gh: I get these mental blocks you see ........ :bounce:
(good job you corrected me or I would have ended up on the wrong train in the morning!)
Have a great day at Rainham tomorrow Paul - er, it was Rainham wasn't it?
(good job you corrected me or I would have ended up on the wrong train in the morning!)
Have a great day at Rainham tomorrow Paul - er, it was Rainham wasn't it?
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paulwfromtheden
Well-known member
deborah4 said:
Yes Deborah, looking forward to it. Just hope the weather is kind, have a good time in the New Forest, or was it Ashdown Forest? :-O :-O :-O
joannec
Well-known member
JohnnyH said:
Thanks John.
I know where Gills Lap is and think I'll go up next week sometime if the weather looks ok and I'm free. Will have to check out where Old Lodge is, not too sure. And thanks for the link. I'll let you know how I get on. Will you be joining us again in January at Pulborough Brooks? Looks like there will be some new faces.
Joanne
Tranquility Base
Registered User
JohnnyH
Aldershot till I die!
joannechattaway said:
You're welcome Joanne, good luck with that. No I won't be at your meet at Pulborough I'm afraid, it's FA cup 3rd round weekend & I'm hoping Aldershot get through & draw one of the Premiership big guns. I hope you guys have a good time, Pulborough is very good in the Winter, I would also recommend Waltham Brooks for a late afternoon raptor watch, excellent chance of Barn Owl & Hen Harrier. Hopefully I'll catch up with you guys at another bash.
Best Regards,
John.
joannec
Well-known member
Well, I spent a very blustery afternoon yesterday on Ashdown Forest. First I went to Gills Lap but after an hour and a half I had only seen a kestral, 6 crows, one lonely stonechat and a brief glimpse of what could have been a harrier but it was so brief as to not count for anything. It was horribly windy and I was getting cold so decided to move onto the ridge towards Wych Cross where there is more tree cover and hopefully would be less windy and there would be more bird activity. The wind was less but only saw a few goldcrests, long tailed tits and a small flock of about 20 fieldfare towards the north, pleased with them as they are the first I'd seen this autumn. I'll be going back but will choose a day when it's not so windy.
David Caudwell
Dave C
Woodlark, as well as Redstart, can be reliably and easily found at Old Lodge, the Sussex Wildlife Trust reserve
http://www.sussexwt.org.uk/reserves/page00023.htm
The reserve is found about 1/2 mile south of Gill's Lap which is good at dusk for Nightjar and roding Woodcock. At Gill's lap just be sure to get down into the dip some way so that most of the rising land around you is silhouetted against the sky - this way anything flying in the failing light is easy to pick up against the sky (rather than a dark shape against the dark hill sides).
Pick a still, clear evening (soon) and you should have no problems. Oh, and take some mozzie repellent
Enjoy!!
Dave C
http://www.sussexwt.org.uk/reserves/page00023.htm
The reserve is found about 1/2 mile south of Gill's Lap which is good at dusk for Nightjar and roding Woodcock. At Gill's lap just be sure to get down into the dip some way so that most of the rising land around you is silhouetted against the sky - this way anything flying in the failing light is easy to pick up against the sky (rather than a dark shape against the dark hill sides).
Pick a still, clear evening (soon) and you should have no problems. Oh, and take some mozzie repellent
Enjoy!!
Dave C
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hollis_f
Well-known member
Thanks for that David. We had great views of Redstart there last Spring - have to look out for Woodlark as well.
