Sussex Wildlife Trust

Brown raptor with outstretched wings and yellow talons holding bits of twig while flying over a blurred green-brown background.

Gorgeous shot of a Marsh Harrier with nesting materials, taken by Roger Jones, at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve

Pinkish-brown Jay with a blue-striped wing patch perched on a branch, holding a small green berry in its beak.

By a country mile - the most colourfully flamboyant of the usually monochrome crow family - the Jay. As spotted by Phil Winter.

Thought I'd try Leechpool Woods for Firecrests after @wwres.bsky.social put the idea in my head. 3 encounters, this one so close I had to step back to focus, stayed in the open for ages. No call recording used to attract! @sussexwildlife.bsky.social #firecrest #Horsham #birds

Have you ever seen a field of these little grassy mounds?

Senior Land Adviser, Rich Black, tells us what's going on beneath these hills - created by Yellow Meadow Ants 🐜

https://f.mtr.cool/ouolkilfco

📷Ant mounds © Sienna Black / Yellow Meadow Ants © Chris Bentley

Group of young people walking along a narrow heathland path under heavy clouds; one person holds a bird ID sheet.

Group of young people smiling on a wooden boardwalk across marshy ground in a bare winter woodland

Two shaggy brown Exmoor ponies in a sunlit grassy clearing by a pine woodland beneath a blue sky with white clouds.

Fantastic recent youth event at Old Lodge Nature Reserve, Walk & Talk with Trainee Ranger Callum exploring the Ashdown Forest, seeing Woodlark, Raven, Stonechat, our Exmoor ponies & Newts! Thanks to our Toyota electric mini-bus, we were able to offer free transport 📸 Katie Bell

Looking down over around six four-petalled pinky/purple flowers, with others about to open.

Cuckoo cuckoo! Cuckooflower is out.
aka Milkmaids
aka Lady's Smock
aka Pink Folly
aka Meadowcress
@sussexwildlife.bsky.social
@bsbibotany.bsky.social
#WildflowerHour
#UKwildlife

Hello and welcome!

Outdoor briefing: group of forestry workers listening under a canopy while a leader gestures, chainsaws and truck nearby.

A brilliant Ranger Day at Graffham, organised by Ranger Dav. The SWT team were joined by staff from the SDNP, National Trust (including former trainee Pip) & Chichester Conservancy. Loads of Birch, Pine & Rhododendron was cleared. A great day.

📷© Sarah Quantrill

Lapwing with a long crest and iridescent dark wings standing on a muddy shoreline by calm water.

Close-up of a crested black-and-white Lapwing with long spiky head plumes and white cheek patches.

Love isn't blind when it comes to Lapwings - it's all about the 'do. Spikier the better. March is when they month establish territories & choose their mates. Quiffs up! 📸 Barry Yates

A view over reedbeds and a waterbody, under bright blue skies.

80 bird species in warm sun at Rye Harbour NR today including 22+ Sandwich Tern, c100 Avocet, Spotted Redshank, c450 Golden Plover, Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Red Kite, lots of singing Chiffchaff and loads more.
@sussexwildlife.bsky.social
@sussexornitholo.bsky.social
#UKwildlife
#UKbirds

The constant calling of the Chiffchaff is always a comforting sign that Spring is springing! @sussexwildlife.bsky.social #RSPRPulborough #birds

A view from a Rye Harbour bird hide of saltmarsh and saline pool habitats just after high tide today. The skies are cloudy.

Gooders Hide, Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, perhaps best just after high-tide, is a good place to compare Rock Pipits and 'Scandinavian' Rock Pipits in summer plumage right now. It was good to show both to 'Guide in the Hide' visitors today.
@sussexwildlife.bsky.social
@sussexornitholo.bsky.social

World Water Day event: guided walks, talks, Family Fun Day (Sun 22 Mar 10am–4pm), Sat 21–Sun 22 March at Seven Sisters NNR.

On 21 & 22 March join the South Downs National Park Celebration of Water event at Seven Sisters. Walks, talks & more - Site Manager Mark leads a walk & Marine Conservation Officer Sarah is giving a talk. Book here https://f.mtr.cool/xmqyxeinlx

Smiling woman in green Sussex Wildlife Trust jacket with binoculars beside a muddy Conservation Hit Squad vehicle.

Grassy coastal meadow of white umbels of Moon Carrot and purple flowers overlooking pale sea and distant chalk cliffs of the Seven Sisters.

Six volunteers with rakes and bundles of brush on a grassy cliff overlooking white chalk sea cliffs and a blue sky with Seven Sisters behind

For #InternationalWomensDay we celebrate all the amazing women and girls in conservation. Ranger Sarah Quantrill will soon be leaving the Trust, but today we celebrate all the wonderful work she's done with us over the years https://f.mtr.cool/ogxcntxaxp

Our Comms Officer Kai saw some Ringed Plover on the Lancing shoreline last week on an after work walk. 

These adorable little birds are vulnerable to disturbance, so if you try to get some snaps of your own, do so from a good distance!

📷© Kai Hilton

Frog's head at the waterline, golden eyes above the surface with a mirrored reflection beneath.

Frog head peeking above a pond's surface near vertical reeds, eyes and reflection visible.

frog head floating at the water’s surface with a sharp eye and mirrored reflection.

Well, hello there spring watchers! The Frogs are spawning. Fab pics by Glynn Rubidge

Each winter evening at dusk, magic happens in the sky - watch our film on Brighton's epic Starling murmurations 🐦‍⬛

https://f.mtr.cool/gziscljcne

🎥© Kerry Williams & Kai Hilton
📷© Kai Hilton

Small brown Dartford Warbler with grey head and orange legs perched on thorny bramble branches.

From Barry Yates - "At least 2 Dartford Warblers in Brambles at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, finding lots of food in the warm sunshine, hidden or obscured by twigs for 99% of the time!"  Dartford Warblers need Gorse for surviving cold winters. They only eat insects & don't migrate in winter.

Promotional image for Channel 4 show Dirty Business. Two men in waders standing waist-deep in water examining a device; family on shore and dead fish visible underwater.

Watched Dirty Business? Feeling despair, fury, frustration and outrage? You are not alone.

A new water law is coming. Let your MP know that it must have teeth. 

https://f.mtr.cool/aoypesazoq

Image © Dirty Business / Channel 4

Happy World Book Day!

Why not take a moment today to digital detox? Get outside in this welcome weather, sit with the sounds of nature, and get stuck into a real life analogue book 📚📖 

📷Blue Tit © Alan Price

Yellow as brimstone - flying in the sun they can look very bright

Leaf-shaped pale yellow Brimstone butterfly with a small brown spot, wings closed, perched on a thorny brown stem.

Blue skies and warm sunshine in March means Brimstones, one of our earliest butterflies. 

Seen at our Southerham Farm Nature Reserve today, and no doubt lots of other places. Have you seen a Brimstone yet? 

#ukspring

📷 © Bob Eade

Absolutely not getting those little feet wet under any circumstances! 👣

🎥Dunlin © Kai Hilton

Beautiful

Feather detail of black birds can be difficult to capture, but this Coot was taken with cloud diffused light.
It fits today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme of #PerfectLighting

Five people in green reflective vests smiling in front of a small blue shed labeled "Eco Hut".

Smiling man in a green shirt and cap standing outdoors in a cleared, wooded nature reserve with trees and a white mill house in the background.

Smiling woman in a gray beanie and dark jacket standing in Woods Mill nature reserve with ivy-covered trees behind her.

Smiling woman in a navy coat and plaid scarf standing in a sunlit, leafless woodland at Woods Mill with a white mill house visible in the background.

Meet some of our team of wonderful volunteer Woods Mill Wardens, keeping a regular eye out for what's happening on the reserve. Do give them a wave if you see them on patrol! https://f.mtr.cool/kwwmvcgmge

Smiling person wearing glasses and bright green gardening gloves holds a muddy glove with a small earthworm.

Group of six people in woodland installing and inspecting a wooden bird box on a tree, one person taking notes.

Carpet of white snowdrops covering a grassy woodland floor, green leaves and a few blurred yellow daffodils in the background.

The Youth Rangers had a great session at our youth-led urban nature reserve The Deneway recently. They may have discovered something rather exciting! Words & photos by Youth Action Officer Katie Bell
https://f.mtr.cool/rowczcwlmm

Two large white and yellow star-shaped flowers and green lobed leaves.

The Wood Anemones down the lane are flowering a fortnight earlier than last year. Feels too soon and too fast. Still, better enjoy it 🤍.
#UKwildlife
#Sussexwildlife
@bsbibotany.bsky.social
@wildflowerhour.bsky.social
@sussexwildlife.bsky.social

Well-camouflaged brown mottled bird a Woodcock resting among leaf litter and undergrowth, one eye visible

Lifer for Barry Clough: "I've seen Woodcock roding, silhouettes against a darkening sky, but at Pulborough I was steered towards a resting bird hidden deep in the undergrowth by helpful fellow birder, Gary. Photo is heavily cropped, I was never anywhere near the bird!"

Things we saw this week on rainy days:

🐝One of our first bees of the year
🌱Early spring flowers starting to bloom
🪱Gulls paddling the wet ground for worms

No matter how grey February can be, there is always something to see. 

📷Daffodils © Nigel Symington