Yellow-billed Cuckoo found dead in East Sussex

02/10/2019

A Yellow-billed Cuckoo was discovered in residential Seaford, East Sussex, on the morning of 2 October.

The bird, which was very freshly dead and had presumably only just perished, was discovered lying between two large brick pillars on the path which runs out to Splash Point at the end of Gerald Road at around 09:30 by Mary-Anne Carter, who lives on Gerald Road and was out walking her dog.

She passed the unusual corpse to her neighbour, Robert Lawson, who commented: "I thought the bird looked like a cuckoo, or possibly a shrike.

"I took it home and looked in the Collins Bird Guide, and was able to identify it as a Yellow-billed Cuckoo."

This represents the second record for East Sussex and unfortunately bears a striking resemblance to the previous occurrence, which flew into a wall in Eastbourne and was picked up dead on 4 November 1952. There is also a single record from West Sussex, which again involved a freshly dead bird at Middleton-on-sea on 14 December 1960.

Incidentally, another Yellow-billed Cuckoo was found on St Mary's, Scilly, on the morning of 2 October, but happily was still alive. However, it quickly disappeared into gardens after its discovery and hasn't yet been seen again.

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Tonnes of pigeon faeces removed from Rye's Landgate Arch

Twenty five tonnes of "festering pigeon faeces" have been removed from an 675-year-old ancient English monument.

The bird droppings, which were almost three feet deep, had built up inside the towers of the Landgate Arch in Rye, East Sussex.

Cleaning contractors described the smell from the acidic guano as "awful - even through a facemask".

The historic structure is owed by Rother council and dates from 1340 but is not open to the public.

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Tawny owls casualties of speeding cars

A total of ten tawny owls were rescued from roadside incidents by WRAS

East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service (WRAS) is warning drivers in East Sussex to slow down when driving at night following a spate of collisions with tawny owls.

A total of ten tawny owls were hit over a six-week period at Ashdown Forest, Uckfield, Scaynes Hill, Magham Down, Hastings, Lewes, Polegate, and Eastbourne.

“Unfortunately three died out on site before our emergency ambulances arrived,” said WRAS Casualty Centre Manager and Director Kathy Martyn, “three had to be put down due to the severity of their injuries, two have been released and two are still in care.”

The incidents all happened at night or at dusk, when the owls are active, hunting on the roads for rodents in grass verges and roadside embankments. “Many people think it’s safe to drive fast at night as you can see approaching car’s head lights from a distance,” said Trevor Weeks, MBE founder of East Sussex WRAS, “sadly wildlife don’t have lights on them and could easily run out into the road causing potentially fatal injuries to both the animal as well as humans.”

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Things are looking good for rare bird in Rye area

Published on the 05 May 2014 

15:42

A BIRD that was on the brink of extinction a century ago is making a strong come-back in the Rye area.

Bitterns, related to herons, are secretive birds skilled at concealing themselves.

Bittern RSPB SUS-140205-101744001

The only real give-away to their presence can be the ‘booming’ call of the male and so this is used as a measure of how many bitterns are around.

Now for the first time in its history, two male bitterns are calling for mates a the RSPB’s Dungeness reserve on Romney Marsh.

Reserve warden Natalie Holt said, “We had two teams out last week, they were in entirely different parts of the reserve and they each heard a calling bittern close by at precisely the same time - so there has to be two.”

A century ago bitterns had been driven to extinction through hunting for the pot and the drainage of the reed beds for farming. Efforts to bring them back had been slow, with only 11 ‘booming’ males in the UK by 1997. RSPB Dungeness became part of the recovery programme when, in 2007, the creation of reed beds in the former gravel pits commenced to encourage them back. The habitat and associated fish take time to establish and mature, so it was only in 2010 the first confirmed breeding took place. Since then a single bittern has been heard and at least two females have nested each year. The arrival of a second male is great news for the project, bringing the total to 122 in the UK.

http://www.ryeandbattleobserver.co.uk/news/local/things-are-looking-good-for-rare-bird-in-rye-area-1-6035553

Our wildlife is under threat

Published on Saturday 13 October 2012 06:18

RARE birds of prey are being shot, trapped, poisoned and sold for profit in East Sussex.

That is the claim being made by conservation group the RSPB.

Now they are calling on animal lovers to play an active role in helping to protect birds of prey.

Birds of prey are protected by law, yet the latest figures published by the RSPB reveal yet another shameful year of poisoning, shooting and trapping for hen harriers, red kites, buzzards, peregrine falcons and other persecuted species.

In the South East, 40 incidents of wild bird crime were reported to the RSPB Investigations team last year, which accounted for just under 7% of the UK incidents reported in Birdcrime 2011.

These included 21 reported incidents of bird of prey persecution, 2 reports of egg collecting and 11 reports of the taking and sale of wild birds.

Samantha Stokes, speaking for the RSPB in the South East said: “We currently have a once in a lifetime opportunity to tackle these crimes in England and Wales.

“Too little has been done over the years to tackle these sickening attacks, but this could change with proposed reforms of wildlife law and policing.

Continued:  http://www.ryeandbattleobserver.co.uk/news/local-news/our-wildlife-is-under-threat-1-4345388