9:30am Tuesday 6th May Pulborough Brooks RSPB All day car sharing trip Bring lunch
Leader: Rebecca Dunne (07879 645971) rebecca9dunne@gmail.com Please advise Rebecca if you intend to come.
Located in the Arun Valley with beautiful views across to the South Downs. A good time of year for newly arrived Nightingales and warblers and breeding waders. Maybe we’ll also spot a White-tailed Eagle? A great variety of habitats including wet grassland, pools and scrapes, scrub and woodland. Option to visit RSPB Rackham Viewpoint afterwards.
Meet: Gather on the terrace behind the café from 9:30. We’ll watch and listen to the birds until the centre opens at 10am
RSPB Pulborough Brooks, Wiggonholt, Pulborough, RH20 2EL Toilets, shop and café open 10am – 4pm
9:45 for 10am start Monday 12th May Knepp Estate – White Stork Safari 10am-12:30-1pm
Guided walk with White Stork Project Manager – Laura Vaughan-Hirsch MEMBERS ONLY Car sharing trip
20 places Cost £20 Bring lunch.
Must be booked with Rebecca. Priority to drivers offering lifts. (07879 645971) rebecca9dunne@gmail.com
Opportunity to hear about the White Stork Project and to visit parts of the estate not normally open to the public.
Laura Vaughan-Hirsch, oversees the daily care, feeding and monitoring of the storks and leads a team of volunteers who help with all this work. Laura also gives talks, tours and presentations, fostering awareness of the project.
After lunch option to walk around other parts of the estate. Good time of year for Nightingales, Yellowhammers, warblers and, if we are lucky, Turtle Doves.
“Knepp: a trailblazing 3,500-acre rewilding project…Since we began rewilding just twenty years ago, endangered species such as nightingales, turtle doves and purple emperor butterflies have found sanctuary here… Herds of old English longhorn cattle, Tamworth pigs, Exmoor ponies and red and fallow deer wander the landscape, their disturbance shaping the water meadows, shrubland and wood pasture, creating new habitats for wildlife. Knepp’s dynamic, rebounding ecosystem is a story of hope, showing how nature can bounce back if we let it.”
Meet: Campsite/Safari car park, New Barn Farm, Swallows Lane, Dial Post, West Sussex, RH13 8NN (Sat nav postcode may take you further along Swallows Lane). The track you are looking for is just to the north of Dial Post. Do not go to the Walker’s car park at Swallows Farm where the new shop and café car are. Please arrive in plenty of time. Parking at Knepp can be confusing!
MINIBUS TRIP Saturday 17th May Dungeness MEMBERS ONLY Bring lunch
Leader: Rebecca Dunne (07879 645971) rebecca9dunne@gmail.com Booking via Sandra Hucks (see above)
Come to the dramatic sweep of shingle that is Dungeness in Kent. The diverse habitats of this spectacular coastal area always produce a wide range of species. Huge expanse of shingle along with important freshwater habitat, fen, wet grassland and wildflower meadows. We will start at the Dungeness Estate NNR beach where a warden will tell us what’s in the area. Then, depending on what they say, a bit of sea watching and looking at the habitats around the de-commissioned nuclear power station, before moving on to the RSPB’s main Dungeness reserve for the afternoon. This time last year highlights included Bittern, Cuckoo and Bearded Tits.
Café and toilets at Dungeness Estate NNR, steam railway station, next to the car park.
Dungeness RSPB reserve open until 5pm. Toilets (visitor centre with drinks may be reopened by then)**
10am Wednesday 21st May London Wetland Centre WWT Morning Walk
(Option to walk West route after coffee/lunch)
Leader: Christo Impey (Please advise Sandra Hucks if you intend to come sandra_hucks@hotmail.com 07906 150407)
LWC brings the countryside to London. The lakes, pools and gardens are home to a huge variety of wildlife. 180 bird species are recorded each year.
Meet: on the bridge outside the entrance – Queen Elizabeth Walk, Barnes SW13 9WT
Non WWT members £16.54 Concessions £14.90 Easily accessible by bus and rail; details on WWT website.
9:15 for 9:30 start Tuesday 27th May New Forest-3 hour Guided walk with Marcus Ward from ‘Wild New Forest’
15 places MEMBERS ONLY Cost £11 Bring lunch. Car sharing trip
Must be booked with Rebecca. Priority to drivers offering lifts. (07879 645971) rebecca9dunne@gmail.com
By popular demand another 3-hour guided walk in the New Forest with Marcus Ward, probably Acres Down, but Marcus will advise nearer the time based on what species are around. Hoping for classic New Forest species such as Hawfinch, Crossbill, Redstart, Firecrest, Siskin, Woodlark, Snipe, Cuckoo and maybe Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. Marcus Ward “Potentially some rough terrain. We recommend people wear stout footwear and dress for the forecast.”
Option to go on elsewhere after lunch – Normandy Marshes perhaps.
NB 9am start Saturday 31st May Thursley NNR Morning walk aiming to finish 12-1pm Car sharing trip
Leader: Andy Roberts (07746 761853) andy.w.roberts@btinternet.com Please advise Andy if you intend to come.
One of the largest remaining fragments of heathland in Surrey. Extensive areas of open dry heathland, peat bogs with boardwalks, pine and deciduous woodlands. A good place at this time of year for Dartford Warbler, Redstart, Woodlark, Stonechat, Reed Bunting, Willow Warbler and maybe Tree Pipit and Cuckoo.
Meet: Moat Car Park, south of Elstead, GU8 6LW on minor road between Elstead and Thursley.
No toilets. Cafes in Elstead.
9:30am Wednesday 4th June Richmond Park Morning Walk
Leader: Phil Davies (07773 917410) davieskut@blueyonder.co.uk
The largest and wildest of the Royal Parks, a National Nature Reserve, London’s biggest SSSI and a European Special Area of Conservation. Route will depend on what’s around but will include the Pen Ponds. Whatever the time of year there are always interesting things to find in the many varied habitats of the park.
Meet: Pembroke Lodge car park TW10 5HX. Nearest entrance Richmond Gate. Buses 65 and 371 stop near Richmond Gate. Toilets, café and shop.
N.B. You cannot drive between Robin Hood Gate and Kingston Gate or enter via Sheen Gate.
NB 9am start Thursday 12th June Bushy Park Morning Walk
Leader: John Strachan (07392 533136) jsandse@live.co.uk
Bushy Park is the second largest of London’s Royal Parks. It has a rich range of habitats from woodland, wetland and ancient trees to acid grassland with its distinctive Yellow Meadow Ant mounds. The route taken will depend on what birds are around but there’s a good chance of Little Owl, Stonechat, Skylark and Meadow Pipit.
Meet: near refreshment kiosk in Diana Fountain car park. Car entrance from Hampton Court Road, KT8 9DD
Buses 111, 216, 411, 461, R68 stop nearby. 10 minutes’ walk from Hampton Court station.
Toilets by the playground. Refreshment kiosk.
7:15 for 7:45pm start Saturday 14th June Evening Nightjar Walk – Farnham Heath RSPB
Leader: Rebecca Dunne (07879 645971) rebecca9dunne@gmail.com Please advise Rebecca if you intend to come.
Walk accompanied by RSPB warden or volunteer. We will start with a search for heathland birds around this lovely site (Woodlark, Stonechat, Dartford Warbler etc), and then hopefully see and hear churring Nightjars as dusk falls.
Meet: Rural Life Centre car park (next to entrance to RSPB reserve) The Reeds Road, Tilford, GU10 2DL. RSPB staff will kindly open the gates from 7.15pm specially for us. Please arrive well before 7.45pm and not at the last minute.
The gates will be reopened shortly after 10pm. Toilets next to car park.**
9:30am Wednesday 18th June Splash Point and Seaford Head All day car sharing trip Bring lunch
Leader: Rebecca Dunne (07879 645971) rebecca9dunne@gmail.com Please advise Rebecca if you intend to come.
An outing to the East Sussex coast. The chalk cliffs at Splash Point host the largest breeding colony of Kittiwakes between Devon and Northumberland and Rock Pipits breed here. We will investigate and do a bit of sea watching from the breakwater. Next, we’ll drive up to South Hill Barns on Seaford Head and walk along the cliffs, searching through the sheltered scrub and woodland and dropping down into Hope Bottom on the way. We’ll picnic on the species rich chalk grassland above the cliffs, looking over the Seven Sisters (a fantastic view if it’s clear). Fulmar, Raven and Peregrine nest along here. Then we’ll walk down into Cuckmere Haven to look over the famous ‘Cuckmere Meanders’, saltmarsh and pools. We’ll return to the sea front at end of the day for another look at the cliffs and maybe a Holy Cow ice-cream!
Meet: at Splash Point, Seaford Nearest postcode BN25 1JJ but keep going to the southernmost end of the Esplanade.
Public toilets on the seafront near the Martello Tower or at Sainsbury’s, The Drove, Newhaven, BN9 0AG.
Drinks kiosk at South Hill Barns.
7:30pm Thursday 26th June Richmond Park Evening Walk
Leaders: Rebecca Dunne (07879 645971) rebecca9dunne@gmail.com and Sandra Hucks
An evening stroll around the centre of the park – Pen Ponds, Sidmouth Slope, Ballet School etc with the possibility of owls, bats and hopefully a beautiful sunset too. May be cancelled if weather poor. Please let Rebecca know if you intend to come.
Meet: Pen Ponds car park kiosk BUT please note that you will have to walk/cycle into the park. The park’s road gates will be closed by the time we leave. Some of us will be walking in from Robin Hood Gate, meeting there at 7pm. Finishing around 10pm.
9:30am Monday 30th June Pagham Harbour RSPB All day car sharing trip Bring lunch
Leader: Rebecca Dunne (07879 645971) rebecca9dunne@gmail.com Please advise Rebecca if you intend to come.
Glorious and peaceful reserve. One of the few undeveloped stretches of the Sussex coast. Internationally important site for wildlife with saltmarsh and mudflats, lagoons, reedbeds, farmland and shingle beach. The highlight of summer here is the tern and gull breeding colony. Elsewhere, there’ll still be plenty of warblers Whitethroats, Chiffchaff, Blackcaps, Reed, Sedge and Cetti’s Warblers. Early migrant waders such as Spotted Redshank are a possibility.
We will park at the small visitor centre and follow the path along the sheltered inlet to Church Norton and the beach…and back again – at least 4 miles. It may be possible to park at Church Norton to shorten the walk. Option to visit the harbour’s North Wall later in the day depending on what birds are around.
Meet: Pagham Harbour RSPB car park, Selsey Road, Siddlesham, West Sussex, PO20 7NE
Parking charges if not a national RSPB member so bring membership card to display on dashboard.
Toilets, drinks and ice cream at the small visitor centre.
9:30am Tuesday 8th July – NOTE CHANGE OF DATE Knepp Estate All day car sharing trip Bring lunch
Leader: Rebecca Dunne (07879 645971) rebecca9dunne@gmail.com Please advise Rebecca if you intend to come.
On this return visit we hope to see the White Storks with well grown or fledged young and, if it’s sunny a good range of butterflies especially Purple Emperors (updates on The Purple Emperors https://apaturairis.blogspot.com).
This pioneering rewilding project has turned failing farmland into a profitable site of wildlife abundance. Herds of free-roaming cattle, pigs, horses and deer wander the landscape, their disturbance creating new habitats. A range of nationally declining species such as Yellowhammers and Turtle Doves thrive here. Be prepared for a long walk over rough ground.
Meet: Swallows Farm Shop next to the Walkers’ car park, accessed from Worthing Road (A24), Dial Post, RH13 8NQ
Do not drive down the old entrance track! We will be starting our walk from Swallows Farm Shop.
Shop, drinks kiosk, café (Wilding Kitchen 9am-4pm) and toilets at Swallows Farm.
10am Tuesday 15th July Thursley – Dragonflies and Birds Morning walk Car sharing trip
Leader: Diana Housley (07710 243636) diana@djhousley.plus.com Please advise Diana if you intend to come.
Walk along the boardwalks in search of the 20+ species of dragonflies and damselflies which live around the open ponds and ditches of the reserve. There should be birds as well. Stonechats, Dartford Warblers and, if we’re lucky Curlew and Hobbies (hunting the dragonflies!).
Meet: Moat Car Park, south of Elstead, GU8 6LW on minor road between Elstead and Thursley.
No toilets. Cafes in Elstead.
MINIBUS TRIP Saturday 19th July Rye Harbour Sussex Wildlife Trust Bring lunch MEMBERS ONLY 16 people
Leader: Rebecca Dunne (07879 645971) rebecca9dunne@gmail.com Booking via Sandra Hucks (see above)
A lovely coastal reserve to visit at any time of year. A mosaic of shingle ridges, saline lagoons, saltmarsh, grazing marsh with ditches, ponds, gravel pits and reedbeds.
Different lengths of walk available – all flat. 2-mile trail taking in 3 hides, saltmarshes and beach. 1 mile+ extension to Salt Pool and gravel pits. Longer 5½ mile trail to Castle Water if time allows.
Glass fronted Discovery Centre with shop, birding information and café (10am-4pm). Pub and cafe in the village.
Toilets near the car park and in the visitor centre.
MINIBUS TRIP Sunday 20th July Rye Harbour Sussex Wildlife Trust Bring lunch MEMBERS ONLY 16 people
Details as above for Saturday 19th July.
1pm Friday 25th July Denbies Hillside Afternoon Butterfly Walk
Leader: Sandra Hucks (07906 150407) sandra_hucks@hotmail.com Please advise Sandra if you intend to come
Dramatic chalk escarpment with panoramic views. A rich floral habitat and a fantastic place to spot butterflies both common and rare if the weather is good. Excellent for botanists and maybe we’ll see a few birds as well.
Please check with Sandra if the forecast is poor.
Meet: Denbies Hillside NT car park, Ranmore Common Rd, Dorking RH5 6SR No toilets
Bring NT card for free parking. Charge for non-NT members.
10am Tuesday 5th August Normandy and Keyhaven Marshes All day car sharing trip Bring lunch
Leader: Rebecca Dunne (07879 645971) rebecca9dunne@gmail.com
Morning visit to Normandy Marsh at Lymington then after lunch, we will make the 20-minute drive to Keyhaven to look at Keyhaven Lagoon, Fishtail Lagoon and maybe Butts Lagoon. Lymington and Keyhaven Marshes are a beautiful area of coastline. The internationally important coastal marshes and mudflats teem with fish and, as a result, thousands of sea birds and waders flock here. In previous years highlights of 60+ birds seen on this trip have included Eider, Wheatear, Ringed Plover, Little Ringed Plover and Grey Plover, Common and Wood Sandpipers, Sandwich and Little Terns, Dunlin and young Avocet. Wonderful views across the Solent to Hurst Castle and the Isle of Wight.
Meet: 10am in the Bath Road Car Park – Lymington, SO41 3SE Toilets and refreshment kiosk.
Free parking in Stanley Road and Spring Road just past The Mayflower pub SO41 3QD.
Bath Road car park £6.30 for 4 hours – ticket transferable to Keyhaven car park if you pay for the whole day.
Afternoon: Keyhaven car park, Keyhaven Rd, Milford on Sea, SO41 0TP £6.30 for 4 hours Toilets
The Gun pub opposite the car park at Keyhaven is a good place for refreshments at the end of the day
10am Wednesday 20th August Oare Marshes, Kent All day car sharing trip Bring lunch
Leader: Rebecca Dunne (07879 645971) rebecca9dunne@gmail.com Please advise Rebecca if you intend to come.
Of international importance for migratory birds, the reserve consists of one of the few grazing marshes left in Kent with freshwater dykes, scrapes, reedbed, saltmarsh and seawall. The autumn migration should be well under way by now, providing opportunities for us to test our identification skills with Little Stints, Whimbrel and Sandpipers etc as we explore this wonderful site overlooking the Swale. Will the Bonaparte’s Gull return this year? Also good for butterflies, Wheatear Whinchats, Terns and Wagtails also possible.
Meet: at the car park at the end of Church Road, Oare, ME13 0QA Parking charges for some spaces.
NB parking space is very limited so do try and share lifts.
No toilets – use nearby Sainsbury’s, Bysing Wood Rd, ME13 7UD
Café or pub in Oare at end of walk.