Petworth and Bognor Angling Club

As an angler you probably enjoy the birdlife that you observe during those occasional 'quieter' fishing moments. The Sussex Ornithological Society conduct a couple of brief surveys each year on several sections of the Rother including our Coultershaw stretch. These are only brief 'snapshots' but they reveal that we can boast over 60 species - no doubt other species can be observed at other times of year. The species identified in recent Surveys were........

Blackbird	Blackcap	Blue Tit	Bullfinch	Canada Goose
Carrion Crow	Chaffinch	Chiffcaff	Coal Tit	Collared Dove
Cormorant	Coot	Cuckoo	Dunnock	Willow Warbler
Gadwall	Robin	Goldcrest	Goldfinch	Great Spotted Woodpecker
Great Tit	Greenfinch	Mistle Thrush	Grey Heron	Greylag Goose
Grey Wagtail	House Martin	House Sparrow	Jay	Garden Warbler
Kingfisher	Lapwing	Kestrel	Linnet	Long-tailed Tit
Magpie	Mallard	Mandarin	Marsh Tit	Green Woodpecker
Moorhen	Mute Swan	Nightingale	Nuthatch	Lesser Spotted Woodpecker
Pied Wagtail	Redshank	Woodpigeon	Reed Bunting	Red-Legged Partridge
Rook	Sand Martin	Sedge Warbler	Shelduck	Shoveler
Skylark	Snipe	Song Thrush	Starling	Spotted Flycatcher
Stock Dove	Swallow	Swift	Teal	Treecreeper
Tufted Duck	Turtle Dove	Whitethroat	Pheasant	Fieldfare
Wren	Yellowhammer	Yellow Wagtail	Barn Owl	Little Egret
Sparrow Hawk	Buzzard	Merlin

How many of these have you spotted on your trips to the Rother, quite a few no doubt. The Barn Owl, Little Egret, Buzzard and Sparrowhawk were all added to the list by Members. The latest addition to this list was a Merlin spotted by Peter Springate at Shopham in September 2009. Please let us know if you see any other species ( with date and site ) and we will add them to our list. Contact the Webmaster using the link on the left.

Many of our Members are keen ornithologists, to read what we hope is the first of many articles submitted by one of our more knowledgable Members please click HERE.