SPOTTED!
Wildlife in (and around) Hailsham
by Tim Fox
I was astounded recently to be able to walk less than ten minutes from my town centre residence and hear a nightingale singing. The sun had just disappeared under the horizon as I approached, and many birds were taking part in the dusk chorus – the soundscape filled with song of blackbird, song thrush, robin, starling and even house sparrows, all of them saying (shouting!) goodnight to their neighbours. Every now and again though, the unmistakeable tune of the nightingale – an at-times fast-paced succession of high- and low-pitched notes – could be heard. As it got darker and the other birds quietened down, the melodious night-songster kept going, seemingly oblivious to the new housing estate that has only recently sprung up less than 100 metres away, and the revellers from a nearby party passing by his perch. A bird that many people would call a “little brown job”, nightingale (luscinia megarhynchos) is slightly larger than a house sparrow, and has a creamy/buff chest and underside, with brown/orange feathers and a red/brown rump tail. It is one of many birds that migrates to breed in northern Europe in our summer, then spending our winter in Africa. They arrive here mid to late April, with males singing to advertise their territory into late May. The UK breeding population has declined severely (91% decline from 1967 to 2007), with population explosion of deer (that like eating dense undergrowth, favoured by nesting nightingale) partly to blame. Some of the favoured nightingale sites also happen to be classified for planning as brownfield, which makes them prone to being lost to development. I treasure every time I hear a nightingale sing, because I don’t know how long it will be before they become extinct as a breeding bird in the UK.
Photo credit: Tim Fox
Tim can be found most Saturday mornings gracing the airwaves with Pat Bradley on 95.9 Hailsham FM, discussing local happenings between 8 and 10am.
