SPOTTED!
Wildlife in (and around) Hailsham
by Tim Fox
I took the plunge this year in attending one of the many outdoor keep fit sessions held around the Hailsham area. For me, still stuck working from home 100% of my working time, not only is it a chance to get out of the house for some fresh air, along with face-to-face socialising (at suitable distance) and getting some of my 150 minutes weekly exercise, it was also an opportunity to go birding somewhere new. I saw my first and last swifts of the year at Tuesday evening sessions at Western Road recreation ground and, over the course of three months clocked up another 21 species, including greenfinch.
Greenfinch (scientific name chloris chloris, derived not from the mythological nymph Chloris but instead from Greek Khloris meaning, amongst other things, green) used to be a common site on our birdfeeders but, as with chaffinch, their population dropped significantly from 2006 onwards due an outbreak of the parasite trichomonosis gallinae, the infected birds suffering with swelling in the neck; eventually they die of starvation as they cannot swallow food.
About the same size as a house sparrow, but with less variable plumage, the male is a bright olive green, the females and young closer to brown, with all of them showing yellow bands in the wing. The beak is conical and heavy looking, which is great for cracking open seed shells, including sunflower.
In Spring, there is usually one tweeting and trilling away in the top of the trees of Cortlandt (stop number 11 on the Hailsham Heritage Trail), and sometimes I am lucky enough to hear one fly over home but, one Tuesday evening recently, whilst flat on my back doing bicycle crunches at Western Road, I was treated to a family flyover with one adult being chased by three hungry offspring all demanding to be fed. I’m sure Andrea (the instructor) didn’t notice me miss a few peddles as I enjoyed the avian spectacle.
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.
Pic: Credit Wikimedia Commons
