Foreword When the idea was mooted at the start of 2020 to produce an annual Henfield bird report it seemed like a very good idea. After all, how hard could it be? Well, with over 7,000 records produced during the year giving 136 different species it didn't quite turn out to be the few nights' work originally envisaged. However, although it was a more daunting task than first thought, it was still a hugely enjoyable and rewarding project to be a part of and hopefully the fruits of this labour within these pages are well worth the effort. Of course, there was nothing wrong with producing a report every five years as has happened since 2000, but it did mean that the intervening four years would have no complete assessment of the birdlife within the Parish. By producing an annual account a more accurate picture can be built up, and with several red-listed species occurring regularly in the Parish their numbers can be monitored and we can hopefully in a small way help to offer them some protection. One reason that the reports were only produced
every five years was that the amount of resources required to produce such an in-depth report would have made a yearly report very hard to do, survey fatigue could well have become a problem. Therefore this year's is a "stripped down" effort when compared to the "big book" of last year. However, monitoring of breeding Swifts and House Martins will continue every summer, whilst the area surveys, previously only carried out every five years, are now carried out every year. The popular garden bird survey will return in 2024, which will also mark the silver jubilee of Henfield Birdwatch. As in the 2019 report, all the photographs have been taken locally and by members of Henfield Birdwatch, so a big thank you goes to all who provided their pictures. And of course a massive thanks must go to everyone who has provided records of what they have seen in Henfield during the year; without those sightings a publication like this would not be possible.
- Paul Cole
Credits Design and Writing: Paul Cole Editor: Val Bentley Additionall Writing: Mike Russell Photographers: Nick Davies, Paula Blake, Val Bentley, Roger French Henfield Birdwatch Committee: Chairman: Mike Russell Secretary: Sara Taylor Treasurer: Val Bentley Newsletter editor: Deborah Colgate Social media: Brian Lang Recorder: Paul Cole Surveys co-ordinator: Nigel Colgate Publicity: Lesley Milward Photograph Credits: Front cover: Cetti’s Warbler, Nick Davies Page one: Betley Bridge at dawn, Paul Cole Final thoughts: The River Adur at dusk, Val Bentley Rear cover: Reed Bunting, Val Bentley
www.henfieldbirdwatch.co.uk Henfield Birdwatch 2020
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