Fifteen of us had a lovely day up on the South Downs for the walk on ‘The Burgh.’  Conditions were mostly sunny but with a cold wind at times.  We started to see Chiffchaffs and Chaffinches almost immediately in the car park.  Once up in the open countryside Skylarks were our constant soundtrack and could be seen ascending and descending.  One or two Herring Gulls were on the wing.  It was not long after setting off that the first Yellowhammers could be seen in the hedges and trees along the paths.  Also in evidence were Grey Partridges, mostly in pairs.  We probably saw about eight of them in total throughout the walk, so hopefully they are increasing in numbers here.  Red-Legged Partridge and Pheasant were added to our growing list, and corvids such as Magpie, Rook, Carrion Crow and Jackdaw were busy looking for food all around us.

Lots of Dunnock, Blue and Great Tit, and Blackbirds flitted around the hedgerows and Buzzards, Red Kites and a Kestrel entertained us with aerial acrobatics.  A pair of Raven called to each-other and flew overhead.  We spotted a Buzzard sitting on top of a hedge and three Red Kites in a field, one clearly eating something.  Looking towards Arundel Castle in the distance one or two Marsh Harriers were seen drifting low over the dramatic landscape.  They were causing havoc amongst the Lapwing in the fields, putting them all up in the air.

There was some excitement when some of the group caught sight of two distant White Tailed Eagles but, unfortunately, they had drifted away before most of us could see them.

Hares represented the mammals and could be observed chasing each other around the field margins.  Just before we stopped in a suitably sheltered and sunny spot for lunch a Green-Veined White butterfly was spotted and we all had good views of it eventually.

We speeded up as much as we could on the walk back to the cars due to the appearance of some ominous black clouds.  It began to hail and then rain as we approached the car park, stopping as suddenly as it had started.  Other birds seen on the way round were Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Wren, Robin, Song Thrush, Long Tailed Tit, Greenfinch, Goldfinch.  By the end of the walk, we had seen a total of 32 bird species in all.