Sounds like hard work at RSPB Pulborough Brooks

If you visit RSPB Pulborough Brooks right now you will be able to listen to the results of years of heathland and woodland restoration work.

Woodlarks are singing, nightjars are churring and there has even been a lesser spotted woodpecker heard drumming on the Heathland restoration area. Scarce breeding birds such as woodcock, spotted flycatcher, nightjar and woodlark have all been putting on a show at Pulborough Brooks over the last month.

Another welcome sound has been the drumming display of the lesser spotted woodpecker. This is the smallest and rarest of the three woodpeckers that are resident in Britain. Found mainly in open woods and copses, it tends to frequent the tops of trees, searching for larvae, spiders and wood-boring insects on smaller branches. This spring has seen an unprecedented number of sightings of these elusive birds at Pulborough Brooks, delighting many visitors.

Pete Hughes, RSPB warden said: “All these species prefer open woodland, heathland and parkland. Our work over the last five years to remove some of the conifer plantation and the thinning and coppicing of the deciduous woodland has resulted in these specialised species moving in – exactly the result we were after.”

Another species which has benefited from this work is the nightjar. These rather strange migrant birds make an almost mechanical whirring sound – known as ‘Churring’. Beautifully camouflaged during the day, they nest on the ground in open woodland and heaths, taking to the air at dusk in search of moths and other flying insects.

Pete Hughes added: “Now is a fantastic time to visit the reserve to find these species, alongside other songsters, such as nightingales, blackcaps and garden warblers, as well as to explore the Heathland trails for a wide variety of other wildlife.”

For more information on RSPB Pulborough Brooks, go to www.rspb.org.uk/pulboroughbrooks

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