Birds of the South Downs
Birds of prey
A red kite ranges in size from 60cm to 70cm in length, their wingspan could be 5ft and males weigh 800g-1,200g and females 1,000g-1,300g. A buzzard is a bird with a wingspan of up to 1.4m males usually weigh 780g and females weigh 1,000g.
Sparrowhawks will in size range from 28cm-40cm and their wingspan will range from 60cm-80cm and they weigh from 150g-320g.
A kestrel is 32cm -50cm long with a wingspan of 65cm-82cm weighing 136g 314g
Females are noticeably larger than males!
The birds which I have talked about are the red kite, the buzzard, the sparrowhawk and the kestrel.
Owls
The diet of an owl includes insects, spiders, earthworms, crabs, fish, reptiles,
amphibians, birds, mice, voles and small rodents. Owls usually like to hunt as far away from the morning as possible as they are a nocturnal species. This means that they have extraordinarily good hearing and very fast reactions so when they hear a nose hundreds of feet away they bust into action. The will perch on an item which is 2 to 3 metres off the ground like a fence post, low branch or stump.
The male and female and female take it in turns to hunt for food for their young. They rip the prey into pieces to feed their young. By the age of 21 days old, an owlet can swallow a small mouse or shrew whole.
The mystery of the white tailed eagle
Sightings of a 2.6m wingspan eagle have been made at Amberley Wildbrooks, Eastbourne and over Bury Hill in 2021.
It is the first confirmed sighting in this area for over 50 years. Conservationists think that it is one of those that was released in the Isle of Wight as part of a reintroduction programme.