12th November 2019 - Denton, East Sussex

Whilst away in Ethiopia we received news of a Great Bustard at Beachy Head which stayed a couple of hours before flying off strongly west. Surprisingly before our arrival home the bird was relocated by a non-birder on The Downs between Denton and Bishopstone and news got out via a local residents Facebook group.

Having flown in from Ethiopia the previous evening (11th Nov) I was pretty knackered but due to jet lag I woke up at 4am so decided to head to Denton. I arrived before it was even light and sat in the car and had some breakfast and as the sun was coming up walked to the field where it had been frequenting. As the light improved slightly it soon became apparent that the bird was still present and showing reasonably well. It was great to see this species on the rolling landscape of The Downs where it looked relatively at home.

This bird is part of a reintroduction in Wiltshire and was released there in August last year. This bird hatched from an egg originating in Spain. The bird was also bearing a red ring on the left leg with the code '92'.

Great Bustard, Denton, East Sussex