Buzzard
A message from Sharon Vincent yesterday:
I thought you might like to know that I saw a couple of buzzards in the field next to the allotments this afternoon. They were right over by the stile into School Lane, flying really low and then they flew off in the direction of Sheep Field, rising up on the thermals.
A buzzard photographed in the park’s Arboretum, in June 2018 by DKG
It almost looked like they were dancing with each other, definitely a courting pair, I think. It was beautiful to see them so clearly. I don’t think my cat shared my enthusiasm, she looked quite scared and rightly so!
Thank you, Sharon.
A lone buzzard often hunts across the park in the spring and summer (photographed above in 2018 by DKG) but we rarely see a pair, particularly a courting pair. By this time of year, an established pair will have chosen a nest site or have returned to an old one, and will have built (or rebuilt) their nest.
It would be lovely if this was a new pairing of youngsters that have picked out a nest site somewhere in the park and will return year after year to lay eggs and rear their young here. What a catch that would be for a new nature reserve.
Header picture: Buzzard © Alan Piper (CC BY-ND 2.0)
Footer picture: Buzzard by SMH
Southwick Country Park Nature Reserve 
A few days ago I saw a large bird flying high over fields behind Blind Lane. We often see buzzards in the spring and summer but I thought this bird looked larger and darker although I wasn’t able to get a good view through my binoculars.
There are red kites in the area; could it have been a red kite?
Perhaps, it’s difficult to say. Being so high up it looked darker. It may have had a forked tail.