Williamson's Weekly Nature Notes

The painting by Philip Rickman from A History of Sussex Birds shows what used to be a common sight on the bare chalk fields of the Downs.

It used to be so common it was called the shepherds' friend because the beautiful song given at dusk and through calm moonlit nights was all those lonely old fellows had to cheer them through the late lambing and into summer when they lived out in their tiny vans among the hills.

Just to show how common they were, the bird was given nine different names by the Sussex shepherds. Curlew, great plover, hill-curlew, little bustard, night-curlew, night-hawk, norfolk plover, thick-knee, and thick-kneed bustard were collected by John Walpole-Bond.

For full feature see West Sussex Gazette April 9