Seaford Head and the Cuckmere with the Ashdown Bird Group

 

Sunday 17th October 2021,

Seaford Head and Cuckmere Haven

Ashdown Bird Group

(6 members present)

For our latest outing we started at Seaford Head and followed a route that looped round from the car park, down Hope Bottom to the sea, turned east to the Cuckmere Haven and followed the river inland along its western edges before returning to the start via the Vanguard Way and Harry’s Bush on South Hill.

Courtesy of Martin Jeffree and OS Maps

This time the birding return was very modest with only 36 species seen, none of which were out of the ordinary. 

The weather was kind to us again with cool and pleasant conditions in the main but a little windy in exposed areas.

 

The target species for the day were migrant birds.

 

 

·         We got off to a good start, seeing a Kestrel and a Peregrine from the car park.

·         The walk down Hope Bottom to the sea, often a treasure trove for rare migrants, proved barren with a Chiffchaff, found by John, the only real candidate.   

·         On the sea there were a few Gannets and Cormorants but little else apart from the Black-headed Gulls.  The highlight was a seal which popped its head above the water before swimming west.

·         As we walked along the cliff tops towards the Cuckmere estuary a large flock of Curlews flew past us.

·         Rock Pipits were seen at the estuary.

·         As we entered the Cuckmere valley the most eye catching birds were the large flock of Great Black-backed Gulls on the ground in the fields and an even larger group of Canada Geese not far away from them.

·         On the river itself there was no sign of the usual Redshanks and Dunlin, hardly surprising really, given the  large group of canoeists on the water and the steady stream of walkers on both river banks.

·         When we looked down the channels leading from the river into the fields to the east we came across lots of Wigeon and a smaller number of Teal as well as the usual Grey Herons and Little Egrets.

·         Meadow Pipits, Skylarks, Stonechats and both Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers were the pick of the birds not mentioned so far.

 

 

 

It was hard work looking for birds today with little evidence of bird migration.  Nevertheless, we met the challenge and had a good time in an area of outstanding natural beauty