Saturday 20th April: Seaford Head

 Today we were leading an SDOS walk at Seaford Head. Ten members gathered by the car park, in pretty cold conditions. I had dressed for Spring, but winter layers would have felt warmer!

A Common Whitethroat was singing from a song post as we  arrived...and still there when we returned at the end of the walk! We descended through Hope Gap, but this was disappointingly quiet, with few migrants seen other than a reasonable count of Chiffchaff. Greenfinch, Goldfinch and Linnet all showed well as they flitted around the scrub. As we reached the grassy slopes below the path, we had a good opportunity to compare and contrast the Meadow and Rock Pipits feeding amongst the vegetation.

Rock Pipit (Richard Allan)

The steps to the beach are now sealed off, and the tide was quite high, but we managed to find a pair of Whimbrel perched on the rocks below, and several Fulmars soared overhead. On the top of the ridge, a Skylark was sat on the grass, its crest raised and ruffled by the wind.

At the River Cuckmere, a pair of Dunlin foraged in a small creek. Through the scope we could see they were sporting their summer plumage, and all were able to see their distinctive black bellies. A group of Whimbrel circled over the river, and to our surprise, we discovered later from photos, that a Bar-tailed Godwit in rufous summer plumage was trailing at the back of the party.  

Whimbrel and Bar-tailed Godwit (Richard Allan)

We clambered back uphill past Harry's Bush but little was noted here, although Mistle Thrush  were heard by some.

Some of the group then accompanied us to Splashpoint, where we found over 100 Kittiwakes sat on the sea. This was good to see, as there had been a substantial rockfall a few weeks earlier, but we could see evidence of birds on the ledges, so hopefully the colony will have breeding success. 

Our final tally of bird species was forty, with a basking Adder and a scurrying Weasel adding some additional interest. Despite the cold, we enjoyed the morning. This remains one of my favourite walks, with beautiful scenery across the Cuckmere meanders and the Seven Sisters beyond, and always offering a good variety of birds.

Seven Sisters (greyer today though!)