Autumn Birds in Sussex
- Nicholas Turner
- Nov 20, 2024
- 1 min read
Updated: Jan 27
14th - 19th November 2024
14th November: I couldn't resist the opportunity to try to see the 1st winter female Pied Wheatear which had been found at Seaford. This was only the 2nd ever record of this Asian bird for Sussex, the first one being in 1990. Reports on the SOS website described it as being 'elusive' so I prepared myself for a long day. As it turned out I parked my car at the East end of the Esplanade at Splash Point, walked a couple of hundred metres up the cliff and there it was fairly close by, feeding with a pair of Black Redstarts.
15th -19th November: The next few days I stayed local and set out to see what I could find along the cost around Bexhill. Four Grey Seals were very visible and close in to the beach, together with a single Common Gull and Great Black-backed Gull.
On the 18th we walked to Hastings and about a kilometre east of Glyne Gap found a very handsome singing male Black Redstart. There was also a flock of 15 Oystercatchers on the beach. The following day the temperature dropped sharply to 5 degrees centrigrade. However, as we were sitting in the De La Warr Pavilion a Swallow flew by and landed and was later joined by a House Martin flying around near our apartment!
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