20th March, 2018 Beachy Head Early rain becoming brighter, cold NE 5

Late start and we didn't arrive until 10.00 am. We covered Birling lane, Belle Tout wood, Old Trapping Area, Hotel Garden and Icky ridge area. Met up briefly with RB who had also covered Birling lane and Shooters Bottom. The strong unpleasant NE wind made birding difficult and very little was present in the area, although 2 Black Redstarts were now present at Birling.

Common Buzzard 1
Kestrel 1 ad. male
Snipe 1 flushed at the top of Birling lane
Common Gull  60 chiefly adults in the fields at Birling
Wood Pigeon 40 B/T wood
Green Woodpecker 1 B/T wood
Meadow Pipit 2
Black Redstart 2 at Birling (the adult male and a female type)
Stonechat 4
Song Thrush 3 at Birling
Raven 1

View looking down into Cow Gap with Eastbourne in the distant.

View looking across to the Cattle Field, an area we used to visit  

regularly, but in recent years it has been sadly neglected. 

On the 6/10/1969, Tony Quinn and myself found a Red-throated

Pipit here in with a flock of Meadow Pipits, and it proved to be the

first record for Sussex. It remained overnight and was seen by a

number of observers including the late Mike Shrubb the then County

Recorder, and was one of the rare occasions he twitched away

from Sidlesham  Ferry. There has still only been seven 

records to date in Sussex, with the last in 1995.