Birds at Seven Sisters Country Park

20 Tuesday Oct 2026

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds, nature

Tags

Bar-tailed Godwit, birding, birding at Seven Sisters Country Park, birdwatching, British birds, Curlew, Kestrel, Meadow pipit, Rook, Skylark, Stonechat

Many of the wonderful birds I was lucky enough to see during my two days at Seven Sister Country Park in East Sussex were quite distant, certainly too far away for anything more than record photographs. These are a few that I managed to get a little closer to, and there will be one more blog about a stunning pair of birds I saw on the last day of my trip that deserve a post of their own.

I only saw two Bar-tailed godwits, and the other was probing its way along a distant mud bank. Luckily, this one was nearer, and I was able to sneak up behind the cover of scrub and bramble bushes.

I heard the Curlews before I saw them, at least a dozen of them during my first visit but none at all on the second day.

Either I saw three Kestrels this day, or one Kestrel three times. I suspect it was the latter, and I was delighted to get wonderfully close views.

The park was teeming with both Meadow pipits and Skylarks, the sounds of their calls a constant accompaniment as I walked the paths.

The Skylarks were even song-flighting, something they usually do in the springtime to establish a territory and attract a mate. They were easily spooked though, so I only managed to grab one quick shot of this bird on the ground in the open.

The fields on the edge of Cuckmere Valley were alive with Rooks, poking about in the grass for whatever small invertebrates they could find.

Stonechats were also abundant. Whether these birds were resident or on passage, I’m not sure, but, as they’re one of my favourite birds, I was very glad to see them.

Bar-tailed godwits

26 Tuesday May 2026

Posted by sconzani in birds

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Bar-tailed Godwit, birding, Birding at Ferrybridge, birdwatching, British birds, Limosa lapponica, RSPB Lodmoor

In a blog about Black-tailed godwits, after seeing a huge flock of them just off Cardiff Bay Barrage in February last year, I wrote:

We have two species of godwit in Britain, Black-tailed and Bar-tailed (Limosa lapponica), and, at first glance, they can be difficult to tell apart but, as you can see in some of my photos, the Black-tailed have broad white wing-bars and their white tails finish with a black band, hence their name.

Though we sometime see Bar-tailed godwits (Limosa lapponica) in south Wales, as they pass through during their spring and autumn migrations, I haven’t seen any locally since 2019, so it was wonderful to see them several times in Dorset, both at Lodmoor and along the shore line in front of the Wild Chesil Centre at Ferrybridge. In fact, early one morning, I took a seat on a small concrete slipway by the road at Ferrybridge and spent perhaps 30 minutes watching these two birds feeding. I was hoping they’d come closer as the tide came in but, just as they were getting nearer, a dog walker and his pet walked along the sand between me and the birds, scaring them further away.

One morning at Lodmoor, this single Bar-tailed godwit flew in, and was joined a short time later by two little Sanderlings – more very enjoyable birdwatching minutes were spent watching these birds as they foraged along the water’s edge.

113/365 Superb Sully stroll

23 Tuesday Apr 2019

Posted by sconzani in 365DaysWildin2019, birds, nature, seaside

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

#365DaysWild, Bar-tailed Godwit, birding, birdwatching, British birds, south Wales coastal path, Sully, Sully beach, Whimbrel

I caught the bus to Sully this morning, walked along to the western end of the bay, then retraced my steps and walked along the coastal path all the way back to Penarth, about 7½ miles in total. And it was superb, especially the stroll along Sully Bay. I’d timed my walk to be there just before high tide, as that often pushes the birds up closer to the path that runs along the top of the beach, and this was a high high tide so, with some stealthy sneaking along behind the trees, I managed to get really close to a flock of six Whimbrels.

And, to my delight, the Whimbrels had two Bar-tailed godwits with them. I’ve never managed to get so close to either species before so I was really chuffed. And, if you’re wondering why the godwits don’t look the same, the bird on the left (below) is a male in his summer breeding colours, while the bird on the right might be a juvenile or a non-breeding adult.

The Whimbrel and the Barwit

30 Sunday Apr 2017

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature, spring

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Bar-tailed Godwit, birding, birdwatching, British birds, British seabirds, Limosa lapponica, Numenius phaeopus, passage migrants, Whimbrel

170430 whimbrel (1)

I was in my element yesterday morning, stealthily stalking along the stony coastal path at Sully in a shiver-inducing chilly wind, trying to observe and photograph a wonderful variety of seabirds. And I got lucky, really really lucky, as by the time I decided I needed to get walking to ward off hypothermia, I had seen noisy fly-pasts of Oystercatchers; Dunlins and Turnstones and, an unexpected bonus, two Sanderlings foraging along the tide-deposited seaweed; several rather skittish Whimbrels; and a fleeting glimpse of one also unexpected but rather beautiful Bar-tailed Godwit.

170430 Whimbrel and bar-tailed godwit (1)

170430 Whimbrel and bar-tailed godwit (2)

Both the Whimbrels and the Bar-tailed godwit are passage migrants. The Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) (the bird with the curved beak) can be seen around Britain’s coastline during spring as it flies north to Shetland and Orkney to breed and again in autumn when it heads back to South Africa to enjoy a warmer winter. The Bar-tailed Godwit (affectionately abbreviated amongst birders to Barwit) (Limosa lapponica) passes through Britain on its way to its breeding grounds in the Scandinavian and Siberian Arctic, though does sometimes over-winter in Britain.

p.s. See tomorrow’s post for the Sanderlings and the Dunlins.

170430 whimbrel (2)