On my last day in East Sussex I returned once again to the Seven Sisters Country Park, the place that had drawn me back to this stunning part of England’s southern coastline, and walked out to the sea and back along both sides of the river, hoping, though not really expecting, to find one last birding surprise before I had to return home. There were Curlew and a couple of Bar-tailed godwits, Brent geese and Wigeon, a few Greylags amongst the big flocks of Canada geese – all lovely to see, of course, just not that something special I was wishing for. And then, when I was almost back at the carpark of the Cuckmere Inn, a little thought popped into my mind – maybe I should take one more quick look along the path out to the western side of the river.

And there they were, quite close to the path, browsing amongst the vegetation of the saltmarsh. Now, I have to admit that, as I don’t see them very often and have never seen a male and female in winter plumage together before, I didn’t initially recognise these waders, and I actually thought they were two different species. Given the substantial difference in their size and colouring, I think you can probably see why.

These are Ruff (Calidris pugnax). As you would expect, the male is the larger bird, coloured in shades of black, white and grey, and the female – actually known as a Reeve – is the smaller, buff and brown coloured bird. Both were beautiful, and I was overjoyed to find and then to spend quite a bit of time watching them. Seeing these two stunning birds was the best possible finale to what had been a wonderful week in East Sussex.