Birds at Seven Sisters Country Park

20 Tuesday Oct 2026

Posted by sconzani in autumn, birds, nature

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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.

A new rookery

02 Wednesday Apr 2025

Posted by sconzani in birds, spring

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birding, birdwatching, breeding Rooks, British birds, nesting Rooks, Rook, rookery

During the Springs of 2022 and 2023, birders throughout Wales volunteered their time to check suitable locations for rookeries, the multi-nest colonies where Rooks raise their young. The survey, organised by the Welsh Ornithological Society, was conducted to establish concrete information about the breeding population in Wales because Rooks are now red-listed, their numbers threatened by changing land use and human occupation, amongst other things.

I didn’t take part in the survey as one of my birding friends had already put his hand up for my local area and, as I don’t drive, getting around an alternative 2-square-kilometre tetrad would have proven difficult, but I did chat about where I’d seen Rooks with my friend. His searches of the local area only produced one rookery, which is well known locally and has been established for a very long time – the street where it’s located is called Rookery Lane!

So, you can perhaps imagine my surprise and delight when, during Sunday’s local meander, I spotted a new rookery. It’s adjacent to a series of fields where horses graze and where I’ve often seen Rooks feeding – in fact, the photo and video I included in my post Rook pair-bonding behaviour, 18 February, were taken at that location. I think this new Rookery has only been established very recently, perhaps even this year, as it certainly wasn’t around in Spring 2023 when the survey took place, and I’ve never noticed it when I’ve walked that way previously.

I counted just 5 nests, and at least 8 Rooks – others may have been off looking for food. Not being familiar with Rook breeding behaviour, I initially thought the adult birds were feeding well-grown young but I’ve since been informed that, as Rooks only begin breeding in March, this was more likely to be adults feeding their partners so they don’t have to leave the nest when they’re sitting on eggs or raising their young. I’ll certainly be keeping a close eye on these trees during the next couple of months, hoping to catch glimpses of any chicks as they grow and fledge.

Rook pair-bonding behaviour

18 Tuesday Feb 2025

Posted by sconzani in birds

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bird pair-bonding, birding, birdwatching, British birds, Rook, Rook behaviour, Rook pair-bonding behaviour

I’d read, on the British Trust for Ornithology website, that ‘Rook pairs spend a lot of time close together, feeding one another, displaying and vocalising together and preening’, but had never seen that behaviour until last Sunday when I stood watching eight Rooks grazing a horse field.

As you will see in my short video clip, one bird ‘bows’ to the other, while splaying out its tail feathers, then its mate feeds it. What a privilege it was to witness this pair-bonding behaviour.

60/366 Barefaced crow

29 Saturday Feb 2020

Posted by sconzani in birds, nature

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birding, birdwatching, British birds, British corvids, corvids, Corvus frugilegus, Rook

Barefaced crow is one of the common names for the Rook (Corvus frugilegus), and it’s easy to see how it came about, though it’s not so much that its face is bare but rather the top of its large, pale beak (compare the Crow on the left, the Rook on the right).

Though there’s a rookery in a nearby town, and used to be one in the woods at Cosmeston Lakes Country Park, I haven’t seen a lot of Rooks in my local area … until this winter. Now, I see them quite often, in the farm fields north of the park itself, usually in the company of Jackdaws and Carrion crows.

200229 rook (2)

I was fascinated to read in my Fauna Britannica, that ‘If a death (especially of the head of the household) occurred in a family owning the land that supported a rookery, there has been a widespread tradition that the Rooks must be told.’ Let’s hope that doesn’t prove necessary!

200229 rook (3)

Seaford Head wildlife walk

21 Sunday May 2017

Posted by sconzani in birds, coastal fauna, nature, plants, wildflowers

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Brown-tail moth caterpillars, Fulmar, Green-winged orchid, Rock pipit, Rook, Seaford Head Nature Reserve, Seaford Head wildlife walk, Stonechat, Sussex Wildlife Trust, Thrift

One of the highlights of my recent short break in Sussex was a guided wildlife walk around Seaford Head, organised by the Sussex Wildlife Trust and led by knowledgeable and amusing local naturalist Michael Blencowe.

170521 1 Seaford Head walk

The day was very windy and scattered showers kept us clad in rain jackets until lunchtime but that didn’t spoil the walk. The scenery on this coast is magnificent and it’s one of my favourite places in the whole of Britain so, even if we’d not seen any wildlife, I would’ve been happy. As it was, we saw more than I expected, and our guide was a mine of funny stories and fascinating facts.

170521 9 Seaford Head Green-winged orchid

Our flora and fauna sightings included many different plants in flower, like Green alkanet, Hound’s-tongue and Thrift; plus several Stonechats and Linnets, and Rock pipits and Rooks aplenty. We had Fulmars soaring up from the cliffs to the left of us and Skylarks serenading us high in the sky to the right. A grass snake was discovered snoozing under a sheet of corrugated iron, the webs of Brown-tail moth caterpillars adorned the bramble bushes, and Green-winged orchids provided striking bursts of colour in the rough alongside the local golf course. If you ever get the chance, I’d highly recommend this walk.

170521 11 Seaford Head Thrift