CROYDON RSPB MEMBERS' GROUP - TRIP REPORT

It's an ill wind...! While much of Britain's population was sitting in queues at filling stations, the select few of us who managed to complete this trip (on French essence!) enjoyed unusual peace and quiet on the normally busy paths approaching Beachy Head and on the Seven Sisters. Beginning our walk by contouring around from the western end of Eastbourne promenade into Whitbread Hollow, we found less shelter there from the blustery wind than anticipated and, if many birds were present in the bushes, most were staying in cover. We came upon two small parties of stonechats and whinchats and had brief glimpses of a juvenile redstart; otherwise a group of fifteen magpies gathered on a football pitch and then a jay and a green woodpecker were about the only finds.

Dropping down through the landslip area at Cow Gap almost to sea-level, calmer conditions prevailed and we witnessed a brief flurry of feeding activity involving a mixed group of birds including robins, a dunnock, blue and great tits, male and female blackcaps and a whitethroat. The final flight of steps to the beach provided a good seawatching viewpoint and from here an Arctic skua was seen well as it flew west, then east, before dropping down onto the sea, awaiting a chance to harry one of the Sandwich or common terns that were passing. A single whimbrel flew eastwards, and several gannets were circling not too far out. There was also a brief view of a pair of peregrines in flight towards Beachy Head, the female large and bulky, the male smaller and slimmer. Quite a number of birds had been moving overhead during the morning, including finches, pipits and hirundines. Three individual late swifts were picked out amongst the latter. Interestingly, a sizeable proportion of the birds were coming in off the sea, moving northwest, even though this involved flying into the stiff breeze - a pair of wheatears and a small flock of sand martins arrived as we climbed up from the slip area.

Lunch was taken beside Belle Tout Wood. Afterwards, we found little in the wood but there was a sizeable flock of goldfinches and linnets circling beyond and in the lee of the trees common blue, small heath, red admiral, meadow brown and speckled wood butterflies were all active - quite a collection considering that the day was essentially overcast

Moving further west still, we visited the National Trust property at Crowlink, walking a mile or so down to the clifftop on the central of the Seven Sisters. A dewpond passed on the way had attracted quite a flock of birds, the most numerous of which were stonechats - at least twenty, in various plumage stages - and whinchats. Among the rest were a lesser whitethroat, another redstart, again seen fleetingly, and at least one willow warbler with chiffchaffs. From the cliffs we spotted a party of five grey herons heading in off the sea, struggling to make headway against the wind. As the small flock approached land, one bird peeled off and dropped down to alight on the weed-coated chalk boulders exposed at the base of the cliffs. The remaining four immediately made a U-turn and headed back towards France. It appeared to us as though the herons had realised that one of their number was nearing exhaustion and had decided to see him safely to a landfall before continuing with their own migration. Another wheatear and a yellow wagtail were seen during the walk back over the Downs.