Must see sites (1 Viewer)

[Nigel Davies]

My wife and myself are going to East Sussex mid May for a few days. is there any birding sites recomended by our good Bird Forum Members.

Nigel

 

[Tri-Counties Birder]

Well, I think Rye Harbour is a must, and if your willing to venture outside the county, Dungeness too.

Also, maybe worth visiting Beachy Head/Cuckmere area? Are you out there Liam?

 

[delia todd]

Hi Nigel

There's quite a few sites in Opus, some of them are in West Sussex though.

As well as Rye Harbour already mentioned by Sean, Beachy Head and Cuckmere Haven are great sites.

Enjoy

D

 

[gropperwinch]

I'd say Rye, Cuckmere and Pevensey Levels are your best bets. Seaford Head and Beachy Head are generally quiet in Mid-may, but their is a chance of Wood Warbler, Pied Flycatcher or even an overshooting med species e.g Golden Oriole or Bee-eater, but main migration has gone. Rye and the Cuckmere are good for migrating waders, but I'd say Pett Level Pools are definitely worth a stop, you might well see Spotshank, Wood Sand, Yellow Wagtail and plenty of others good birds. Rye is fairly well documented for what you will see, but Pevensey also has a fairly good chance of waders, and also quite possibly GW Egret and Purple Heron. There are sometimes small concentrations of Hobbies hawking over it, and a few Yellow Wags and Tree Sparrows breed. If you want to visit the south downs, there is a nice secluded spot near me called Greenway Bottom which in Mid-may will most likely have Turtle Dove, Hobby, five species of warbler and possibly Quail. also Abbot's Wood is a great spot for Nightingales, Turtle Doves and Garden Warblers, and Ashdown Forest was Crossbill, Redstart, Nightjar, Woodcock etc. with the best area being Old Lodge

sorry for the rant I just get very passionate about my home county sometimes!!

Hope I helped and you have a great stay down here!

 

[gropperwinch]

I forgot to mention Splash Point. seawatching here in Mid-May will not be as good as early in the month, but you can still expect a few Poms, Black-throated Divers, Terns (including Little, Arctic, Black and possibly Roseate) and Manx/Balearic Shearwater in a SE wind. however, a telescope is most definitely necessary and any wind other than SE will almost certainly be lifeless, although S, E and NE are sometimes alright.

 

[gropperwinch]

Hi Nigel

There's quite a few sites in Opus, some of them are in West Sussex though.

As well as Rye Harbour already mentioned by Sean, Beachy Head and Cuckmere Haven are great sites.

Enjoy

D

Hi delia

Is it possible to add articles to the east sussex page, because it seems to be missing quite a few good birding sites that are generally underlooked except by the locals e.g Seaford Head, Splash Point, Abbot's Wood, most of the South Downs and I was wondering If it were possible to add these in

 

[Nigel Davies]

Many thanks to Sean, Delia and Liam, for your help, we will enjoy our visit and hopefully see some good Sussex birds.

Nigel

 

[delia todd]

Hi delia

Is it possible to add articles to the east sussex page, because it seems to be missing quite a few good birding sites that are generally underlooked except by the locals e.g Seaford Head, Splash Point, Abbot's Wood, most of the South Downs and I was wondering If it were possible to add these in

Sorry, missed this post yesterday Liam.

Yes, of course, it's very easy to do. Type the name into the search bar, hit Return and if the site doesn't exist you can Create the page.

HERE'S an editing guide for the Locations, which will explain where the different bits of information should go.

D

 

[PeeJay]

Pevensey Levels can be good but equally you could go there and see very little as it is a very big area. It really is a case of knowing the best spots to visit and even then you may have to contend with mud, broken stiles, reeds that are too tall to see over and the like. Ternery Pool at Rye Harbour is a must for its colonies of Black-headed and Med Gulls and Common and Sandwich Terns but try to coincide your visit with high tide if possible. Even if there is nothing moving at sea, Splash Point is worth a visit to see the Kittiwake colony (700 pairs), Fulmars and Rock Pipits.