Trip reports

Group minibus trip to Beachy Head

Monday, 16 October 2006

An early (ish) start found us arriving at Birling Gap car-park @ 9.30am, where a Whinchat greeted us, perched on the field perimeter wires along with a pair of Stonechats. Migration was in full flow with a steady stream of House Martins & Swallows passing overhead.
Leaving the car-park and walking towards Belle Toute lighthouse, at the"Gully" Northen Wheatears, Yellow & Grey Wagtails, Redstarts flitted around the scrub, along with Stonechat & Whinchat.
Dropping down towards "Horseshoe Plantation" we stopped to admire a Kestrel hovering effortlessly in the updraught.
At the edge of the wood, small bushes were alive with birds, Willow Warblers and Chiffchaff by the dozen
fed on insects, with a suprise appearance of a Sedge Warbler. Blue & Great Tit also made an appearance.
Butterflies, were in abundance with Painted Lady, Peacock, Clouded Yellow, Large White, Common Blue and Small Heath in evidence.
As we sat in the sunshine, admiring the fauna around us, a Hobby came steaking across the sky, snatching dragonflies in midflight.
Moving on to Beachy Head, the midday sun made birding hard, but the scrubby areas yielded yet more Willow Warblers, along with Great, Blue and Long-tailed Tits.
A welcome ice-cream cooled us down and we decided to head for home, but a side diversion took us to Weir Wood reservoir, where a long staying Night Heron was the target.
Connecting straight away with the heron, we were treated to it preening, flying and stalking it's prey to the delight of our party, for many of them the first they had ever seen.