Brilliant birds.

It’s a great time of year to watch birds. Last Saturday I took a stroll along Cuckmere and managed to spot redwings on the berry bushes north of the bridge, and shelducks in the field.

Back on the middle path near the unused bus stop, the river bend to the left was entirely iced up, but a heron soon pushed out of the bushes near me, flapping over to the opposite bank.

The little grebes (often called dabchicks!) had moved to the tidal stream to my right, constantly dipping and diving for food. Meadow pipits darted from bush to bush, and I even saw a young fox stalking along the side of the pools, until he saw me and took cover in the bushes.

As I got further towards the sea, great crowds of birds were on or beside the icy water. Dabbling ducks like mallard, wigeon and teal, larger Canada geese and jet black cormorants drying their wings. A few redshank and oystercatchers were also spotted nearby. A graceful group of swans, glided past as I took a left turn back to the main path. In the far distance huge flocks of gulls, herring gulls and black backed gulls at least, roosted in the grazing fields.

It was well worth venturing out in the cold. Cuckmere “haven” really is a haven for birds in the Winter, as there are so many more birds about to see this time of year! You might even spot some rarer birds. Recently a long billed dowitcher was seen at Cuckmere, and waxwings have been spotted in various places in East Sussex this year. Keep an eye out for berry bushes – they are often seen in supermarket carparks!

Another highlight of the weekend was stopping the car on Eastbourne seafront just as dusk was falling. A glorious murmuration of starlings was swooping around the sea against the sunset. A winter spectacle not to be missed!

If you would like to know more about birds in Seaford, you may be interested in some talks and events coming up, where local experts can tell you what special species to look for.