The walk from Seaford via Seaford Head Nature Reserve (Sussex Wildlife Trust) and Cuckmere Haven (Cuckmere Valley) (National Trust) to the Seven Sisters Country Parke Centre (at Exceat) is one I do often, as the abundance and diversity of birds and invertebrates is great. In the winter Cuckmere Haven is particuIarly interesting as it provides sanctuary for overwintering gulls, waders, ducks and geese; in the Summer, Seaford Head, especially Hope Gap, is an excellent environment for butterflies and other insects. I take the 12 bus to Seaford, and return on the 12 bus from the Seven Sister County Park Visitors Centre.
All sections if text in italics are quotations, sources cited. The photographs are in the cohomological order of my walk.
Seaford Head
The Kittiwake Colony at Splash Point
The amazingly oceanic Kittiwake by Emma Chaplin 03 August 2020 Sussex Wildlife Trust:
They may not look like hardy sea-farers but Kittiwakes spend half the year wandering the Atlantic, making them the most oceanic gull in the world. They only return to the coast to breed and usually arrive here from February onwards, keen to secure the best spot on the cliff face before the busy summer season gets into full swing. Like many seabirds they nest in large and noisy colonies, easily identified by their self-proclaiming “Kittiwake” calls. Many seem to defy gravity, clinging to the tiniest of outcrops on a precipitous wall of chalk.
Male birds tend to return to the exact same spot each year and competition can be fierce, especially when natural nest sites are in short supply. The Kittiwake colony at Splash Point near Seaford is one of the last in the South East and most nest further north, where some choose the most unlikely locations. Newcastle-Gateshead Quayside is home to the most inland breeding Kittiwake population in the world, with 800 pairs nesting on the Tyne Bridge and other urban structures since the 1960s (you can watch some of them here:).
The nest itself is made of seaweed, mud, feathers and grass, which is trampled into a deep cup shape that will usually hold two eggs. Breeding takes place in May and June, and the chicks may still be in the nest during July. Unlike other gull chicks, which toddle off as soon as they can walk, Kittiwake chicks know to sit still. The nest is often on the merest suggestion of a ledge, with nothing but sheer cliff face between the tiny nestling and the pounding waves hundreds of feet below. Fledging must be truly terrifying but once on the wing they will stay out at sea for the first few years of their lives, only returning to breed when they are three to five years old. The amazingly oceanic Kittiwake | Sussex Wildlife Trust
The cliffs on which the Kittiwakes nest
On the path up the cliffs from Splash Point to the peak of Seaford Head, the meadows between the golf course and the cliffs are a rich habitat for butterflies. There were 100s of Gatekeepers, many Meadow Browns, some Marbled Whites and a significant number of Common Blues
Marbled White
Gatekeeper
Gatekeeper above with wings open
Knapweed, is a magnet for butterflies, moths and bees
Common Blue, on Knapweed
Meadow Brown on Knapweed
Six-Spot Burnet Moth on Knapweed
Gatekeeper on Knapweed
Gatekeeper
same Gatekeeper as above
The meadows rich with Knapweed and other chalkland wild flowers
Small Blue on grass
Yellow Rattle is also a very popular plant with pollinators
Gatekeeper on Yellow Rattle
Gatekeeper
Another Common Blue
Gatekeeper
Buff-Tailed Bumblebee on Knapweed
Female Meadow Brown
Another Common Blue
Gatekeeper
The same Gatekeeper as above
The meadows
Gatekeeper
Two Common Blues
Common Blue
Gatekeeper on Yarrow
Buff Tailed Bumblebee on Yarrow
Small Skipper
Gatekeeper
Gatekeeper
Hope Gap
Linnet
Meadow Pipit
Buff-Tailed Bumblebee on Knapweed
Buff Tailed Bumblebee on Yellow Ragwort
Gatekeeper on Yarrow
Goldfinch
Gatekeeper on Yellow Ragwort
Stonechat (juvenile)
Rabit
Woodlark
Stonechat
Linnet
Wall Brown
Hope Gap - Teasels and Yellow Ragwort
Wall Brown (same individual as above)
Dunnock
Female Stonechat
Goldfinch
Buff-Tailed Bumblebee on Teasel
Female Meadow Brown
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Cuckmere Haven
Oystercatchers flying into the Cuckmere Valley (estuary)
Yellow Horned Poppy
Dyer's Weed
Little Egret
Egrets roosting the heronry
Another Wall Brown
Sea Lavender
Little Egrets
Oystercatchers and Black-headed Gulls
Whimbrels (passage migrants)
Oystercatchers and Black-Headed Gulls
Sea Lavander
Gatekeeper
Rock Pipit
Little Egret
Grey Heron
Canada Geese
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