-
Migrant fall on West Hill, Hastings, 25 August 2023
I’m lucky to have some great places to witness bird migration on my doorstep in Hastings. One of these is the open parkland of West Hill, a green ridge rising between the two urban sections of Hastings town. The park section is a small area, about 0.1 km2, most of which is open ground frequented…
-
Ruddy Shelduck, Pannel Valley, 19 August 2023
With a spell of easterly winds preceding the 19th August, I thought Pannel Valley would be as good a place as any to check — particularly with heady visions of a sunning Aquatic Warbler along the reedbeds edges. Of course that was not to be and instead I bring to you wildfowl of dubious origin!…
-
More Juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls at Hastings Seafront, July 2023
After the influx of Yellow-legged Gull (YLG) on the 11th July there was a steady trickle of juveniles through the seafront over the rest of the month, with birds present on all four of my subsequent visits. My guess is that the birds on the 11th had taken advantage of the southerly airflow to make…
-
Pectoral Sandpiper at Pannel Valley, 30th July 2023
With a window of time to spend at Pannel Valley on the morning of Sunday 30th, waders were very much on my mind. Thanks to a timely intervention by the management there, wader-friendly water levels are being maintained at the main scrape. It was therefore no surprise to find a nice range of species present,…
-
Yellow-legged Gull influx at Hastings Seafront, 11th July 2023
In July we see the beginning of the UK’s annual influx of juvenile Yellow-legged Gull (YLG), as birds dispersing from breeding grounds in southern Europe arrive on our shores. I was curious to see how this would play out in Hastings given their annual presence in the Eastbourne area to the west. On the morning…
-
June 2023 birding roundup
With Twitter seemingly in steady decline, it feels like the right time to try out a new format for sharing bird sightings and notes (with the added bonus of freedom from word counts). Better late than never, I thought I’d start with a recap of June 2023 birding my Hastings 10k. Dominated by fine and…