A combination of varied habitats, relative remoteness and coastal situation make the Country Park an important place for birds. Preferring conifers in which to build its delicate nest of moss and spider‘s webs, the tiny GOLDCREST may often be heard, if not seen, in the trees about the Forest Car Park and Picnic Area. This olive green bird with a bright yellow and orange crown bordered in black, feeds on insects and spiders and is particularly fond of the aphids that infest the leaves of the sycamore trees. Watch the treetops for rapid movement and listen for a very high pitched 'zee, zee, zee'.

During the summer months, picnic table crumbs attract CHAFFINCHES. Bold little birds, the males pinky brown, chestnut and white with slate grey heads and gun-metal bills, the females pale olive brown. Both sexes have striking white wing bars. In winter large flocks, often mixed with other finches, may be seen feeding on weed seeds or gleaning grain from animal fodder. Where the meanders of the old River Cuckmere approach the concrete road that turns down the valley, good views of the birds that feed on them may be had.

At any time of the year the GREY HERON may be seen, stalking the shallows on stilt-like legs, neck outstretched and dagger bill poised ready to strike. Fish, frogs, voles, beetles, rats, mice and even moles figure in their diet. A deep, harsh, bad-tempered croak is the typical cry of this large bird.

Bobbing like corks on the water, groups of LITTLE GREBE, or dabchicks, spend the winter on the Meanders, their buoyancy belying their expertise at diving after the sticklebacks and small invertebrates on which they feed. In the spring the dull brown winter plumage of the male is enriched with chestnut on cheeks, neck and breast and it is then that the birds move inland to secluded ponds and lakes to nest.

In winter the CORMORANT is a common sight on the banks, distinctive in almost black plumage. In flight slow and laboured, under water it is fast and powerful as it pursues the fish on which it feeds. Being the only web-footed bird without water-proofing oil for its feathers, it frequently stands, wings out-stretched, drying in the wind.

Sporting black, white and chestnut plumage and with a bright red bill the SHELDUCK, the largest British duck, is a brilliant sight on the river. Rarely found far from the coast, they often nest in rabbit burrows and then run the gauntlet of predators like the fox when leading their flightless brood to the safety of the water.

In the open downland landscape fences are important songposts and perches for many birds. Look here for the MEADOW PIPIT which nests in a grassy tussock. When disturbed, this streaky brown bird with white outer tail feather will perch on the wire rapidly repeating its alarm call, ”tseep• until the intruder leaves. The unfortunate Meadow Pipit is the favourite foster parent of the Cuckoo.

Look up at the eaves of the cottages at Foxhole and you will see the nests of HOUSE MARTINS. Originally cliff and cave nesters, most colonies now use the artificial equivalent - Man‘s buildings. The nests of mud and grass are so well constructed that they may be used, with minor repairs, over several years. The House Martin can easily be distinguished in flight from Sand Martin, Swallow and Swift by its distinctive white rump.

The combination of buildings, gardens and undergrowth at Foxhole is ideal habitat for the WREN. Feeding almost entirely on insects it scurries amongst low vegetation like a mouse and has a shrill song amazingly loud for a bird of this size. Keeping warm can be a problem for Wrens and at dusk on a cold winter day as many as ten have been seen clinging to the walls of the cottages, loudly calling 'tit, tit, tit' before disappearing into a vacant House Martin‘s nest where they huddle together all night for warmth.

LITTLE OWLS regularly nest within the Park and may be seen hunting in daylight especially in summer when there are young to feed. Introduced from the continent towards the end of the last century, it has colonised most of England and Wales. Only 210mm in length, the grey and brown, mottled with white, plumage makes it difficult to spot against the background of bushes, trees and old buildings which it favours. When watching birds put their welfare first. Do not disturb nest sites as this may put eggs and young at risk. Do not alarm birds by approaching too closely as panic flight uses up valuable energy crucial to survival in harsh winter weather conditions.

During the spring, warblers arrive from Africa; some species like the WHITETHROAT remain in the Park to nest amongst the scrub. Although mainly insectivorous, Whitethroats turn to eating some wild fruits later in the year. The grey cap, white throat and chestnut wings of the male can be seen where it produces its scratchy song from the top of a bush. In autumn and winter many birds delight in the rich variety of fruits available in chalk scrub.

During September and October if you are quiet and lucky, for it is a shy bird, you may see a RING OUZEL. Rarely nesting below 1,000 ft they are birds of mountain and moorland and are on passage through the Park to their winter quarters in Africa. Looking much like a garden blackbird but with a white crescent on the breast of the male, the Ouzels fuel themselves on haws and sloe-berries. Listen for the alarm call 'tac, tac, tac'.

If a bird was chosen to encapsulate the essence of open downland, that bird would surely be the SKYLARK. Its melodic song often lasting five minutes without a pause. In habit and appearance not unlike the Meadow Pipit, the Skylark produces a high-pitched musical song in ascending, hovering or descending flight whilst the Meadow Pipit‘s short musical trill most often accompanies a gliding 'parachute‘ descent.

During the spring and autumn the grassy slope are stopping-off points for WHEATEARS, feeding on insects before continuing northwards to their spring nesting grounds or in autumn returning to winter in Africa and Southern Asia. Both sexes have a white rump, conspicuous in flight. Considered a Victorian dinner-table delicacy, downland shepherds once supplemented their incomes by trapping thousands of Wheatears for the London market.

From the cliff tops of the Seven Sisters, sea birds can be seen soaring and gliding on rising air currents. Gulls there are in plenty, but look carefully and you may see a FULMAR, a gull-like bird which isn‘t! Related to Shearwaters and Petrels, it glides with wings held stiffly, flapping only occasionally, unlike gulls which flap frequently with wings slightly bent. Absent only between September and December, many Fulmars here are 'prospecting‘ for nest sites and continually fly up to the cliff face inspecting likely ledges. It has been suggested that they may live long enough to become senile, perhaps 50 years!

Gorse bushes along the cliff tops provide nest sites for the LINNET, a finch particularly useful to the farmer as it feeds largely on the weeds of cultivation. Listen for the call 'tsooeet' proclaimed from the top of a bush. The male has a very persistent, musical, twittering song which made it a fashionable cage bird in Victorian and Edwardian England. Happily that fashion has gone and the crimson crown and breast of the male is much better seen in the wild, albeit fleetingly, than behind bars.

Between April and September, TERNS may be seen off the estuary hovering and plunging after small fish. As summer visitors favouring coastal sand dunes, shingle bank and low islands for their breeding colonies, they are in direct competition with Man who seeks such places for recreation. Consequently, many such sites have been made Nature Reserves. Terns are more slender and narrower winged that gulls and have quite different call sounds. Listen for the 'kik, kik, kik' of the Common Tern.

The shallow lagoon and shingle islands behind the beach were constructed in 1975 in the hope that Terns would establish a breeding colony. This has not yet happened but other birds do nest here and, most important, it is a rich feeding area for many species.

The RINGED PLOVER, one of the commonest shore birds, runs in short bursts across the mud in search of insects, worms, crustacea and molluscs. When sitting on its nest, often just a shallow scrape in the shingle, the black and white head pattern breaks up the bird‘s outline, thus helping to avoid the attention of predators.

REDSHANK is an apt name for the long orange-red legged wader that is rarely absent from the lagoon. When startled, it flies off swiftly calling loudly 'tew, tew, tew' alerting any other birds on the marsh. In flight the white rump and broad white wing-bars make identification easy. Note the long red bill, ideally adapted as a tool to probe for the small shellfish, worms and insects on which it feeds.

REED BUNTINGS have regularly nested along the river bank near the lagoon in recent years, the tall grasses here providing good cover. Although comparable to a sparrow in size an even plumage from the neck down, the head of the male in summer is far smarter being black with a black bib and white collar.

The KESTREL, probably our most common bird of prey, can be seen almost anywhere in the Park in its familiar hovering attitude hunting the voles and shrews that have their runs in the grass. Birds, rats, mice, beetles, worms, slugs and even small fish have all figured in the Kestrel‘s diet. A female was once seen struggling to carry off a weasel near the lagoon, possibly having mistaken it for a vole that the weasel may have been carrying. needless to say, the weasel was hurriedly dropped!

Through the winter months the wet, low-lying land of the Cuckmere Valley becomes a haven for wildfowl. Many hundreds of duck, mainly WIGEON but including Mallard, Teal and Shoveler, find refuge and food here and on occasion flocks of Brent and Canada Geese join them. Wigeon are like geese in their feeding habits, having forsaken the marshes to graze instead on meadow grasses. Listen for the delightful, high whistling ”whee-oo• of the drakes.

During the course of a walk in the Park you will see some of the birds described and others that you may or may not recognize. You will also be introduced to some magnificent scenery and important wildlife habitats. Should you require further information about any aspect of the Park or surrounding countryside, ask the Park Rangers who have a local knowledge and will be pleased to share this with you.

Text by Dick Mash.

The illustrations in this guide are reproduced from AA Book of British Birds, used with kind permission of the Publishers, Drive Publications Ltd., London.