I took a consignment of birdwatching logbooks over to one of my local stockists today: the De La Warr Pavilion in Bexhill. I like the seafront there as it’s much more manageable than other coastal towns nearby, and the Pavilion is a beautiful building, with its faded Art Deco glamour.
My dog enjoys the beach and jumping over the groynes, and as it was so cold and windy, there were hardly any other people around.
There were lots of Herring Gulls of various ages, and then I saw a few Turnstones fly in and start pecking at the strand line. A big flock of Starlings wheeled overhead before landing over towards the grassy area in front of the pavilion.
I am not at all proficient when it comes to drawing gulls, but as I had my sketchbook with me I thought I’d have a go. It was too cold to sketch for long, so I took some pictures.
On my way back to the car I noticed some Turnstones probing into the grass, and they were then joined by the aforementioned Starlings:
I’ve not seen Turnstones up close for a long time so it was lovely to watch them, and Ned was extremely well behaved!
Here are my sketches. I used my Pilot Parallel pen with brown ink:
Hi Jennifer, thank you very much for your nice post! It sounds like a wonderful day at the De La Warr Pavilion. I can well imagine how impressive the combination of the stunning architecture and the rugged coastal landscape is. I share your passion for bird watching and also enjoy watching the birds and listening to their chirping. The herring gulls and turnstones you described are truly fascinating observations! It is always amazing how alive nature can be even on cold and windy days.
I’m also glad to hear that your dog enjoys the beach so much. These moments when we are outside with our four-legged friends and experience the beauty of nature are simply priceless.
Greetings….Rosie from Germany
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Thanks so much for your lovely comment, Rosie! I’m really pleased you liked the post 🙂
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