to visit Langney Marsh
I met my friend Paul (who I’ve not seen for ages) at one of our favourite haunts, Langney Marsh on the outskirts or Eastbourne. We used to come here a lot pre-Covid, and I brought us both a copy of the Pond & River Birds birdwatching logbook so that we could record what we saw. I love the notebook and journal aspect of the logbooks, and like how I can memorialise a visit to a birding spot or dog walk somewhere by filling in the birds I’ve seen, and it’s really fun if there’s someone else looking out as well. They fit perfectly in a pocket so are easy to take on walks.
There were lots of swans with grown-up cygnets, the remnants of their grey plumage making them look like rather grubby versions of their parents. Sitting in fragmented groups were Canada Geese galore, with goslings of various ages, and numerous gulls – mainly Herring, but also both Great and Lesser Black-backed. There weren’t many ducks, just a couple of Tufted Duck pairs, and a male Mallard flew over us just as we were leaving.
There were lots of warblers, and plenty of other passerines, including a rather lovely family of Stonechats. We saw a Great Crested Grebe eating a large fish, and some very argumentitive Coots scooting across the water. Each time we saw another bird, we checked our logbooks and either filled in the page or wrote it down in the Notes pages at the back of the book.
Here’s the final list. The ones with an asterisk were heard but not seen.
- Coot
- Mallard
- Starling
- Little Egret
- Reed Bunting
- Mute Swan
- Great Crested Grebe
- Stonechat
- Canada Goose
- Carrion Crow
- Jackdaw
- Herring Gull
- Magpie
- House Sparrow
- GBB Gull
- LBB Gull
- Reed Warbler
- Wood Pigeon
- Cetti’s Warbler*
- Greylag Goose
- Chiffchaff*
- Blackbird
- Tufted Duck
- Song Thrush*
- Pied Wagtail
The first 7 are in the birdwatching logbook, and I always really pleased when there’s a good number that are can be ticked off as considering the booklets are designed to be used anywhere in Britain, and there are only 22 in total, it’s nice to be able to tick of 1/3 – 1/2 of them in a couple of hours. There were a few more that probably were there, but we were chatting and navigating the cattle so we weren’t taking it too seriously!
I am probably going to call in at the Marsh on Tuesday when I’m popping into Eastbourne again so will bring the logbook back with me and see if I can tick off a few more species.
