Eastbourne Group - April 2025 events

This has been a busy month for the Eastbourne group. Our two walks were very well supported. The Herstmonceux Castle circuit takes walkers through a range of habitats. The mixed woodland was full of birdsong. Noisy Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs, Song Thrushes, Nuthatches and Wrens filled the airwaves. For many the highlight was the ancient Sweet Chestnut trees with their huge girths and gnarled appearance. Thanks to Debbie Alston for bringing a surveyor’s tape measure so that the girth of one of the trees could be accurately measured and used to calculate its age at approximately 500 years.

Two weeks later we met at Arlington Reservoir. Whitethroats, Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs and Reed Warblers were the dominant songsters. Given the cool conditions and northerly breeze we were delighted to see a few Swallows skimming over the water and Great Crested Grebes were stunning in their breeding plumage. A colourful Grey Wagtail posed at the water’s edge as we walked across the dam. At Herstmonceux, the Wood Anemones and Celandines were in full flower. At Arlington they were past their best, but the Bluebells and Stitchwort were stunning.

At our evening meeting we were treated to a lively presentation by Charlotte Pestell on the restoration work at the Sussex Wildlife Trust, Pevensey Levels Reserve. It included Wetland Dawn Chorus recordings and short videos of interviews with two of the Pevensey Marsh farmers. We enjoyed stunning images of the changes which are happening. We are all looking forward to wandering through the enriched ecosystem of this internationally important wetland in the future.