Wildlife Spotting
Whatever day of the year you come to Seven Sisters, there’s wildlife to inspire you.
At the heart of the park is the beautiful chalk grassland – an incredibly rare habitat that was one of the reasons for the designation of the South Downs National Park.
Think it’s just a blanket of grass? Think again and take a careful closer look! Its biodiversity is truly mind-boggling!
You really have to get close to the ground to understand why this is often called “Europe’s tropical rainforest in miniature”. A single square metre can have 40 different flowering plant species, while there can be well over 20 different species of butterfly on the wing during the summer. Because the porous chalk is so low on nutrients, it favours species found nowhere else.
This oasis for wildlife depends on mixed conservation grazing from ponies, sheep and cattle. Without grazing coarse grass and scrub are able to take over and the diversity of plants is lost.
Look out for plants such as cowslip, wild thyme and the round-headed rampion, to name a few, as well as gorgeous butterflies such as the common blue, chalkhill blue and marbled white.
Around the chalk grassland is a mosaic of other important habitats, including the meanders, river, freshwater ponds, saline lagoons, cliffs, saltmarsh, shingle islands, seashore and much more – all with its own unique flora and fauna.
Autumn and winter wildlife
The end of the summer brings a hive of activity, particularly among our avian residents, while other wildlife are busy preparing for the colder months.
August through to October is the reverse migration season, with waders and various migrant birds passing through the reserve’s wetland and coastal habitats. Look out for redshank, oystercatchers and teal on the wetlands, with wheater, stonechats and meadow pipits filling the scrub with chatter.
During September and October the chalk grassland takes on a different look, with colourful flowers giving way to weird and wonderful fungi such as colourful waxcaps and the white chalk mushroom (not for eating!)
Spring and summer delights
Spring and summer at Seven Sisters really are a birdwatchers’ paradise.
Early spring sees the gradual departure of winter “whistling” wigeon, teal, little grebe, curlew, geese, oystercatcher, a mixed bag of gulls and regular kingfisher sightings as they head away to breed.
Their departure heralds the onset of the migrating season. Watch the wetlands for more unusual waders (such as black-tailed godwits) alongside the more familiar redshank, dunlin and ringed plover. The scrubby bushes along the valley, stunted by the salt spray and harsh onshore winds, are alive with warblers and linnets.
Swallows, martins and swifts means late spring has arrived and the reserve settles down to summer residents of heron, little egret, shelduck, mallard, Canada geese, redshank and dunlin on the wetlands.
May and June sees the first brood of adult Adonis blue butterflies appearing on the chalk grassland, which is buzzing with butterflies, bees and insects right the way through the summer.
Year-round residents
Some species are so at home at Seven Sisters that they never leave and can be found all year round. Look up to see hovering kestrels and fulmars whirling in the air, while on the water keep an eye out for the bright white of little egrets.
At dusk the bats come out to play, with pipistrelle, serotine and noctule bats to be found.
Less well known but definitely no less interesting is the bloody-nosed beetle which can be found in grasslands and hedgerows – so named for the bright red fluid they secrete from their mouths and joints when they feel under threat.
For the botanists among you, look out for the yellow-horned poppy. This bright yellow coastal plant can be found on the shingle. Don’t get too close though as they are poisonous to humans. You will also find sea kale thriving on the shingle.
Rare species
If you are lucky you might spot one of our rarer species. Over the winter months keep an eye out for a rare but spectacular visitor soaring above you. The beautiful short-eared owl flies all the way from Scandanavia to escape the harsh northern winter, and has been seen in increasing numbers at Seven Sisters in recent years. If you are fast enough you might spot the fastest bird on the planet – the peregrine falcon. Listen out for the “gronk” or croak of raven in spring and summer which can be heard from a mile away.
While the birds to be found on site are magnificent, don’t overlook the other amazing species that can be found. The very rare sea aster mining bee is a coastal specialist relying primarily on the sea aster plant which nests in sandy soils, while the silver spotted skipper butterflies and lace border moths can be seen skipping across the chalk grassland in summer.
Not to be outdone, our rare chalk grassland is home to stunning and wonderfully named plants such as the bee orchid and Autumn Lady’s tresses orchid and the prickly red star thistle. Look down and you will see the dazzling yellow flashes of both horseshoe and kidney vetch. Horseshow vetch, whose seed pods are shaped like tiny horseshoes, is the exclusive foodplant for both the chalkhill and Adonis blue butterflies. Kidney vetch is the main foodplant for the small blue butterfly.
