Brent Goose migration

Each spring there is a large migration of brent geese up through the English Channel. Tens of thousands of these small black geese migrate up from wintering sites in Western Europe up through the channel en route to the Wadden Sea on the Dutch, German and Danish coasts. This is just a stop-over until the final leg of their journey through the Gulf of Finland to the Russian High Arctic where they breed.

This migration can be witnessed each Spring from the coast of Hastings and is one of the most visible migrations to be witnessed along the south coast as large flocks can be seen flying close to the shore, sometimes even briefly resting on the sea. If you are lucky thousands can be seen during a single day in flocks of hundreds. One of the largest flocks seen from Hastings was over 1200 birds in size.

This can be witnessed anywhere along the coast but the beach at Rock-a-Nore and the cliff-top at Galley Hill are probably the best places to observe from.