Vegetated Shingle Beach, Intertidal Sandflats & Rock, Subtidal Sands & Gravels

The coast of Hastings consists of a fringing shingle beach and tidal flats formed by the deposition of gravel storm beach deposits and clay, silt and sand tidal flat deposits above the underlying sandstone, siltstone and mudstone of the Ashdown Formation and Tunbridge Wells Sand Formation. In some areas along the coast, most notably at Goat Ledge, Bulverhythe and Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve the underlying bedrock is exposed to form intertidal rock and rock pools.

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The largest areas of shingle storm beach deposits occur at Rock-a-nore and Bulverhythe. Where this shingle remains relatively undisturbed a highly specialised vegetated shingle plant community develops including sea kale Crambe maritima, yellow-horned poppy Glaucium flavum and sea-beet. This habitat is internationally rare with some of the best examples in Europe occurring further along the coast at Rye Harbour and Dungeness.

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​​A specialist invertebrate community also occurs within this habitat including the shingle wolf spider Pardosa agricola and the nationally scarce shingle jumper Calositticus inexpectus. Calositticus inexpectus is a very restricted species in Europe occurring mainly on coastal or river shingle or amongst tidal litter on saltmarsh. It is quite a distinctive species and can be seen hunting on bare shingle during warm weather.

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The tidal flats and intertidal rock exposed at low tide is a very important habitat for migrant and wintering waders and gulls. Many different species can be seen along the coast of Hastings between Glyne Gap and Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve. The most numerous species is turnstone Arenaria interpres which also roosts on the beach at high tide. These roosts can number over 300 birds and can occur anywhere along the coast between Rock-a-nore and Bulverhythe. Amongst the turnstones it is common to see small numbers of purple sandpiper Calidris maritima both feeding amongst intertidal rocks and roosting on the beach, or under the pier with the turnstone flock.

Other species commonly seen include oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus, grey plover Pluvialis squatarola, sanderling Calidris alba, dunlin Calidris alpina, redshank Tringa totanus, common sandpiper Actitis hypoleucos, bar-tailed godwit Limosa lapponica, black-tailed godwit Limosa limosa, whimbrel Numenius phaeopus and even occasionally avocet Recurvirostra avosetta. As well as waders hundreds of feeding and roosting gulls can be seen including mainly herring gull Larus argentatus, lesser black-backed gull Larus fuscus and great black-backed gull Larus marinus but many other species use the tidal flats at Hastings including black-headed gull Chroicocephalus ridibundus, Mediterranean gull Ichthyaetus melanocephalus, common gull Larus canus and on rare occasions Iceland gull Larus glaucoides and glaucous gull Larus hyperboreus.

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The subtidal sands and gravels inshore along the coast of Hastings provide important nursery grounds for commercially important species of fish as well as populations of sand eel and Atlantic herring Clupea harengus. The large shoals of juvenile fish and herring attract predators such as mackerel Scomber scombrus which can build up in very large numbers during summer. As sea temperature rises during the summer and autumn months seabass Dicentrarchus labrax, plaice Pleuronectes platessa and common sole Solea solea move close inshore to feed on tidal flat invertebrate populations. Bottle-nose dolphin Tursiops truncatus, harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena, common seal Phoca vitulina and grey seal Halichoerus grypus are also occasionally seen hunting inshore along the coast of Hastings. Common seals and grey seals also occasionally haul out on the Bulverhythe sand flats at low tide to digest their food.

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During spring and summer the shoals of sand eels and juvenile fish provide food for the fulmars that nest on the cliffs and sandwich terns Sterna sandvicensis that breed further along the coast at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. Between late spring and autumn a summering population of non-breeding gannet Morus bassanus build-up offshore and can be seen feeding close inshore during onshore storms and gales. During winter a large population of red-throated diver Gavia stellata and great crested grebe Podiceps cristatus feed within the inshore waters along the coast and can be seen very close inshore from Hastings during high tide. A small population of common scoter Melanitta nigra and eider Somateria mollissima also winter offshore from Hastings and can be seen diving for small crustaceans and molluscs.

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It is also possible to observe the up-channel spring migration of sea birds, wildfowl, waders, gulls, terns and skuas from Hastings. Sometimes thousands of brent geese Branta bernicla and common scoter Melanitta nigra can be seen flying close past Hastings in large flocks. Many different species are involved as they move through the English Channel and then north through Europe to breeding habitat in Scandinavia and northern Russia.

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Up to 40 species of sea bird, wildfowl, waders, gulls, terns and skuas can be recorded on a single day in late April and early May and can include species such as Manx shearwater Puffinus puffinus, Balearic shearwater Puffinus mauretanicus, black-throated diver Gavia arctica and pomarine skua Stercorarius pomarinus. Many species also stop during migration to feed and roost including turnstones and purple sandpipers who eventually journey all the way to Greenland and northern Scandinavia to breed.