RXwildlife Sightings

There were about 15 Velvet Scoters off Pett Level at 18.30 this evening.

Sea spurge, Euphorbia paralias, is now flowering close to the sea on the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. This strictly coastal species is generally uncommon in Sussex. On the coast of Picardy just across the Channel I have seen it being devoured by large spurge hawk larvae. The usually dark brown caterpillars are spotted with yellowish white and have a red stripe and tail. There are plenty of on line pictures if you search on the scientific name Hyles euphorbiae. The moth does occasionally cross the Channel, but I think breeding is a rarity here.

It was just 10 days ago that I noticed the first noisy broods of young Starlings out of the nest at Doleham, but now there are dozens and their skirling dominates the soundscape, replacing the earlier trilling of Greenfinches.
Chaffinches, Wrens and Blackbirds are everywhere. They are the most conspicuous species at the moment. Read the rest of this entry »

Sunday May 29th
Great Spotted Woodpeckers are suddenly easy to track down, their young so noisy in the nest that they can be heard 500m away. I found 3 nests and another 2 sites in the N end of the wood. Unfortunately, their little cousins are not so conspicuous. Read the rest of this entry »