This female Scarce Emerald Damselfly was found on the Beach Reserve on the 26th of this month. One of the rarest of British damselflies, this species has not been recorded from Rye Harbour or East Sussex since 1947. Very similar to the commoner Emerald Damselfly, females can be separated by the thicker body and the shape of the first abdominal segment which is square rather than rounded (just visible in the image below).
Highlights from the Beach Reserve and Ternery Pool this morning, 12 Green Sandpiper, 6 Common Sandpiper, 3 Black-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, 15 Dunlin, 7 Sanderling (bottom picture), 3 Little Ringed plover and at least 30 Yellow Wagtail were along Shore Ridges.
Despite the work going on at Castle Water many birds could still be seen from the hide, 7 Little Ringed Plover, 4 Common Sandpiper and 3 Green Sandpiper. From the viewpoint 18 Little Egrets were loafing around mid morning and a Kingfisher gave good views perched in the willows. Things have gone very quite at Ternery Pool , most of the Sandwich Terns seem to have moved off, the young Heron pictured would not have had a chance to roost a few week ago.
The post written on the 17th June Common Blue, refers to the female of the species having almost all brown upperwings in the south, a few could be found at Castle Water today.
Female Wasp Spiders have an unmistakable appearance, and make their large webs near ground level, which have a zig-zag ribbon of silk running from side to side. They eat Grasshoppers, Crickets and other flying insects, the males of the species are also on the menu often being eaten during mating.
The overcast conditions overnight produced the first notable arrival of migrants of the autumn, in which Grasshopper Warbler and Sedge Warbler were clearly the most numerous species, whilst a Nightingale was the main highlight. Other early migrants were thin on the ground with only small numbers of Garden Warbler and Willow Warbler present.
Other sightings included 8 Green Sandpiper, 2 Ruff and 3 Garganey on the scrape.
The Blue-tailed Damselfly is one of the commonest damselflies in Britain and abundant at Castle Water. This species is capable of copulation within 3-4 days after emergence, which is faster than many other species. The average survival time for the adult is about ten days.
The Holly Blue butterfly is easily identified in early spring as it emerges well before other blue butterflies. The odd sightings on the reserve probably stem from wandering individuals from Rye Harbour village and Winchelsea Beach, were the larval foodplants Holly and Ivy are common in back gardens. Adults are on the wing between late March and late June and again in late July into September.
I found this pair of small, mating craneflies yesterday, (the lower male was not much more than 1cm. long) while I was waiting for contractors at Castle Water. They are Nigrotipula nigra (formerly Tipula nigra). An ichneumon-like, chocolate-brown cranefly of coastal grazing levels, fens and peaty areas. The larva live in wet, peaty soil. Recorded from East (but not West) Sussex by Stubbs (1992) from the Eastbourne area (TQ60), the Pett Level/Rye Harbour area (TQ91), the East Guldeford Level (TQ92) and the Walland Marsh/Holmstone area on the Kent border (TR 01 and 02).
I photographed this rather beautiful fly today in Peasmarsh Churchyard. It has been identified as a Tachinidae ‘Phasia hemiptera’ a first for me.
