RXwildlife Sightings

Highlights from Castle Water this morning included, 61 Shoveler, 75 Wigeon, Green Sandpiper, 4 calling Cetti’s Warbler and a Peregrine.

Another significant find has been confirmed from last years Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve invertebrate survey. A moth new to mainland Britain was found by Graham Collins on our June round of surveys on the undercliff at Rock-a-nore and confirmed by John Langmaid earlier this year.

The moth is Metzneria littorella, a pRDB1 micro whose larvae feed on the seeds of buck’s-horn plantain. It was previously only known from the Isle of Wight. The soft rock cliff at Hastings is constantly eroding creating large areas of landslip debris at the base of the cliffs which is further disturbed by regular landslides and scoured by seepages. This provides the bare disturbed ground that coastal pioneer plants such as buck’s-horn plantain, sea beet and colt’s-foot thrive on and which many scarce specialist insects and spiders require for survival. As the stretch of cliff from Rock-a-nore to Firehills has absolutely no sea defences or cliff erosion protection measures it is listed as one of the finest examples of soft rock cliff in Britain on its Natura 2000 SAC citation and is the reason why a number of specialist soft rock cliff invertebrates can be found at the site.

In case you don’t know what the other significant find was, it is of course the discovery of the first breeding sickle-bearing bush-crickets to be found in Britain.

Metzneria littorella undercliff habitat at Rock-a-nore.

Today’s sightings included slavonian grebe, white-fronted goose, smew, marsh harrier and chiffchaff.

This group of Jelly Ear was found on the Beach Reserve (see post 25th January).

Plenty of gull activity at Ternery Pool and Flat Beach Quarry, 900+ Black-headed Gull and 28 Mediterranean Gull were present this morning, 63 Snipe were also at Ternery Pool. On Flat Beach Flood, 55 Ringed Plover, 100+ Dunlin, 22 Shelduck and 5 Brent Geese.

A Slavonian grebe was on the ARC pit and a white-fronted goose was seen on Denge Marsh.  Smew, goosander, peregrine and marsh harrier were also present.

Springtime clamour issues from Black-headed Gulls at the scrape - now joined by a few Med Gulls - and busy Rooks in the Winchelsea treetops.

The Whitefronted Geese are still here, wheeling round against a distant wavering skein of Brents moving up-channel, and 2 Egyptian Geese fly up from a group of Little Egrets along the canal, where there are also single Green Sandpiper and Kingfisher.

From the muddy edges of the Marsham Sewer, behind Toot Rock, flies up what sounds like a Water Pipit, but I am negotiating a slippery, twisted plank bridge at the time and don’t get a good look at it.

A Blackbird is singing from the dark dome of a Holm Oak in Winchelsea. The first was in our garden a week ago - about the time the first Reed Buntings (below) were in song.

A red-throated diver was on the New Diggings and two avocets paid a fleeting visit to Burrowes pit.

From Lime Kiln Cottage today, 65 Corn Bunting and a Merlin were seen in flight, two Rock Pipit were on the saltmarsh nearby. On Flat Beach 16 Brent Geese and 150+ Dunlin were present at high tide.

Today’s sightings included smew, curlew, marsh harrier and peregrine.