RXwildlife Sightings

A few more waders are now appearing at the roadside: this morning there were 1 Ringed & 7 Little Ringed Plovers, 2 Green & 1 Common Sandpipers and a Dunlin. In the last few days I’ve also seen Avocets, 2 Black-tailed Godwits and a Greenshank (high overhead).

Sand Martins are going through all the time now. A flock of at least 50 Common Scoters was close in this morning.

I was told an intriguing story of a Hen Harrier recovered last week from a… chicken coop … at Toot Rock last week, but have yet to find out more.

I thought I heard a Raven calling over Chick Hill today as well.

At last, an upturn in the moth trap catch. Overnight we caught 43 species including the first Round-winged Muslin, Yellow-tail and Small Rufous for the year. The commonest three species at the moment are Large Yellow Underwing, Dark Arches and Uncertain. Migrants included single Rush Veneer, Dark Swordgrass and Silver Y plus two Delicate.

On the new pits behind Ternery Pool this morning, a second summer Arctic Tern was present among the Common Tern and Sandwich Tern. Also here several Mediterranean Gull, a pair of Avocet with a small chick and, on the margins of the pit, a pair of Grey Partridge.

While carrying out a bumblebee survey on the reserve yesterday, Brian Banks found this Bombus hypnorum queen feeding on Viper’s Bugloss near Lime Kiln Cottage. This species is a recent addition to the British list, first being recorded from Wiltshire in 2001, and this is the first record for the reserve. It can be told from the other British species by the possesion of a brown thorax and a black abdomen with a white ‘tail’ a combination of features not found in any other British bumblebee.

Bombus hypnorum queen