RXwildlife Sightings

The weekend of August 11 and 12 sees the RSPB Dungeness nature reserve stage its biggest event of the year – the Dungeness Wildlife and Countryside Fair.    Exhibitors include wildlife artists Stephen Message and Norman McCanch, Old Romney based artist Anne Begley, photographer Dave Featherbe, Rye Harbour nature reserve, Romney Marsh Countryside Project and many more.   Our shop will have its usual comprehensive range of birdcare items and natural history books along with this year’s RSPB Christmas cards and calendars.  There will also be the chance to try out and purchase a wide range of binoculars and telescopes.  Young people will be well catered for with pond-dipping, arts and crafts, bird feeder building and face painting just some of the activities on offer. There will be free guided walks around the nature trail each morning and afternoon. 

The Fair offers something fro all the family so why not pay us a visit on this special weekend?  Stars of the show may well be our marsh harriers, which, this year, have bred on the reserve for the first time. Wardens will be on hand at the Hooker’s pits viewpoint to try to show people these magnificant birds of prey and visitors may be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a newly fledged youngster.

There is free entry to the Fair and, for this weekend, to the whole reserve too.  The Fair is open from 10am until 5pm on both days.

Highlights this morning, at least 250+ Yellow Wagtail were on Shore Ridges and Harbour Farm. On Flat Beach, 21 Golden Plover, Grey Plover, 7 Curlew, 20 Dunlin, 112 Oystercatcher, Common Sandpiper and 5 Little Egret. On the pools behind Ternery Pool, Avocet, Greenshank, Common Sandpiper and Whimbrel. On Camber shore 162 Common Tern and 55 Sandwich Tern were roosting. And finally, Ringed Plover still have chicks (pictured) along Shore Ridges, hopefully these later broods will have a higher survival rate.

A check of the Little Egret roost at Castle Water found 34 leaving the roost at dawn, in recent years numbers have increased during late summer, the peak count last August was 79. Six Hobby put on an impressive arial display over the reeds, they were the first birds to apppear so must have roosted nearby. 1500+ Starling took flight from the main reedbed at around 5.20am, and 2 Green Sandpiper flew overhead.