RXwildlife Sightings

Reading Barry’s article of 24 September 2007 on the New Zealand Pygmyweed Crassula helmsii reminded me of my first encounter with this plant in the 1980’s. I couldn’t find it anywhere in my flora, and stood on a patch of the weed for some time trying to identify it. As a submerged plant the leaves are flattened like a typical aquatic plant, but when the water dries up they become swollen and suculent and quite different in appearance. The plant was not in my key and I eventually gave up and went off to monitor another site, but horrors I must have transfered it on the bottom of my wellies for it turned up there the following year, and proceeded to infest every pond becoming a serious pest. So, if you come across it make sure you clean your boots before entering another wetland as even small fragments of the plant will start new plants. I should at this point add that I have not been wading around Castle Water! This plant has also turned up at at least 4 localities on Walland Marsh and Romney Marsh in recent years. Why are fish shops and garden centres still selling this nasty weed?

The newt season is well and truly over, indeed it may be only a couple of months before the first animals start turning up at their breeding ponds again if recent winters are anything to go by, so now is a good time to summarise monitoring at Dungeness in 2007. This site is a Special Area of Conservation and an SSSI on account of its great crested newts. Monitoring was almost completely restricted to the RSPB reserve this spring where there has been an active programme of pond creation and management, and it has had an impact. Head counts of great crested newts Triturus cristatus on the reserve were the highest ever, with 296 animals recorded from 25 water-bodies.

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Ivy bees (Colletes hederae) are out in their hundreds at Castle Rocks at the moment. In fact I estimated about 2000 were on the wing throughout the site today, either females collecting pollen from flowering ivy or males fighting over the females as they emerge from their burrows.

There seem to be many more males than females and large mating balls of dozens of males fighting after females can be seen buzzing over the loose sand at the base of the sandstone outcrop.

This species has only recently colonised Britain and was until recently considered a rarity but is now spreading throughout southern Britain and once established at a site it is typical to see these large populations nesting.

Visible migration proved to be the highlight with a steady passage of chaffinches, moving along the eastern edge of Burrowes pit, involving at least 1,400 birds. Two bramblings flew over Burrowes, but it seems likely many more must have gone undetected amongst the groups of chaffinches. Several groups of redwings totalled around 56 birds and four avocets and five dunlins flew over Burrowes pit.     

Highlight today were five Avocet, which were present on Harbour Farm and then Ternery Pool, while 19 Brent Goose were an unexpected sight late morning flying east along the shore. On Harbour Farm a total of 15 Grey Partridge were seen during the morning, 11 of these in the field opposite Lime Kiln Cottage and visible from there.

In left hand column, under Local Websites there is a new link to a fascinating website. Romneymarsh.net explores the human and physical evolution of the RX area. My favourite is the animation - click here, then click on “The growth of Rye Bay and formation of Camber Sands”.

Migration counts by Andrew Grace for Castle Rocks, Hastings:

Tuesday 25th, 7.05-8.05am
A small early morning westerly passage included 76 meadow pipit, 37 linnet, 27 chaffinch and 3 grey wagtail. Also 1000 hirundines, mainly swallows and house martins but also a few sand martin. Grounded migrants included 5 chiffchaff, 6 robins, a wheatear and a song thrush.

Wednesday 26th, 7.15-8.15am
Still mainly meadow pipits and hirundines on the move, this morning coming in off moving in a north-west direction. Again another 1000 hirundines, 195 meadow pipit, 8 linnet, 4 chaffinch, 2 siskin, 2 ‘alba’ wagtails, 2 yellow wagtails and a grey wagtail. Grounded migrants included 10 robins, 5 chiffchaff and a blackcap.

2 day walking holiday in France 26th – 27th October with our partners just across the Channel. Click here for details.

These lovely animals are often glimpsed around wetlands, but they rarely give good views. This one was very slow to move, due to the  cold weather this morning, when I moved a metal dustbin… it hissed, inflated it’s body and gave off a rather unpleasant smell!

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This weekend there is a special offer on rail travel. For just £10.66 adult, and £1 child, you can travel anywhere between Brighton, Hastings, Rye, Ashford, Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge, Paddock Wood, Maidstone, Canterbury West, Folkestone and Dover… FOR BOTH DAYS. Click here for more detail.