RXwildlife Sightings

Its that time of year when any surviving stinking hawksbeard plants, Crepis foetida, pass the rubicon. Once the flowering stems start to grow they are no longer vulnerable to slug attack and grazing by other invertebrates that ravage the plants in March/April. This leaves rabbit grazing and drought as the remaining hurdles to be dealt with. This particular specimen, with characteristic nodding buds, is the most forward of the Northiam plants, growing in a rather unusual setting for a Red Data Book plant.

For some time now Read the rest of this entry »

The top bird over the past two weeks was a bee-eater, seen at the ARC site on the 12th by a few lucky birders who had been watching a Temminck’s stint near the viewing screen. It was a good period for raptors with three common buzzards (11th), a red kite (13th), an osprey (15th) and up to four hobbies recorded along with our resident marsh harriers, sparrowhawks and kestrels. Common terns were seen regularly and single black terns passed through on 14th and 15th. A second Temminck’s stint was seen on Burrowes pit on 17th and other waders on the move included grey plover, knot, dunlin, bar-tailed godwit, greenshank, wood and common sandpipers and turnstone. A curlew sandpiper was on the ARC pit on 19th where a spoonbill appeared mid-afternoon.