RXwildlife Sightings

A quick look along the shore this morning found 204 Oystercatcher, 19 Grey Plover, 32 Ringed Plover, eight Sanderling and four Knot, while Flat Beach Level held 205 roosting Golden Plover (below) and around 20 Brent Goose. In addition, a Wheatear was foraging near the Red-roofed Hut, while a Merlin was present on Harbour Farm adjacent to Lime Kiln Cottage. Two surprise birds later in the morning were a Yellowhammer over Lime Kiln Cottage, and a Yellow-legged Gull on the new pits adjacent, while the highlights at Castle Water were Bittern and Marsh Harrier from the hide.

The Green Heron is still at West Hythe. I don’t normally go to look at rare birds, but we were “going that way anyway” and so we “found ourselves” last week, leaning on the canal-side railings in the bright October sunshine.

It was so easy to see, so close, so indifferent to the rank of bird-watchers whose shadows raked the rosy raft of Water Fern: hunched, attentive, yellow eye swivelling, the fore-edge of its shadow a sumptuous imperial purple across the Azolla.
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