RXwildlife Sightings

A kingfisher flew past the Visitor Centre yesterday morning, the black-necked grebe was once again at Denge Marsh and a Dartford warbler was seen near the hide there. This morning a male smew was on Burrowes pit and three red-crested pochards (two males and a female) were on New Excavations.
Visiting arrangements over the holiday period:
The main site and Visitor Centre will be closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and re-open on 27th December. The Hanson-ARC site will remain open throughout.

On Long Pit, the Black-necked Grebe is still present, as are four Scaup and a pair of Goldeneye, all showing well from the Harbour Farm Barns end of the pit, while Flat Beach Level held around 1000 each of Golden Plover and Lapwing, and probably as many again at Ternery Pool (below). This concentration of birds attracted the attentions of a marauding Merlin. Offshore, around 200 Common Scoter were close in from the old lifeboat house, along with small numbers of Great Crested Grebe, Wigeon, Red-throated Diver and even a Shelduck, with a few Gannet fishing further out.

In spite of the poor light, the present calm conditions make it relatively easy to see the hundreds of birds on the sea in Rye Bay.
There were still about 500 Great Crested Grebes yesterday, and the Common Scoters were closer to the shore, though I could find no Velvet Scoters among them.
There were also dense packs of Wigeon, several Red-throated Divers in flight and a single Black-throated Diver quite close in opposite Toot Rock.
Further out, Gannets were flapping about on the horizon.

Gulls can be a very tricky group, probably dismissed by most birdwatchers. David Cooper has a series of photos taken recently at Castle Water to show the Scandinavian Herring Gull Larus argentatus argentatus. Click here to see.

During an unsuccessful search for Water Pipits along the muddy edges of ditches where the reed has been newly cut, I came across hundreds of Swan Mussel shells littered among the spoil.
These large freshwater bivalves lead an uneventful life, nestling in the ditchbed ooze, whence they siphon food from the cloudy waters. Their shell is thin compared with their marine relatives, since it never has to contend with crashing waves. They are able to drag themselves about in the water using their muscular foot, but once dredged onto the banks are doomed to death by desiccation or to be smashed by Grey Herons which always shadow the diggers.
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