RXwildlife Sightings

Sunday 19th April 09. I went to Dung. to have a bit of a sea watch, but all there were was a few Whimbrel and a Bar T.Godwit moving east and not much else. But there was a nice views of a Spotted Redshank, L.R.Plovers, Ringed Plovers and a Common Sand seen from the road on the A.R.C pit at the new islands. At Pett there was hardly anything again on the sea or the Pools, so I went to Carters Flood where there was Avocets, Marsh Harriers ( cream heads) and a flock of 40,Linnets feeding on the fields looking from the hide. There was a Whitethroat and a Cettis Warbler singing, and a Hobby that flew east over Tamerisk Cottage at Toot Rock Bridge.The only other birds of note were 2,Ravens flying around the marsh. Good birdwatching Pete.

Here in North Salts, Rye, for several days a male Blackbird has been followed around by two young birds, fully grown with complete wings and tails and persistently begging for food. And today at Rolvendene Farm pond in the Tillingham valley I watched a Moorhen feeding three small chicks on the water.

On the wall by my moth trap in Rye this morning was this Small Waved Umber, another new species for my garden. Like the closely related Fern, which has also appeared here several times, it’s a moth of calcareous soils whose larval foodplant is traveller’s joy. In the absence of chalk or limestone around here, it’s almost certainly been introduced on cultivated clematis.

Highlight this morning was a Cattle Egret leaving the Little Egret roost at Castle water also of interest there 65 Yellow Wagtail left their roost in the reeds and a Greenshank passed overhead. Back on the Beach Reserve 50 Common Terrn and 160 Sandwich Tern were split between the shore, Ternery Pool and the Quarry. On Harbour Farm 28 Whimbrel were feeding in the fields and 14 Avocet and a Little Ringed Plover were on the pools.

Sandwich Tern fishing along the shore