RXwildlife Sightings

85 Avocets, 5 little Egrets, 3 Black-tailed Godwits & 2 Ruff this morning.

Offshore, there has been a constant stream of Sandwich Terns passing with fish for their young at Ternery Pool, each food item requiring a journey of at least 6 km. The other day, I watched them attempting to feed young on small flatfish, still too wide, however, to be swallowed. After a few minutes of unsuccessful gulping, Black-headed Gulls relieved them of their burden.

Further out, flocks of Gannets are diving, while closer to the shore, the unexpected emergence of a Grey Seal’s head sent a group of bathers thrashing for the beach like a scene from “Jaws”.

Highlights this morning included  62 Curlew feeding along the shore, Harbour Farm pools attracted 3 Common Sandpiper, 3 Green Sanpiper and 2 Little Ringed Plover. At Ternery Pool 2 Common Sandpiper were infront of Crittall Hide, sadly the colony of adult and fledged Sandwich Terns are starting to disperse over a wider area so the front of Crittall Hide seems rather quite now, but there are over a hundred pairs of breeding Common Tern waiting to take over.

Sometimes while collecting dragonfly exuviae other things grab your attention, such as a female Large Marsh Horsefly (Tabanus autumnalis) ovipositing. The picture does not do this massive fly justice it must have been an inch long, when the eggs hatch the larvae will drop off onto the damp soil or water and feed on algae.

Read the rest of this entry »