RXwildlife Sightings

Sunday 24th Jan 2010. Arrived at Scotney by 7am just before dawn, there was hardly anything of note, not a patch on last week. I decided to go swan hunting, last week I never found them, but this week I had more luck, with 78 Bewick Swans in a herd (not many immatures with them). After watching them I headed off to Pett. There was a good selection of dubbling ducks with 7/800 in total with Wigeon being the most numerous with 600, on the pools and fields, plus a few on the sea as well. With Shoveler, Teal, Gadwall, Mallard and 1 drake Pintail,there were more diving ducks on the pools as well with 20 Pochard, 15 Tufted Duck. And on the seaward side it was much better for a big change, a part from the 600 or so G.C.Grebe and 20 R.T.Diver there was 10 Scaup which seemed to appear from nowhere, and were still diving when I left for home. Through the course of the morning there was quite a few scares with all the birds near or on the pools taking to the air, but it wasn’t until I was just starting to go home, was when the culprit showed its self in the form of a Red Kite joined by a Marsh Harrier (cream head) both gliding over the pools and sea wall. Waders seen today 1 Ruff, 36 Grey Plover, 150 Dunlin, Curlew, Redshank, Lapwing, Turnstone and Oystercatchers. Good birdwatching Pete.

Last night I ran my moth trap in Rye for the first time this year. Well, you never know!  This morning the trap was empty but this very smart Mottled Umber – wingspan 33 mm – was on the wall nearby. This is a male – it’s one of those few unusual species whose female is wingless. It’s a common and widespread moth that flies from October through to January or February. Yesterday’s regular Sunday morning walk with Bob and Mike was enlivened by a Marsh Harrier and a Buzzard in the Tillingham valley, plus a falconer with his Harris Hawk along the Cadborough Cliff slopes. Bizarrely, we watched this exotic-looking raptor sunning itself high in a tree for several minutes before we noticed its owner sitting on the bank underneath!

In June 1971 my sister wrote this memorable line in an essay about our half-term holiday. “Last week my brother went bird-watching and came back with chicken-pox”.  Apart from the irritating blister that developed on my back on the return trip from Leighton Moss that Young Ornithologists Club trip is memorable for my first sightings of otter, bittern, hawfinch and a pair of sparrowhawk circling over a distant tree.

Strange to think that in those days sparrowhawk were so special but in the north-east of England they were not a common species. Since then I have had a number of memorable sparrowhawk moments as the species has recolonised the east of England.  The latest occurred this afternoon when a female took out a starling on our back lawn and proceeded to eat it fearlessly. The piercing glare of that yellow eye, the grip of those talons, the cloud of feathers, and the mad bravery of the great tit that scolded loudly from the honeysuckle over-looking the feasting raptor. What drama on the back lawn.

I’m aware that some people find these birds upsetting. Of course one feels for the prey, but it is a privilege to get a front seat at this sort of event.

At Long Pit this morning highlights were a Bittern, two Scaup and two Goldeneye, while at Ternery Pool a Spotted Redshank was heard and seen briefly from Crittall Hide. Along the shore species included Knot and Grey Plover, while 360 Lapwing, 71 Golden Plover, seven Snipe and a male Marsh Harrier were on Harbour Farm. In addition, a Red Kite flew over Lime Kiln Cottage at about 11:40 heading west, while four Smew (two male), two Marsh Harrier, a Buzzard and a Barn Owl were seen from the Castle Water Hide mid-afternoon.

Scaup (with white face) and Tufted Duck

54 species seen on RXbirdwalks this morning included flocks of Teal, Mallard, Wigeon, Shoveler and Gadwall the first Ravens for the site, Marsh Harrier, Peregrine, 4 Green Sandpipers and a flock of 41 Blue Tits!
Read more here.

Highlights over the past few days have included 2 Bittern, 6 Smew, Peregrine and 2 Marsh Harrier from the hide at Castle Water, at the viewpoint Bittern in flight, 2 calling Cettis Warbler, Kingfisher, 80 Fieldfare and a party of 14 Long-tailed Tits. On the Beach Reserve 7 Goldeneye and 2 Smew were on Harbour Farm Pools, 22 Grey Plover, 200 Dunlin and 65 Knot were roosting along Shore Ridges at high water, and a Merlin showed well perched at Wader Pool.

Lots of life in the western end of the Woodland Trust reserve on Thursday, with much birdsong in repsonse to the (all too brief) sunshine: Nuthatch, Coal Tit, Goldcrest all conspicuous. A few Siskins overhead but no sign of Crossbills in this section. Many Long-tailed Tits with other species in attendance and a few querulous Marsh Tits.
Where fields of maize have been left to the south of the woods, large numbers of Chaffinches, Woodpigeons and corvids congregate and would merit closer inspection. Read the rest of this entry »

The Slavonian grebe and two black-necked grebes remained on New Excavations and Denge Marsh respectively. There were seven goldeneyes around the site and a female blackcap was seen in the car park bushes all week. Highlights yesterday included seven goosanders on the ARC pit, at least three smew (ARC pit and New Excavations) and a bittern on one of the islands of Burrowes pit.

Highlight this morning was 330 Fieldfare in flight over Flat Beach and Harbour Farm. Hundreds of Fieldfare over the past few days have been feeding on Sea Buckthorn berries on the bushes behind Camber dunes, the birds this morning had probably been flushed from there.

Curious? click here for BBC report.