RXwildlife Sightings

Sightings for 14th & 21st March 2010. On the first date it was a good day for birds of prey, with a Buzzard, a male Marsh Harrier and a Sparrow Hawk. Ducks were much the same as last week, on the pools. But in the bay things were looking better, with 150/200 Common Scoters  moving east, and still leaving the usual flock of about 20 birds in the bay. Also small numbers of  Brent Geese heading east through the morning. G.C.Grebe only 30/40 still on the sea,with a single bird on the pools, which is the first for along time, to be seen on the pools, also Little Grebes are building up has well. Waders are still in good supply with 190 Curlew, 1 Bar.T.Godwit,2Knot,20/30 Snipe. Other sightings of interest on the sea 12 R.T.Divers, 6 Pintails. Read the rest of this entry »

Twice this week a Cormorant was seen catching a large Eel in the Quarry. First the chase in shallow water, then the capture and wrestling then, with great difficulty, swallowing, followed by a period of uncomfortable internal wriggling, then resting on the shore…

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A fine selection of bird on flat Beach Level this morning included 200+ Golden Plover, 73 Knot, seven Brent Goose two Avocet and two Wheatear, while at least 124 Sandwich Tern were on the Quarry and good numbers of Mediterranean Gull on Ternery Pool. On Harbour farm, three Goldeneye were on the pits near the Barns, two Grey Partridge were showing well in the fields next to Lime Kiln and at least one Wheatear was next to the track from the caravan park to Parkes Hide.

Wheatear on the Beach Reserve

Only the second Herald I’ve trapped in 3 years at Rye, so it deserves an honorary mention and photo. This moth emerges in late summer and hibernates as an adult, re-emerging from March, hence the rather worn red-orange patches on the forewings. It’s quite large, about 2 cm long, and the bright patches, crosslines and scalloping are diagnostic. The larval foodplants are willow, aspen and poplar, and adults feed by night at flowers, ivy, ripe berries and sugar. Never common, it comes to light only in ones and twos, so it’s definitely a nice find in the moth trap!

One of the specialities of Romney Marsh is it’s large and extensive population of medicinal leech, a species with a curious distribution in Britain, found from Dungeness on the south coast, to the north coast of Scotland.  Despite this extensive distribution it is very localised, and frequently found only in individual ponds.  When the species was found in Lade Pit in the early 1980’s it was considered possible that it might have been a recent introduction to the area.  However the work of Andrew Nixon, of the Romney Marsh Countryside Project, demonstrated that it was widespread between Dungeness and Rye Harbour, and a number of old records demonstrated it had been present in the area for most of that century.

In the 1950’s Brian Heritage told me that they rapidly colonised new gravel pits at Lydd Airport, and I was told of Read the rest of this entry »

Weird weather indeed if you are an amphibian.  The cold weather has delayed spawning by these animals and resulted in a late spring for frogs and common toads.  This week I have been up at Southport sampling breeding amphibians for the disease Chytridiomycosis, and was fortunate to arrive right at the start of the breeding season and witness a wave of common toads, frogs, smooth newts and great crested newts arriving at the breeding pond.  Wednesday evening, the following night, saw me in north Wales where I heard a chorus of at least 14 natterjack toads.  Normally several weeks separate breeding by frogs and natterjacks, but the shift from warm to mild conditions has started everything off with a bang!

So as I journeyed south I anticipated Read the rest of this entry »

During a Woodland Trust Landscape Archaeological walk yesterday: Chiffchaff, 4 Buzzards, c2000 Woodpigeons + Stock Doves, 2 Hawfinches. See more on RXbirdwalks.

Highlights this morning included 55 Sandwich Tern, 78 Knot and 27 Grey Plover along the shore, a flock of 38 Brent Geese headed east offshore,  800+ Black-headed Gull and at least 70 Mediterranean Gull were at Ternery Pool, 4 Avocet and 2 Wheatear were on Harbour Farm and 145 Golden Plover (pictured) were roosting on Flat Beach.

A cold and drizzly day was brightened by first a black redstart and then a wheatear on the toilet block roof. A firecrest was in the bushes near Makepeace hide and two avocets were seen at the ARC site. Two Slavonian grebes and two black-necked grebes were still present.

Records from the Hastings Weald Spring Migration Network throughout the day yesterday recorded good numbers of wildfowl moving east and some grounded migrants along the coast.

Seawatching from West St Leonards and Hastings Harbour produced c.1500 Brent Geese, 50 common scoter, 5 garganey, 17 teal, 13 shoveler, 5 wigeon, 2 pintail, 8 eider, 2 red-breasted merganser, 7 gadwall, and a shelduck. As well as wildfowl a little gull, a marsh harrier, a merlin and a red-necked grebe were recorded moving east, also small numbers of black-headed gull.

Grounded migrants recorded included a firecrest at West Hill and 3 wheatear at Glyne Gap. Three purple sandpiper were also at Glyne Gap.