Avian highligts over the past two days have included 200 Sandwich Tern and 280 Mediterranean Gull at Ternery Pool, 16 Avocet and 22 Knot along the shore, Harbour Farm pools attracted 20 Avocet, Little Ringed Plover and a Green Sandpiper. At Castle Water Common Buzzard, 4 Marsh Harrier, Bittern, 30 Little Egret, Little Ringed Plover, 18 Fieldfare, Goosander, Bearded Tit, Barn Owl and 2 Chiffchaff.
Sandwich Tern
Yesterday, Colin Boyd sent me a couple of pictures, taken in his garden in Sedlescombe on the 23rd of this month, with a request to identify the ‘passenger’ on this Andrena bee. I think I may have swore then, as this is an insect I have never seen alive in over 25 years as an entomologist! It is a male stylopid, a member of a small order of insects with a bizarre and complicated lifecycle. If you know where to look, there is also a female in this picture - the red blob at the end of the males abdomen is the tip of the legless, wingless and antennaless female with which he is mating! More information on stylopids can be found here.
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As the days have got warmer recently insect activity around the willows in flower near the viewpoint has increased, this morning 4 Peacock, 2 Small Tortoiseshell, Comma, several Buff-tailed Bumblebee and large numbers of Common Bee-fly created lots of interest. (A selection of pictures are below click on read the rest of this entry)
Peacock
Regarding the 165 Mediterranean Gulls at Rye Harbour today, on Sunday I counted about 85 on the main Pannel Valley pool on which the islands have been cleared and re-shingled. They looked pretty settled, so can we add the numbers together?
[No - they are extremely mobile and a total would need a co-ordinated combined count, which is best done in early April - Barry]
At last a nice fog free morning to appreciate the low water shore, at least 150 Sandwich Tern were roosting and feeding waders included Bar-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Grey Plover and Knot. A Common Hermit Crab provided additional interest, I think a Netted Dog-welk has provided the home for the crab. Also this morning 700 Golden Plover were roosting on Flat Beach and 165 Mediterranean Gull were on Ternery pool. At Lime Kiln a Little Ringed Plover passed overhead heading for Wader Pool.
With the steady improvement in the weather of late I have bitten the bullet and started to run the moth trap at Lime Kiln Cottage. The catch has been typical for this time of year at Rye Harbour, with small numbers of Common Quaker, Hebrew Character and Clouded Drab making up the bulk, and this morning I also had an Early Grey and a slightly early Powdered Quaker. The highlight however has been one of my favourite moths, an Oak Beauty, a more or less annual catch at Rye Harbour in the last few years (though only as singletons).
Oak Beauty
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A few weeks ago I mentioned that willow flowers would provide an early source of food (pollen and nectar) for early flies and bumblebees, today at Castle Water I found several Common Bee-fly using this food source. Other highlights included Bittern in flight, 2 Marsh Harrier and a Grass Snake.
Common Bee-fly feeding at willow flower
Friday 18
Smew, bittern, penduline tit – Hanson-ARC site. Raven (2) – Denge Marsh
Saturday 19
Goldeneye, smew – ARC pit. Bittern, rock pipit – Hooker’s pits. Snipe, firecrest – Christmas Dell. Buzzard, spoonbill – flew over.
Sunday 20
Egyptian goose, garganey (3), goldeneye, avocet, glaucous gull – Burrowes pit. Black-necked grebe – ARC pit. Wheatear, black redstart – main car park area. Red kite – flew over at about 9.30. Merlin – near access track
The signs of Spring are finally arriving on the Romney Marsh, the water levels around Walland are encouraging this year for wet grassland species and a small number of lapwing and redshank are active in addition the ever elusive breeding bittern was booming on Walland Marsh on the 19-20th March.
After a cold start, the day really warmed up bringing out a good range of invertebrates. At Castle Water this included both Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock butterflies, several Buff-tailed Bumblebee, quite a few Cheilosia grossa, and my first Common Bee-fly of the year. I also spent a bit of time looking for spiders at the river mouth this morning, turning up the bizarre millipede Polyxenus lagurus (see here) and, best of the bunch by far today, an immature male of the very rare jumping spider Neon pictus.
Small Tortoiseshell