RXwildlife Sightings

Only 12 Whimbrel were counted leaving the Quarry roost this morning (though it is still a few days early for the peak counts), with at least four Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Knot and a solitary Golden Plover also present here. At least four Grey Plover and four Wheatear were present on Flat Beach level, while a Cuckoo was heard on Narrow Pit, four Little Terns were on the Beach Reserve and a Bittern was at Castle Water. The highlights however were two male Garganey which showed very well from the Parkes hide at about 6.30am, and a flock of at least 13 Eider (one drake) close inshore a little later.

A steady trickle of emerging Hairy Dragonfly continues in the ditch nearest the hide, Blue-tailed and Variable Damselfly are also emerging now and are present in small numbers. Additional interest was provided by finding a freshly emerged hoverfly which looks like a male Parhelophilus versicolor, pictured below.

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Highlights this morning have included 2 Grasshopper Warbler in song on Harbour Farm (between corner pools and the barns), a passing Short-eared Owl caused chaos on Flat Beach Quarry and Ternery Pool this morning and provided a spectacular sights as hundreds of gulls and terns took to the air. Along the shore 4 Arctic Skua were lingering and were busy chasing terns, 7 Little Tern were along Shore Ridges.  At Castle Water a Turtle Dove, Bittern and 2 Hobby were present at the viewpoint, and probably another Turtle Dove was at the hide, 5 Wheatears were also of note in the fields closest to the hide. 

One of the two Grasshopper Warblers this morning

Whilst walking across a field in Broad Oak when I suddenly realised I was walking over numerous fronds of the adder’s-tongue fern Ophioglossum vulgatum.  This most un-fern-like plant is associated with old unimproved meadows and has undergone a significant decline in the UK, so the news that the owner managed the field as a hay meadow with no chemical inputs was particularly pleasing.

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Common buzzard – one flew north today. Hobby – three on 21st. Little ringed plover – one at the ARC site today. Green sandpiper – one at the ARC site on 20th. Greenshank – one at the ARC site on 20th. Whimbrel – 13 in fields near Boulderwall Farm on 21st. Mediterranean gull – four on Burrowes pit on 21st. Sandwich tern – one over Burrowes on 21st. Common tern – one at Denge Marsh today. Kingfisher – one at Scott hide on 20th. Bee-eater – one (possibly two) heard over the ARC site and Hooker’s pits today. Whinchat – first of the year in Christmas Dell today. Ring ouzel – a male at the ARC site this morning. Garden warbler – one in Christmas Dell today. Lesser whitethroat – two at the ARC site and one near Hide 1 on 21st. Firecrest – one in the pines by the Water Tower on 21st.

Calling all amateur photographers! It’s not too late to enter our Images of Dungeness photography competition.

You could win a pair of RSPB binoculars, have your photos exhibited in our Visitor Centre and raise money for the RSPB at the same time. Pick up an entry form and details from the Visitor Centre, email the reserve at dungeness@rspb.org.uk or download a copy from our website.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/groups/dungeness/default.aspx

Lots of plovers at Rye Harbour today - with breeding Lapwing, Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers and a few (7) lingering Golden Plover in breeding plumage and the appearance of Grey Plover in their black and white breeding plumage - I always think that the 2 plumages of adult Grey Plover make the birds look a different shape, almost like different species.
With the warm weather continuing you might think that it was a good day for the first Lapwing chicks to be appearing. BUT they prefer to feed on insects found in wet mud and there’s not a lot of that around at the moment. Anyway the warm weather means that they don’t need to be brooded often, so thay can spend all day feeding. The parents of a brood near the Wader Pool spent some time trying to chase away the Golden Plovers in their territory.

Lots more odonata interest this week at Castle Water. The ditch near the hide which has been checked regularly since 15th of April for the first signs of emergence of the Hairy Dragonfly has started, 35 emergents/exuviae have been found since Tuesday. Another point of interest this morning was finding a female ovipositing, since its takes around a week for adults to mature this female had obviously emerged earlier at another site. The sheltered bays around the viewpoint have also produced the first Common Blue and Azure Damselflies, several Hairy Dragonfly have also been found emerging in the aforementioned area.  I saw my first Hobby also today hawking insects over the reeds, this could be unfortunate for many Hairy Dragonflies as they take there maiden flight. A selection of pictures taken this morning are below.

Male pre flight emergent still clinging to exuvia

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Still not great numbers of moths, despite the warm weather (about 15 of six species this morning), but the still a steady trickle of ‘reserve rarities’. This morning it was a Brindled Beauty (Lycia hirtaria) another common species which has rarely been recorded on the reserve, with the last record in 1999. This particular individual is male as can be told by the feathered antennae which are used to detect chemical scents released by the female.

Brindled Beauty
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My thermometer read 16°C at 8 a.m. today!  Even so, I was surprised to find this Campion in my moth trap, only my second ever here at Rye and 3–4 weeks early. The bar chart on the ‘Hantsmoths’ website shows only one out of 123 Hampshire records before the last week of April. It’s a beautiful moth, with subtle mauve tints in the crosslines and veins. As befits its name, the larval foodplants are the seeds of campion and ragged-robin.

Egyptian goose – one at Denge Marsh on 17th. Barnacle goose – four at Denge Marsh on 17th. Goldeneye – one on Burrowes pit on 17th. Bittern – one still booming! Buzzard – one flew over on 17th. Hobby – three around the site today. Little ringed plover – one on Burrowes pit this morning. Green sandpiper – three at the ARC site on 15th. Snipe – one near Boulderwall Farm on 18th. Greenshank – two on Burrowes pit on 17th. Whimbrel – 17 near the access track on 18th. Bar-tailed godwit – two on Burrowes pit on 17th. Mediterranean gull – 18 at the ARC site on 17th. Common tern – one over Burrowes pit on 15th. Cuckoo – one on 17th and 18th. Wheatear – one at the ARC site on 15th. Nightingale – one at the Water Tower pits on 15th. Blackcap – one in Christmas Dell on 16th. Lesser whitethroat – one at the ARC site on 15th. Chiffchaff – several around site on 17th.