RXwildlife Sightings

On the 1st May saw good numbers of Br.T.Godwit with 40/50 east over the sea, with a few Whimbrel in with them, and 50/60 in a flock on the marsh, and a further 6 Whimbrel on the marsh. Also on this day I had my first Little Tern, Yellow Wag,Wheatear,Hobby of my year. On the following Sunday 8th May, the only bird of note was a Little Gull (imm) which was hawking on the field behind theWader Pool. There was also 3 Brent Geese on the marsh.This Sunday 15th May Buzzard 2, Hobby 1, Marsh Harrier 1 ( cream head imm) Little Owl 1 (in the usual place on the old sea cliff to the left of the hide) On the whole its been quite slow over the past few weeks, good bird watching Pete.

I was on a walk with a small group in Brede High Wood when a young lad came over to me with an acorn. Inside were 5 bug like nymphs. He asked “what are they”. I didn’t have a clue. So I took a photo of the acorn and we continued on are way. I have since found out that they are nymphs of the Common Earwig (Forficula auricularia) A pair of forceps-like appendages protrude from the end of the earwig’s abdomen. These appendages are called cerci. The cerci aren’t used as weapons, but they may harmlessly grasp a human hand if handled aggressively. They’re also used to assist in mating, male and female grasping each other, or sometimes to grasp prey. Earwigs have a very broad, omnivorous diet, and feed at night. They eat anything from garden plants, to grass and other insects.