RXwildlife Sightings

ANNOUNCE A VERY SPECIAL EVENT

An evening with Internationally renowned Landscape Photographer JOE CORNISH

“CRAFT, ART & SOUL” THE THREE PILLARS OF PHOTOGRAPHY

At RYE COLLEGE the grove, Rye Saturday 17^th October 2009 at 7.30 p.m.

Tickets are £6.00 and are available from Martello Bookshop, 26 High Street, Rye Tel. 01797 222242

Or, by post from John Trowell, Lorrimer, Main Road, Icklesham, Winchelsea, East Sussex TN36 4BS.  Please enclose a stamped addressed envelope and make cheques payable to  “Rye & District Camera Club”

The Kent Coastal Network would like to hear your views on the sustainable management of the coast and is consulting on topic papers written by a cross section of coastal practitioners. The online consultation is being hosted at  http://coastalkent.net/action-plan.php  from 20th February to 3rd April 2009 and will be followed by a workshop to allow further discussion and report back on your views.

The aim of this work is to assist in the development of an Integrated Coastal Action Plan (ICAP) which will be the catalyst for a greater degree of integrated working on the Kent coast.  The biodiversity paper has been written by Natural England and provides a reflection on the coastal biodiversity resource in Kent, if you feel this paper needs adding to or is missing out important issues, please feel free to respond via the website.

Chris Drake, Kent Coastal Officer, KCC

The small insect eating birds are always vulnerable to freezing weather and the local resident population of Cetti’s Warbler (right) will probably be smaller than last year. I was relieved to hear 2 calling at the Castle Water viewpoint today, together with a Chiffchaff and a Goldcrest.

The Dungeness Bird Observatory website has reported 2-3 Sandwich Terns on 18th and 20th February. Plus a regular Iceland Gull.

There is a new update on this Woodland Trust reserve available by clicking here. It tells you what has been happening over the past six months and highlights forthcoming events. Also, please do check out Dr Patrick Roper’s excellent new Brede High Woods blog by clicking here.

Just south of the red roofed hut at Rye Harbour there is an extensive stand of Sea Spurge with bright red leaves, about 15cm tall. Some of the larger plants appear to be in flower, but my books say that it flowers June-Sept. On closer inspection the “flowers” are the typical umble like clusters, typical of spurges, where the green “petals” are really just bracts.

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Still 55 Bewick’s swans on the marsh today (6 juveniles), far from the roads about half a mile south-east of Old Romney - TR040244. Appeared to be on winter cereal, with the added attraction of some floodwater.
John Kirk by e-mail

Another early start and another very cold day with a dusting of snow from Hastings eastwards. The sea off Pett was calm for once and on it were several large and mobile flocks of Common Scoter totalling perhaps 400 - 500 birds, a couple of Red-throated Divers and the usual groups of Great Crested Grebes close inshore. A Marsh Harrier was perched on a bush in the reeds by one of the roadside pools. From here we headed to Rye Harbour and set off on a circular walk via the viewpoint, Castle Water, Long Pit and Narrow Pit. Despite the cold weather, the birding was on the slow side though we did see at least 8 Ruff with the Lapwing at the north end of Castle Water, several Snipe and the usual wildfowl from the hide at Castle Water, a Marsh Harrier that flew over mobbed by a crow, a hunting Barn Owl, and a pair of Goldeneye and a redhead Smew on Long Pit. Next stop was the Dungeness RSPB reserve where things were much quieter than a month ago though we eventually saw 2 redhead Smew, 9 Ruddy Duck, both the Black-necked and Slavonian Grebe, two Marsh Harriers over Dengemarsh together and a couple of Tree Sparrows by the start of the entrance track.

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There is an annual wildlife festival in the Baie de Somme, just across la Manche. This year the dates are 18th-26th April Click here for more detail... and don’t forget our RX Wildlife Festival at the end of May click here for detail.

Paul James will be leading another guided day’s birdwatching in the RX area this Saturday. Sites which we will visit include Pett Level, Castle Water, Dungeness and Walland Marsh. For further details please go to www.sussexwildlifewalks.com