RXwildlife Sightings

Still not exactly warm, but out of the wind in the sheltered scrubby areas near the viewpoint a good selection of damselflies had gathered. At least 50+ Variable Damselfly, 100+ Blue-tailed  Damselfly, 20+ Red-eyed Damselfy and 30+ Azure Damselfly were enjoying the warmth. Hairy Dragonfly and Downy Emerald were also patrolling the nearby bramble bushes. As the season progresses I keep expecting to find a bigger emergence of Hairy Dragonfly at Castle Water, so far I have only collected twenty exuvia and would expect a lot more by now if recent years are anything to go by. A selection of picture from this morning are below.

One of two male Hairy Dragonfly at stage 2 of emergence near the viewpoint this morning.

Read the rest of this entry »

Four Hobby gave a spectacular aerial display hawking insects around the viewpoint area this morning, prey items seemed to be mainly St Mark’s-flies although a Downy Emerald and a few damselflies were also on the menu. In between flights the birds gave great close views while roosting. A selection of pictures are below. (click on read the rest of this entry)

Read the rest of this entry »

Black-headed Gull chick update first. Over a week old now and spending more time at the waters edge rather than in the nest, food still coming in and the regurgitated meal this morning was unidentifiable and looked revolting but Iam sure was pukka tukka for a growing chick. (see picture below)

Additional avian highlights over the past few days have included 8 Black-tailed Godwit and 5 Grey Pover on flat beach and 18 Little Tern have been high flying above shore ridges. On harbour farm good numbers of Avocet are still present and Little Ringed Plover are found on most of the pools. Obviously ternery pool is a hive of activity with 1800 pairs of Black-headed Gull, 650 pairs of Sandwich Tern and 55 pairs of Mediterranean Gull. Pairs of Common Tern are hard to judge at present but can been seen almost anywhere on the reserve. At Castle Water two Hobby are still hunting around the viewpoint, Marsh Harrier, Bearded Tit and a good selection of warblers can aslo been seen from there.

A search for more signs of Downy Emerald emergence today revealed 8 exuviae and one adult at the point of taking its maiden flight. Trying to find all the exuvia can be a challenge, especially when its only a few spindley legs grasping a sprouting common reed stem showing, as shown in the third picture below.

On the verge of taking maiden flight Read the rest of this entry »

I have been monitoring one of the Black-headed Gull nests infront of parkes hide at ternery pool. Last thursday and friday three chicks had hatched and were doing well. This morning there is only one chick left and at five days old is growing fast. While I was watching this morning a huge meal of earthworms was brought back to the nest which fed the chick and the brooding adult.

I can’t believe that it’s been five years since I first found Downy Emerald as a new breeding species of dragonfly at Castle Water. Last year I did not find any exuvia or see any adults on the wing, so thought it was just a  short term thing as the species had been expanding its range in the south east and had just used Castle Water as a stepping stone to find other woodland habitats. While at the viewpoint this morning I checked the margins to see if the sunny weather had encouraged any dragonflies to emerge, and was delighted to find 3 Downy Emerald in the process of emerging and 5 exuviae. Several Hairy Dragonfly and small numbers of Red-eyed Damselfly were also emerging in the margins.

Downy Emerald at stage four of emergence Read the rest of this entry »

Highlights over the past few days have included 33 Whimbrel and a Spotted Redshank in summer plumage on flat beach, the new saltmarsh area has attracted the first pair of Avocets with chicks (they had to walk a long way too get there), 90 Dunlin, 125 Ringed Plover and a  few Bar-tailed Godwit. This morning at least 54 Avocet and 6 Litte Ringed Plover were spread over several pools on harbour farm, Lapwings with good sized chicks were also present in the fields nearest the barns. At ternery pool Black-headed Gull chicks have started to hatch in good numbers now and are best seen from parkes hide. At Castle Water two or three Hobby have been regular at the viewpoint at day break, Bearded Tit and a Turtle Dove were also of note this morning.

Lapwing with chick on harbour farm Read the rest of this entry »

Plenty of action now at Ternery Pool with the first Black-headed Gull chicks yesterday. As long as the weather does not get too bad the wet conditions should help provide plenty of food in the nearby grazing fields. The drier conditions in recent years have not helped the success rate of fledged chicks. The bulk of the Sandwich Tern colony have now settled so there is increased activity with hundreds of birds flying around with fish. Little Tern presence has also picked up with 16 birds on Flat Beach this morning. Numbers of Common Tern and Mediterranean Gull are increasing and starting to settle as the season progresses.

At last some signs of Hairy Dragonfly emergence at Castle Water, in recent years the first few exuviae and adults have been found from the 24th April onwards. This morning I found a male and female that had successfully reached stage four of emergence and hopefully if the temperature rises a little today should manage to take a maiden flight. The highlight though was watching the first few steps of a larva as it left the water and crawled up its chosen emergence support. This part of the process always fascinates me as the aquatic life is left behind and an aerial life beckons, if only for a brief time. 

Its been an incredible few days for waders around the reserve, 22 species so far. This morning 34 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Ruff and 2 Curlew Sandpipers were feeding around the flooded fields at the northern  end of Castle Water. A Peregrine and 200+ Swallow were also of note. On the Beach Reserve the Kentish Plover showed well again very close to Lime Kiln Cottage, a good selection of waders are still feeding on the new saltmarsh area a Temminck’s Stint,  2 Little Ringed Plover and a Curlew Sandpiper provided additional interest this morning. More details on waders seen here by clicking here.

Kentish Plover this morning near Lime Kiln.