Recent Sightings

December 2009

December is often the best month to see good numbers of water fowl, especially when as happened this month, there was a spell of cold weather, with counts including up to 560 Teal, 400 Wigeon, 243 Gadwall, 200 Shoveler and 150 Tufted Duck. In addition, up to nine Pintail were present at Castle Water, five Goldeneye were on Long Pit and Harbour Farm on the 13th, up to three Smew were recorded at Castle Water and a Scaup (below) was present on Ternery Pool and Castle Pit. At Castle Water, a maximum of two Bittern were seen during the month, with perhaps a third bird at the Narrow Pits, while the Little Egret roost peaked at 18 mid-month.

Numbers of Curlew roosting on the reserve remained high, with 500 present on the shore ridges on the morning of the 14th, while up to 400 Lapwing and 67 Golden Plover were also present on the Beach Reserve. On the shore, a maximum of 400 Dunlin were present during the month, while 350 Oystercatcher, 127 Sanderling and 29 Grey Plover were also recorded. Other notable waders included up to 11 Ruff at Castle Water on the 18th, with two Jack Snipe here on the 20th, two Avocet on the Quarry on the 13th, and a Black-tailed Godwit on Harbour Farm on the 24th. Offshore a good selection of birds included up to 50 Wigeon and 30 Teal on the 16th, 40 Common Scoter, a Red-throated Diver and a Black-throated Diver on the 23rd and four Kittiwake on the 7th. In addition, a Mediterranean Gull was on the shore on the 24th. Up to two Marsh Harrier were seen during December, though the number frequenting the reserve is probably higher, while on the Beach Reserve, at least one Merlin was present throughout the month, either hunting over the shore or Flat Beach. In addition, a Peregrine was hunting at Castle Water on the 21st and a Common Buzzard was over the Beach Reserve on the 14th. Owls have been rather thin on the ground in recent months, so a Barn Owl on Harbour Farm on the 3rd was a welcome sighting. Passerine highlight during December were two Raven which overflew Castle Water on the 14th, while small numbers of ‘winter thrushes’ included a maximum of 35 Fieldfare and 27 Redwing mid-month. Other winter visitors included up to two Rock Pipit (below) on the saltmarsh and three Bullfinch at Castle Water on the 15th. In addition, Bearded Tit were regular at Castle Water during the month, with a maximum of three on the 12th.

Relatively little in the way of non-avian highlights during December as you might expect. However, a Common Seal was seen occasionally in the Rother during the month, while a Brown Hare (an increasingly uncommon sight here) was recorded on Harbour Farm on the 3rd. Still a couple of invertebrate sightings during December: the micro moth Emmelina monodactyla was not unusual while two late Buff-tailed Bumblebee in Rye Harbour Village on the 10th definitely were!