Recent Sightings
June 2007
June brought with it mixed fortunes for the special breeding birds at Rye Harbour, the cold wet weather in particular causing a number of species problems. Our poor Little Terns produced their first chicks around the 20th, but these quickly succumbed to the bad weather and the attentions of a marauding Kestrel, and by the end of the month the colony was effectively finished. Similarly many Common Tern chicks succumbed to similar pressures, while both Lapwing and Redshank have also had poor breeding success. Looking on the bright side however, the Sandwich Tern are having a good year, and produced their first fledglings this month, as did Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Oystercatcher, Wheatear and Yellow Wagtail (below). On Harbour Farm, the last of the Avocet hatched their young, with chicks of this species which hatched earlier in the season almost fledged.
Bird highlight during the month was a Red-backed Shrike which was present on the Wader Pool early in the morning of the 11th. Unfortunately it only stayed briefly before flying east towards the Golf Course and being lost from view. Other notable passerines during June included a pair of Raven at Castle Water on the 9th, and 300+ Swift on the 24th. June saw evidence of our first returning migrant waders, probably birds breeding in the far north where the season is short. Hence there were regular sightings of Green Sandpiper and Curlew, occasional Black-tailed Godwit, Greenshank and Common Sandpiper and the odd Dunlin, while flocks of up to 100 Lapwing were another sign of the advancing year. Little evidence of sea-bird movement this month, though the reserve did see it’s first Roseate Tern of the year, with a singleton at Ternery Pool on the 18th, and up to five Little Gull on Ternery Pool, while a maximum of 13 Gannet were seen offshore on the 25th. Other notable sightings this month included regular Hobby and Marsh Harrier, and two male Garganey at Castle Water on the 1st.
The cold, wet weather during June resulted in relatively poor catches in the Lime Kiln moth trap, though some interesting species did turn up. These included Rosy Wave, Sand Dart, Shore Wainscot and Viper’s Bugloss Moth (above), all national rarities, and the first reserve record of Barred Red. Butterflies on the wing this month included Clouded Yellow, Large Skipper, Comma and Meadow Brown, while new dragonflies for the year included Ruddy Darter, Common Darter and Brown Hawker. Other notable invertebrate sightings during June included a number of rare ‘true’ flies including Long-horned General, Black Colonel and Drab Wood Soldierfly, as well as several records of Bombardier Beetle, a species on the Sussex Rare Species Inventory. Plants in flower this month included Sea Pea, Sweet Briar (below), Biting Stonecrop, and Hemlock Water-Dropwort.
