Recent Sightings
May 2007
May saw the breeding season at Rye Harbour get into full swing, and by the end of the month all of the reserves special breeding species had made a start on raising this year’s compliment of young. Some of these, such as Little Tern, had only just began to nest and were still incubating eggs, others, such as Mediterranean Gull (below), Ringed Plover, Avocet, Redshank and Oystercatcher hatched their first chicks, while yet others, such as Lapwing produced their first fledglings!
The start of the month still saw large numbers of Bar-tailed Godwit present on the reserve, with a maximum of 525 on the 1st, while 249 Whimbrel left the Quarry roost on the same date. Other notable waders included up to 16 Knot on the shore (again on the 1st), 12 Black-tailed Godwit in flight over Harbour Farm on the 13th, a maximum of 10 Little Ringed Plover on the 25th, and small numbers of Common Sandpiper, Grey Plover, Curlew, Greenshank and Snipe. Notable passerine sightings included a Raven over the Beach Reserve on the 5th, (with two over Rye Harbour Village on the 9th) a Spotted Flycatcher at Narrow Pits on the same date, and around a 100 Swift from the viewpoint at Castle Water on the 12th. In addition, up to three Garganey were present on the Bittern Excavations during the month, while a Common Quail flushed behind Ternery Pool on the 10th was something of a surprise! Offshore, things were relatively quiet during May, sightings including up to 60+ Common Scoter, and small numbers of Arctic Skua, Fulmar and Gannet. However, three Manx Shearwater on the 12th were something of a highlight, being only the sixth record for this species at Rye Harbour in over thirty years! Other interesting seabirds included an immature Little Gull present on the new excavations on Harbour Farm and Ternery Pool throughout the month, and up to two Black Tern early in the month. Raptors during May included up to two each of Marsh Harrier and Hobby, and single sightings of Peregrine on Harbour Farm and Hen Harrier at Castle Water, both of these on the 12th.
Highlight in the Lime Kiln Cottage moth trap during May were two Cypress Carpet (above) on the 24th, the first reserve records for this relatively recent colonist, while other notable species included White Colon, Water Ermine, Sand Dart and the wonderfully named Cream-bordered Green Pea. Several species of butterfly were abroad for the first time this month including Holly Blue, Common Blue and Small Heath, while dragonflies and damselflies on the wing included Emperor, Four-spotted Chaser, Broad-bodied Chaser, Black-tailed Skimmer, Variable Damselfly and Red-eyed Damselfly. However, perhaps the most unusual non-avian sighting during May was a Water Shrew (below) at Lime Kiln Cottage, a very surprising location for this largely aquatic mammal! Plants in flower this month included Yellow-horned Poppy, Viper’s Bugloss, Stinking Hawksbeard, Thrift and Henbane.
