BETTER NEWS

29 June 2022 Better news this morning birdwise. Yesterday morning over the Fire Hills at Fairlight and this morning over Cliff End were a noisy pair of Peregrines swirling around overhead, no doubt an adult and this year’s young bird from the local nest. Later I joined PR on the Sea Wall at Pett Pools after he had seen two newly fledged Marsh Harriers over one of the reed beds. Both a male and female were seen out hunting and while I was there one of the fledglings took off low over the reeds distantly before dropping down again. The distinctive dark plumage with the golden head and the narrow golden line along the greater upper wing coverts as well as the dark gold fringed tail could all just about be seen. This was at the west end of the Main Pool where PR had seen them earlier in flight and not at the reed bed next to the Cormorant Pool where we thought they were nesting. It is possible that there are two nests with maybe one male servicing both, time will tell. Other young birds around the Roadside Pool included Rooks, Mute Swans with four cygnets, Coot with young of varying sizes, 1 Tufted Duck with 7 young, the Egyptian Geese pair with four young, and 3 Pochard ( with 1,4,5 young ) and 1 Gadwall with 5 young. So breeding is going reasonably well so far. A number of early Sand Martins moved west and five Swifts went east.

Addendum 8th July 2022 Further news from PR today of five juv. Marsh Harriers and two adults flying around the Pools suggests that as suspected there have possibly been two nests.

OFF PISTE

26 June 2022 Another circular of Castle Water this morning with AP and JT in a fresh breeze. Almost the first thing we saw was a very large hairy moth caterpillar ( which end is which? ) and this later diverted us off piste. Birdwise it was standard fare, 4 sp. Birds of Prey, Cormorants and Little Egrets some still in the nests, a returning Green Sandpiper at last ( two others seen nearby by Dave Bentley DB ), Egyptian Geese showing off their dark breast spot, LRPs, the BNG, 14 BlacktGods, 2 Ravens, 5 Curlews ( including two of this year’s young ). No Hobbies but lots of Swifts 50+ and a few House Martins. The abundant flowers today were mostly blue and yellow, blue Bugloss at its best, and yellow Maiden’s Bedstraw, Stonecrop, and Ragwort. At the north end of Castle Water is a fine display at the moment of pink Pyramidal Orchids. It was there that we started looking for Dragonflies ( only a Black-tailed Skimmer seen ) and Damselflies ( photos of Common Blue, male and female, and a Blue-tailed Damsefly ) and a few Butterflies, a nice male Small Skipper, a Small Tortoiseshell showing its under wing, and a couple of Five-spot Burnet Moths. Unfortunately there is still a dearth of flying insects this late in the season, it has been a very odd year so far.

CHICK UPDATE

22 June 2022 Epic fail today, my camera settings were not correct so rubbish photos. I managed a rapid circular tour of Flat Beach in the RHNR this afternoon. On the Salt Marsh Curlews are newly back, 20 odd today and PR had 40 at Pett Level Pools so along with a Green Sandpiper seen back at Castle Water I am calling it officially Autumn. I finally caught up with a pair of Ringed Plovers with two young and Oystercatchers were also very visible with chicks of varying sizes. Some Little Tern action with young was also seen. Over at the west end of Flat Beach Black-headed Gulls seem to have more or less finished breeding on the islands leaving the Common Terns in charge. There was one very large tern chick but most seen were about one third size. At the easterly end of the Ternery Pool were two distant Grey Plovers, one in summer plumage, the other in winter plumage, a strange sight. Oddest of all was the return of a or the pair of GbbGulls onto the top of the car park Martello Tower, no sign of chicks but they may have laid again after a failure, time will tell.

Addendum 23 June 2022 Today I finally checked on the Peregrine’s nest west of Pett Level. On the 14th June I had seen both parents and a very large young. I have checked my photos taken from a long way away and now show here the blurry image obtained at the time. So ten days later unsurprisingly the nest site is empty with no sign of Peregrines. So the youngster was nearer to fledging than I had thought so hopefully all went well and it is now in the far yonder with its parents. This is better news than from one of the other RX peregrine nests which has definitely failed probably due to bird flu. Back at the Pett Level Cliffs there are no signs yet of young Fulmars.

ANXIOUS PARENTS RHNR

16 June 2022 Anxious times for breeding birds at the RHNR at the moment, especially Oystercatchers and Little Terns. AP, JT and I started at 6.30 am for the figure of eight circular. Almost the first bird seen was a distant Barn Owl quartering the far end of the Salt Marsh. Two in one week! and JT has never seen one there before. The summering Curlew was also present. On Flat Beach some Little Tern chicks were way out in the open. This caused territorial disputes with an Oystercatcher which was trying to shepherd its two young out of the way. An aerial bombardment commenced until the offending Oystercatchers departed. Some of the Little Tern chicks seemed very exposed, others much better camouflaged amongst the pebbles. On the way to the Crittall Hide Wild Lettuce and Yellow Horned Poppies were evident and a Mullein sp. nearby. At the hide a pair of Redshank were acting agitated, no doubt having young nearby. The nesting GreaterbbGull was being mobbed firstly by Common Terns and then by Black-headed Gulls. A blob on the end of the island looked ominous but later revived and walked around with its parent. One of the nesting pair of Common Gulls landed on a post in front of the hide after it was vacated by a Common Tern both giving good views. The apparent darkness of the wings is just a trick of the light. Three Sandwich Terns flew over and a Grey Partridge scuttled past directly in front of the hide before flying off. Over at the Barn Pools more broods of Shelduck were seen as well as a LRP. Further young Oystercatchers were found and largish Avocets young, which seemed to be everywhere today. The first Common Tern chick of the year that we have seen was in front of the Denny Hide. No new waders, it is the doldrums for them until July though Lapwing numbers were up, around 20 seen.

PEREGRINE UPDATE

14 June 2022 I reported on the 2nd June that I had found a Peregrine‘s nest above the shore between Pett Level and Hastings. I trudged west along the tide line again this afternoon to check on it. From a long distance away I could see one chick well feathered about the same size as the female sat near the nesting site. I got a little closer but the chick crouched down allowing only a head shot. From its size I think it will be flying in a week, so nearly fledged. The male Peregrine also put in an appearance circling overhead. One chick only I assume. Back along the beach at Pett Level an Oystercatcher caught my eye with a white throat band, surely not winter plumage already. But a quick look at Collins and the dark tip to the bill explained that it was a 1st summer bird, having been bred this year. A fine pair of GreaterbbGulls were also on the beach with a couple of Little Egrets. Back at Pett Level village there was a Great White Shark alert. Well, the seas are warming up.

!! RHNR BARN OWL !!

12 June 2022 Sometimes you just get lucky, right place , right time, as today with a Barn Owl. I went over early from the Viewpoint to Castle Water and back. Most Warblers are difficult to see now but not Whitethroats, one of which had a fledged family of young in the bushes. It was as I approached the north end of Castle Water ( where Viper’s-Bugloss is now in flower ) that I saw a gull harassing a bird of prey. It turned out to be a Barn Owl in bright sunlight. It quartered the area ( a few dodgy flight shots ) but then kindly landed on a fence post for its portraiture. They are seen singularly all year round in this part of the Reserve but usually at dusk, they must breed somewhere nearby. A Yellow Wagtail and a juv. Pied Wagtail were feeding together. Castle Water was again very busy with a lot more fledged Cormorants on the islands, though ducks are starting to go into eclipse. Of note the BnGrebe as usual, two LRPs, fly over Marsh Harriers, too early in the day for Hobbies, and the return of the Grey Heron waiting to mug the incoming Cormorants. Best was the aerobatic flying display of the Black-tailed Godwit flock when disturbed. They soon settle down again. Better news on the local Gulls, only three dead visible in the fields north of Castle Water and the Gulls on the Bourne roofs look fine with young Herring Gulls and one young GbbGull stomping about. It was the same back at Pett Pools when I passed, a healthy looking Roadside Pool Gull Roost with a Marsh Harrier circling overhead. Earlier I had also checked out the Sparrowhawk nest on the Reserve and the female gave me the evil eye, so all well.

RHNR CHICKS GALORE

09 June 2022 Another early start with AP for a figure of eight circuit of Flat Beach and the Barn Pools. The usual Grey Heron was stood in the culvert near the DC waiting for the tide to run into the Salt Marsh. On Flat Beach we could only see one of the GbbGull chicks with a preening adult nearby. Three Little Tern chicks were located , well camouflaged and difficult to see accompanied by their parents. We did see a few waders today, two flypast Sanderlings, a Greenshank, a Curlew, and a very high calling probable Golden Plover. All the others were breeding birds, Little Ringed Plover, Redshank, Ringed Plover, Lapwing, Avocets, and Oystercatchers. So many chicks of varying sizes so breeding appears to be going well at the moment. The Common Terns at the west end of Flat Beach are also well established, maybe 200 +, but very flighty if gulls or other predators pass over. The Common Gull on Ternery Pool now occupies one end of its island with Black-headed Gulls and Common Terns at the other, last year it had the whole island all to its self. A Red-legged Partridge was seen and a brood of Shelducks was resting behind the fence of one of the new islands on the Salt Pool. It was a beautiful morning with lots of birds close to the Hides.

Addendum Less happy news, it is now common knowledge ( SOS recent sightings website ) that the RHNR has not escaped the supposed countrywide avian flu epidemic. Many corpses of dead Herring Gulls are on Flat Beach, Defra have visited to collect some corpses and definitive results are expected soon. Hopefully it remains in the non breeding gull population but time will tell.

LITTLE EGRETS

08 June 2022 Yesterday I went over to the Halpin Hide at Castle Water in the RHNR and was pleased to see young Little Egrets in one of the nests in the Cormorant Colony. Some of the Cormorant nests are empty now with the fledged brown backed young standing out on the islands waiting for food to be brought in from Rye Bay. Other young Cormorants, though appearing fully grown and begging for food in the nests, still only have vestigial wing feather development. One of the Little Egret nests had two half sized young but how the thick stubby bill converts to the adult rapier I do not know, clever. A male Mute Swan was in murder mode chasing off other Swans. At one point it chased another into the reed beds and came out with a reed stuck in its wing. A quick bathe got rid of the reed and it then continued powering about, being completely ignored by a roosting flock of 14 Black-tailed Godwits. Two male Little Ringed Plovers were around, one bathing, hopefully with females nearby on eggs.

Back at the Roadside Pool at Pett Pools a Mute Swan was swimming about with five young, but no sign this year of any Polish Swan Cygnets though one was present with its parents last year. Behind the Pool two feral Barnacle Geese were new, but no roosting waders were there apart from a few Oystercatchers. A Pied Wagtail was calling persistently atop a post and probably has a nest nearby. Nice that one of my recent photos of the Spring Wood Sandpiper at the Ternery Pool in the RHNR made it into the May Round-up article of Bird Guides on-line, fame at last.

FULMAR UPDATE

02 June 2022 I took advantage of a morning low tide to check on the Fulmars at Cliff End, Pett Level. Birds were sitting in pairs or alone in at least ten places. These varied from high up over the cliff line to low down on ledges as well as in huge cracks and in an old Raven’s nest. So it was difficult to estimate but breeding seems to be underway but too soon to see visible chicks. Of more interest was the acrobatic display of five or so Ravens along the tree line, mostly no doubt this year’s young from a nest near to or from the same nest site that was used last year. Little Egrets are often feeding in the rock pools below the cliffs but no waders were seen this morning except for a flypast of five Oystercatchers when the tide started to come in. Near Fairlight is an interesting sculpting of the shingle beach.

In the RX area I know of at least four Peregrine nests and later this morning I also checked on one of them between Pett Level and Hastings, good to see it occupied but it appears to only contain a single half grown chick. Hopefully other nests will have two or three young each.