Rye Harbour at dusk

After spending the bulk of the afternoon strimming the boat spaces at the sailing club, I headed off South into East Sussex to Rye Harbour to have a look at the new Nature Reserve facilities there.

I was able to take Monty out on the shingle paths and he had an absolutely great time rushing about. As the paths have been separated from the bird areas by pig netting, the dogs get their exercise while the birds are protected from grievous trespass by them!

On the other side of the River Rother the visitors were walking along the beach by the sand dunes

This side of the river the bank is almost entirely shingle, always such a beautiful mix of colours

The shingle is covered by last season's Sea Kale,

The area has always had to be guarded against invasion, while its various shorelines have extended gradually out to see. The latest time of trial was the Second World War, and the pill-boxes remain scattered about the nature reserve to the present day.

Eventually Monty and I reached the far hides, and I chose the one with the setting sun behind it, to try to get a few last minute photos. The islands in the scrape were crowded with lapwings, Vanellus vanellus. Later I saw one Redshank, Tringa and a lovely pair of Little Grebes, Podiceps, just under the windows of the hide itself.

Behind them were about a hundred plovers, which I though might have been Golden Plovers, but couldn't be sure. Further back were hundreds of Herring Gulls and Lesser Black Backed Gulls.

Spotted later on in the middle of the photo were a single Shelduck and one Oystercatcher. Can you spot them?

Here is the sunset over the Lower Greensand cliffs by Hastings. What a great hour down by the sea. I really can't understand any more why people need to travel further than the boundaries of the UK - I won't have enough time to see everything that needs to be seen in Kent, let alone the rest of England, let alone the rest of Britain!

Cliffe pools at low tide, Mid-November

The weather was really rather good again today, with spells of reasonable sunshine and warm and dry whether the sun was shining or not. Common Darter, hoverflies, bee? Lots of LBJs, good numbers of pochard, tufted duck, little grebes, great crested grebes, coot, little egrets, grey herons, redshank, lapwings.
The dredger Antwerpen was off-loading at a rate of knots, and you can see the dredgings being fed from the stern.

and they are then fed up the escalator to be dumped in windrows

Along the seawall, there was a good crop of shaggy inkcaps, Coprinus comatus, of which I took one picture of a youngish head:

On the way back to the car, by one of the access gate-bars, I came across a hoverfly concentrating on a few flowers, which might be a Platycheirus, possibly Platycheirus albimanus. The combination of grey spots and a small dark body points towards the greyer marked species of Platycheirus, and the black shiny thorax with an accompanying black scutellum is a fairly diagnostic cross-check that it really is Platycheirus, characteristics shared only with Melanostoma and Chamaesyrphus. Another nice point is the wing venation, with the long light brown stigma, clearly visible on the front margin of the wing (see further down below).

This sighting, together with another unidentified Syrphid patrolling a territory on the path, was really great as I had thought that the hoverfly season was pretty nearly finished, and I haven't been able to photograph any hoverflies for weeks. I therefore tried to catch this Platycheirus hovering in front of the flower:

It was clearly grey spotted, and a female. The overall shape and pattern looks pretty good for P. albimanus overall. However a word of caution here - the unsettled nature of the taxonomy of this genus, and the overall similarity of the females in general makes this identification a matter of probabilities rather than certainties and therefore somewhat tenuous.

The sternites, overall pattern and face shape seem to fit the pictures on the web - "Wild in Denmark" is a brilliant site for this sort of comparison, with really detailed pictures. The mid and front femora more or less fit available web pictures, but not fully, nor the description in Stubbs & Falk. I would have expected to see a bit more lightness and a clearer orange in these limbs. However this may be partly due to the lateness of the season. If this is a third brood individual, then it may be expected to develop darker shades in the lower temperatures available at the larval and pupal stages.

There are a number of other issues with the identification. The abdomen of this insect is quite swollen, and apparently much contracted in relation to the length of the wings. The wings therefore seem 20% longer than the abdomen. I have seen neither of these features in any of the photographs available on the web. The legs are also proportionately long and spindly. Again I realise what poor photos these are in relation to many others available, and I do wonder whether I should make more use of the tripod in this sort of situation. Incidentally, in the next photo there also seems to be a flea beetle buried head down in the flower:

In the next picture the light brown stigmas are clearly visible, which seem to be seen in most of the web pictures I have seen. Although not in the diagnostic keys, these are useful cross-check features - its always reassuring to find such useful characteristics borne out in practical identification.

17 Celsius at Whetsted Gravel Pits

An amazingly lovely warm day, with dragonflies, a butterfly and other insects on the wing, with small wasps or bees pollinating the resurgent Bristly Oxtongue.

There were a lot of people around enjoying the countryside. There were local dog walkers and strollers on the land, and there were boaters on the water, together with canoeists involved in some long distance race up the river.

and the lock itself was busy

In a more relaxed view, there was a leisure canoeist on the lower stage

and a quiet fisherman by the rushing spillpool

There were also leisure planes and helicopters using the skies

Despite the unseasonal warmth of the day, the seasons were rolling on and the recent rainfall had stimulated at least some late fungal fruiting bodies, even in the arable field of wheat above the Lock

On the way down to the lock there was an unidentified butterfly by the crossing hedge (its nearly the middle of November!) and there were still good numbers of Common Darters Sympetrum striolatum by the gravel pits.

Most of the Darters had found some warm wood to sun themselves on, but others were on dried leaves and vegetation on the ground, like this one on the bank of the Hammer Dyke

They were mainly males (I think I saw about 5), but there were also a couple of females, like this one by the tall hedge between the pits

There were good numbers of small wasps or bees pollinating the Bristly Oxtongue, Picris echioides,

These two close ups show one of the wasps or bees covered in pollen. If pollination is successful, will the seeds have time to form and ripen from these flowers I wonder?

This Common Ragwort, Senecio jacobaea, was also being pollinated, but this time by opportunistic flies

The birds on the gravel pits were generally peaceful (although some disturbance or other drove the cormorants, Phalacrocorax carbo, and lapwings, Vanellus vanellus, from the East pit to the West pit during the course of the visit). Here is a Great Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus playing about on the West pit

Total bird list for the day was 1 Canada Goose, Branta canadensis, 90+ Greylag Geeses, Anser anser, 45+ Gadwall, Anas strepera, 18+ Tufted Duck, Aythya fuligula, 16+ Mallard, Anas platyrynchos, 6 Shoveller, Anas clypeata, 5 Great Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus, 14 Little Grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis, 60+ Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus, 4 Common Gull, Larus canus, 110+ Black-Headed Gulls, Chroicocephalus ridibundus, 5 Herring Gull, Larus argentatus, 90+ Coot, Fulica atra, 3 Grey Heron, Ardea cinerea, 16 Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo, 30 Starling, Sturnus vulgaris, 3+ Carrion Crows, Corvus corone, 8+ Blackbirds, Turdus merula, 14+ Fieldfares, Turdus pilaris, and 1 Grey Wagtail, Motacilla cinerea, by the East Lock.

Lower Halstow walk led by Geoff Orton

A slightly dismal morning didn't dampen our spirits as 30+ of us gathered at the the old Brickworks to be led by Geoff along the seawall in an KWT walk, an exploration of the waterfowl and waders of the North Kent coast.

We learnt about the long history of the large number of brickworks in North Kent and other areas, which produced the yellow brown "London Stock Bricks", which lasted until the "igneous" clays of the Midland or Flettons that contained 5% lignite, sufficient to replace 75% of the energy needed to produce the bricks, came into use, greatly reducing the costs of brick production. However Flettons are porous and therefore unsuitable for heavy loads or external use, so it may be a bit more complex than this.

We also learnt about the Thames barges trading along the North Kent coast, and saw several examples during the day, including the excellent Edith May.

I was fascinated by the story of the Dark-bellied Brent Geese flying the two thousand miles from Siberia to winter here after their short and difficult breeding efforts. In good "Lemming" years they get a chance to produce a lot of young birds and bring them with them, but when Lemmings are in short supply, the Artic Foxes get very hungry and increase their predation upon the eggs and goslings, so that few if any birds are produced to reach the UK in that particular year.

The bird list for the day at Lower Halstow was 1 female Marsh Harrier, Circus aeruginosus, 150+ Dark Bellied Brent Geese, Branta barnicla bernicla, 20+ Mallard, Anas platyrynchos, 10+ Teal, Anas crecca, 15+ Wigeon, Anas penelope, 6 Shoveller, Anas clypeata, 20+ Shelduck, Tadorna tadorna, 1 Great Crested Grebe, Podiceps cristatus, 60+ Black(?)-Tailed Godwit, Limosa limosa, 100+ Redshank, Tringa totanus, 3 Curlew, Numenius arquata, 200 Dunlin, Calidris alpina, 2 Oystercatcher, Haematopus ostralegus, 50+ Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus, 7 Grey Plovers, Pluvialis squatarola, 40+ Ringed Plovers, Charadrius hiaticula, 4 Common Gull, Larus canus, 20+ Black-Headed Gulls, Chroicocephalus ridibundus, 10+ Coot, Fulica atra, 1 Grey Heron, Ardea cinerea, 7+ Little Egret, Egretta garzetta, 30 Starling, Sturnus vulgaris, 10+ Carrion Crows, Corvus corone, 8+ Blackbirds, Turdus merula, 8+ Fieldfares, Turdus pilaris, 5 Chaffinches, Fringilla coelebs, 3 House Sparrows, Passer domesticus.

Also 1 Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta, fluttering low along the seawall, heading South for sunnier climes, by accident or design. I'm not sure if this one is going to make it to the Med, it may have left it too late, unless its lucky with some late flowers and rotting fruit!

The bird list for the day at Oare Marshes was 20+ Mallard, Anas platyrynchos, 100+ Teal, Anas crecca, 20+ Wigeon, Anas penelope, 10+ Shoveller, Anas clypeata, 10+ Shelduck, Tadorna tadorna, 5 Pintail, Anas acuta, 150+ Black(?)-Tailed Godwit, Limosa limosa, 100+ Redshank Tringa totanus, (could have been some Spotted Redshank, Tringa erythropus, among them if the experts on the KOS site were correct), 100+ Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus, 10 Golden(?) Plovers, Pluvialis apricaria, 10+ Black-Headed Gulls, Chroicocephalus ridibundus, 4 Coot, Fulica atra, 1 Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus, 1 Grey Heron, Ardea cinerea, 2 Little Egret, Egretta garzetta, 20 Starling, Sturnus vulgaris.

I missed out on the two or three Little Stints which have been spotted over the last few days, and I think I should have been there at High Tide for them!

Dank and drear at Cliffe Pools

Got to Cliffe at just after 2 p.m. and we took the central track after Monty had disgraced himself by eating most of the large bread chunks a couple had scattered in the car park as bait - of course I apologised most profusely but I'm secretly not that sorry for the birds' sake!

Far too dark for photographs all day, low tide perhaps I thought (I was wrong, it was only 2 hours after high tide), and rather few birds around overall. It was a bit breezy and chilly sitting at the flamingo Viewpoint. However there were loads of gorgeous Pochard on the Conoco Pools, together with the normal Coot, Mallard, Great Crested Grebes, Little Grebes and Black Headed Gulls. There was one possible Teal. A Cormorant and a Redshank overflew, with several large gulls I didn't even try to identify.

At Flamingo, the patch of mud certainly seemed bigger after news of recent supplementation by dredging operations, and at least some of the birds might have been a bit nearer. Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwits, Redshank, 1 Grey Plover, Mallard in pairs or groups, Great Crested Grebes, Little Grebes, Black Headed Gulls and a couple of Little Egrets with 2 Grey Heron were seen. Starlings joined the Lapwings on the mud, and a few more flocks wheeled like smoke in the distance. More cormorants and gulls overflew. On the causeway towards Radar we saw and heard a group of Fieldfares, together with a couple of blackbirds and robins, but the rest were just LBJs in the poor light.

At Radar Pools, more Lapwing, Mallard, some Shelduck, a few Tufted Duck, Great Crested Grebes, Little Grebes and a couple more Little Egrets were picked up, but the light was very poor by now, the brightest things were the remaining flowers of both species of Oxtongues, so off we trotted (wounded foot permitting) back to the car and shopping at Asda's Kings Hill superstore! I would like some Delia Smith cooking books for Christmas I think, I've got an odd desire from somewhere to cook Lancashire Hotpot tonight.

Whetsted Gravel Pits

After a day in College I got out late walking towards the pits. There wasn't much about but the forage beans were emerging on the "halved" field on the way down.

Things were fairly quiet on the first pit, but I did put up a nice Grey Heron (out of a pair found there) which was reluctant to abandon the causeway to me and perched on a fence post for a while.

before eventually flying off,

The second pit was almost equally quiet, short of many of the ducks, geese and gulls that had been there the other day. However there were 38 Lapwing and a single Grey Heron on the central shallow roost.

Total estimates of bird numbers for the day were 6 (plus 1 juvenile) mute swans, 80+ coot, 3 greylag geese, 11 tufted ducks, 50+ gadwall, 2 mallard, 3 great crested grebes, 8 little grebes, 4 black-headed gulls, 3 grey herons, 38 lapwing, 1 green woodpecker, 2 fieldfares, 1 blackbird.

Fungi and Leaf Miners at Dene Park

Arriving at Dene Park I took some photos of the mines and galls on the herbaceous plants along the entrance path.

I dived into the first compartment planted up mainly with Beech and had a look at some of the dramatic green islands caused by either galls or leaf miners on the leaves. The first was caused by the Beech Leaf Gall Midge Hartigiola annulipes, Hartig 1839, a cecidyomiid midge. The galls are up to 5 mm in height, and in my limited experience nice and fluffy, although the "tree-trees website" claims it can be bare as well as fluffy. They are generally found next to a midrib or a main vein, which may allow them some control over the transport of nutrients as well as the hormonal status of the tissues around it. The gall could well be releasing cytokinins, both to cause the hypertrophy leading to the gall itself, and to cause the green island effect in the otherwise senescing leaves.

The next
As I was going through the central path, following a small valley through some scrubby trees and some oaks, I heard a bird calling quite loudly skreek-skreek-skreek. I couldn't think what it was - not a tit, finch or thrush that I could think of.

The idea that it might be a nuthatch came into my mind, and I saw a bird high up in the tall oaks which looked roughly the right size, although I couldn't get any idea of shape. I checked what I could remember of the sound that night against the call of the Eurasian Nuthatch, Sitta europea, Linnaeus 1758, on Xeno-canto, and I think I must have been right. This was the closest I found to my memory of the call, recorded by Stuart Fisher at Gomshall, Surrey in 2005. The subspecies found in the UK is ssp caesia.

What a nice tick for me in these woods! This not an uncommon bird in the UK, with 20,000+ pairs and numbers generally on the up. It feeds on insects and nuts/seeds and is one of the prettiest UK birds.
Monty does his own exploring while I look for galls or whatever else is around, but he is never too far away and always comes when whistled. Trying to be objective he often looks quite a serious solid dog in photos, but these don't seem to give the full picture of his playfulness and agility in real life. I am so lucky to have him as a companion.