Birding to the East

 During the middle part of September we went over to the eastern end of Sussex to do a little birding. On the way to Rye Harbour we picked up David too. As Lisa has been living in Worthing for many years she has rarely visited this part of Sussex before. Walking around the reserve on such a brilliant day was difficult for birding, as there were so many people walking around the reserve that day. and for some time it was looking as though we would not be taking many photos. However, a stop off in one of the hides did produce close up views of a Little Grebe. Hardly a sought after bird, but still nice to see.

Little Grebe.

Walking further we had a lovely encounter with an egg laying Clouded Yellow, which Lisa and David spent some time photographing. However, at this point I had seen a couple of Wheatear on posts in the distance that appeared to be quite approachable. Through the binoculars I had seen dog walkers walking past the birds quite close without the birds flying away, so I left the other 2 and headed to where the Wheatears were settling. Lisa and David soon followed and we all had some lovely encounters with the birds. There were actually 5 or 6 Wheatear there, although only a couple were very approachable.

A sinister look from the Wheatear!

Wheatear.

David had just mentioned that it was strange that Rye Harbour never seemed to have Whinchats moving through, when I spotted one in with the Wheatears. This too was a little less wary than this species normally is, although it only settled on an unsightly fence. Still lovely seeing it reasonably close though.

Whinchat.

One week later Lisa and I had booked tickets to see the film 'Ocean' by David Attenborough at Rye Harbour. We decided that as we had visited Rye the week before, that we would try Dungeness during the day. This was to be Lisa's first visit to Dungeness. Having checked to see what birds were around online it wasn't looking as though we would see an awful lot, but it's always good going somewhere different, and there was a good chance of some Glossy Ibis as well as the usual Dungeness species.

As it was, we did get lucky at one of the hides, as just after we arrived a Glossy Ibis flew in. There was only one other person in the hide and he said he had been there for some time hoping for a Glossy Ibis so our timing was perfect. We watched it as it walked around the pool in front of us as it gradually got closer. Eventually it was as close as it was going to get, and as it took flight I got a couple of shots as it flew.

Glossy Ibis.

Walking further around the reserve we spotted some of the regular birds such as Marsh Harrier and Great White Egrets. The Bearded Tits though were not seen, although I did see a distant Stoat run across the track.

Eventually we made it around to the ARC pit, where we found the hide was closed for essential maintenance. However, we still lucked out when a Bittern flew in and landed in the reedbed, landing it seems on a post in the reedbed, as it remained in view above the reeds for several minutes.

Bittern in the Reedbed.

We kept focus on the bird all the time it was there, hoping it would fly along in front of us. However, when it did eventually fly, it flew slightly away from us so we didn't get the shot we were really hoping for. However, it was a very lucky break getting views rarely seen of this very elusive bird.

Bittern flying in the wrong direction.

Following this we departed and headed to Rye Harbour for the viewing of 'Ocean'. For anyone that hasn't seen this fabulous, hard hitting film, it really is worth seeing. It certainly makes one realise how badly humans treat the oceans around the World. If only the so called leaders would watch programs like this the planet would probably be in a much better place. However, with many of David Attenborough's excellent films there is optimism for the future, if only we give the oceans a chance to recover.

Just a Comma.

 With large numbers of 3rd brood Wall Brown flying from early September, I decided to do a Wall Brown count on a day that promised to be suitable. Well, it was at the start of the count, and numbers grew as I approached the 2 mile, halfway point of the walk. However, just after this it started to rain!!

Feeling a little frustrated I decided to wait for 15 minutes to see if the shower was going to be short lived. While I was waiting in a small wooded section, sheltering from the light drizzle, I spotted a very fresh Comma. Of course, in the rain it was not going anywhere either, and as it was posing so well I filled my boots. The resulting photos I feel are my best of the year.

Comma.

The day was now a very successful one, and the fact that the weather did improve again, and I also had my best ever 3rd brood Wall Brown count of 72 making it all very worthwhile.

Female Wall Brown.

The 3rd brood started on 23rd August, the earliest date I have seen the 3rd brood. The first 3rd brood that I saw was a female that was actually mating with a male from the 2nd brood. He was rather tatty and tired looking and even had a red mite attached to him, which only happens on older individuals. As I was following the pair down a slope near High and Over, I spotted a very nice Autumn Lady's Tresses orchid, which was too nice to ignore.

Autumn Lady's Tresses.

A couple of weeks later I was walking through Abbott's Wood with Chris, my eldest son, who was recovering from a minor operation. I didn't bother taking the camera as it was just a casual walk, but halfway around I spotted a superb Panther Cap fungi. The following day I decided to head back with the camera so I could photograph it properly. Of course, the fungi had opened fully, which is not quite so nice to photograph. However, as I had never photographed this species before I got a few shots of the main fungi and a smaller one nearby that was still growing.

Panther Cap.

Panther Cap.

After photographing these I walked further around the wood and came across some Devil's-bit Scabious that were being visited by 3 Comma and another female Wall Brown.

Comma on Devil's-bit Scabious.

Female Wall Brown on Devil's-bit Scabious.

Time Fades Away.

 After returning from the Dolomites, it was a busy old time with hunting local dragonflies and trying to catch up with the odd species that either myself or Lisa wanted to see.

A visit to Southwater Woods hoping to find a late season Purple Emperor proved lucky, as to start with we had great views of an egg laying Purple Hairstreak, this was followed by a White Admiral aberrant obliterae as well as the sought after species, with a female Purple Emperor on the track. All the butterflies were slightly past their best, but it was great to at least see them all.

White Admiral ab. obliterae

Female Purple Emperor.

One big surprise during the summer was seeing a Marbled White lay some eggs. This species is different from many of the brown family of butterflies that lay their eggs on the foodplant, as the Marbled White just drops them anywhere, scattering them as she flies. For that reason, I have never expected to find the eggs of this species. I was walking across the local meadow when I saw a female Marbled White fluttering about just above the grass, which made it obvious what she was up to. She then landed on a plant with cupped leaves. Suddenly 2 big white eggs dropped from her into the cupped leaves of the plant. Very bizarre and very unusual.

Marbled White ova.

Gary and David invited me to join them for an orchid day in the late summer, to hopefully see the Slender-lipped Helleborine, a species that I had never seen before. It was quite a long day out, as this rarity does not grown in this area. We had to head up to the North Downs. However, once at the site we did manage to find a reasonable number of this excellent plant.

Slender-lipped Helleborine.

Nearby was a few Yellow Birds-nest. This is not an orchid, but one of the parasitic plants that live in the darkness under the Beech trees.

Yellow Birds-nest.

My thanks to both Gary, the driver, and David for inviting me along.