August 2021 - Rye Harbour Nature Reserve sightings

Emma Chaplin
, 01 September 2021
August 2021 - Rye Harbour Nature Reserve sightings
Large Conehead

The most exciting find this month was several Large Conehead on Harbour Farm on 26th, with at least 12 singing adults subsequently found on part of the reserve on the 29th. This large bush-cricket has only arrived in the UK recently and was initially considered only to be an occasional migrant. However, in 2020 a breeding colony was found at Dungeness and it seems likely that the Rye Harbour Colony was established at about the same time. In some parts of Africa this species is considered something of a delicacy, with sautéing the preferred method of preparation!

 236166999 4329846387038467 3762492711472624492 n

Common Tern

August saw good numbers of waders of many species passing through the reserve as passage movement began to ramp up. The commonest species was Dunlin, with regular flocks of a few tens and a maximum of 130 on the 24th, followed by Ringed Plover (45 on the 24th and 30th) and Sanderling (38 on the 23rd), while this month also saw the first small flocks of Golden Plover with a Maximum of 17 on the 22nd. Wader highlights were Spotted Redshank, with several sightings during the month, Little Stint on Harbour Farm/Beach Reserve on the 27th/28th, small numbers of Wood Sandpiper, with a maximum of two on Ternery Pool on the 16th and a Curlew Sandpiper on the 6th. There was still some activity on the Little Tern and Common Tern colonies at the start of the month and at least seven of the former and 21 of the latter fledged (though the Common Tern total was probably higher than this). Waterfowl number increased as we moved towards autumn with counts of 100+ Shoveler, 30+ Wigeon, 22 Teal and five Pintail during the last week. 

240791202 4970557219638520 3326512740161404141 n

Sedge Warbler

Notable waterfowl included the long-staying Black-necked Grebe and White-fronted Goose at Castle Water, and regular Spoonbill and a Garganey on Harbour Farm on the 15th and at Castle Water on the 29th. Raptors included regular Marsh Harrier and Peregrine, Buzzard on the 15th and 29th and Hobby on several dates late in the month. Passerines were dominated by large numbers of hirundines, with 100+ each of Sand Martin and Swallow on the 3rd, but also by large flocks of Yellow Wagtail, with a count of 200 on the 29th. This month saw also regular Wheatear, with a maximum of 11 on the 29th, small numbers of migrating warblers including Sedge Warbler, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Willow Warbler and Blackcap, and a Whinchat on Harbour Farm on the 14th.

 RxDark Crimson Underwing 110821

Dark Crimson Underwing

It was definitely a game of two halves for the moth trap during August, with the early part of the month producing some good catches and the latter, colder part being fairly poor! Highlights during the month included the first record of Marsh Mallow moth of the year on the 27th and the first ever reserve records of Gypsy Moth (10th) and Dark Crimson Underwing (11th), while Oblique-striped, Pale Grass Eggar, Pigmy Footman and Twin-spotted Wainscot were also notable. Apart from the Large Conehead other invertebrates new to the reserve during August included the uncommon picture-winged fly Merzomyia westermanni and the rare parasitic fly Frontina laeta. Plants in flower during August included Sea Heath, Autumn Lady’s-tresses, Hemp Agrimony, Wild Parsnip, Sea Aster, Fleabane, Least Lettuce, Red Hempnettle, Marshmallow and Wild Carrot.

238069443 4344482325574873 7775168910493918729 n

Wild Parsnip

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1783059828.93840 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1783059828.97310.0347Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1783059828.97320.0001Server address: 216.73.216.31
1783059828.97330Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1783059828.97330Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/august-2021-rye-harbour-nature-reserve-sightings
    [s] => august-2021-rye-harbour-nature-reserve-sightings
    [1] => august-2021-rye-harbour-nature-reserve-sightings
)
1783059828.97360.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783059828.97450.001 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1783059828.97670.0021 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1783059828.97720.0006INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1783059828.98660.0093 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22554105
1783059828.98740.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22554105
1783059828.98810.0007 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-07-03 06:23:00' AND saleTo>'2026-07-03 06:23:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1783059828.98950.0014 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='august-2021-rye-harbour-nature-reserve-sightings')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-03 06:23:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1783059828.99450.005 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783059828.99510.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=2607 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-03 06:23:00'
1783059828.99610.001 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1783059828.99690.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1783059828.99760.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=88 LIMIT 1
1783059828.9980.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=70 LIMIT 1
1783059828.99860.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=189 LIMIT 1
1783059828.9990.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=36 LIMIT 1
1783059828.99950.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=66 LIMIT 1
1783059829.00010.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783059829.00040.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1783059829.00140.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-03 06:23:00' AND postSlug='august-2021-rye-harbour-nature-reserve-sightings'
1783059829.02880.0274Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783059829.02930.0005 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1783059829.0310.0017Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1783059829.03130.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1783059829.03220.0009 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1783059829.03380.0016 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783059829.03750.0037 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783059829.03810.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783059829.04150.0034Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1783059829.04160.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783059829.04230.0007 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783059829.04270.0004 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783059829.04510.0024 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783059829.04610.001 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783059829.04670.0006 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783059829.04950.0028 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783059829.05050.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1783059829.05340.0029 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1783059829.05390.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783059829.05410.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1783059829.05490.0008Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1783059829.05530.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='august-2021-rye-harbour-nature-reserve-sightings')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-03 06:23:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1783059829.05810.0028 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783059829.05860.0005 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783059829.06070.0021Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1783059829.06150.0009 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=2607 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1783059829.11580.0542 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1783059829.1160.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783059829.11630.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1783059829.1170.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1783059829.11770.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1783059829.11830.0006 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783059829.12030.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783059829.12080.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783059829.12270.0019 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783059829.12380.0012 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783059829.12440.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783059829.12480.0004 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783059829.12740.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783059829.12780.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783059829.12970.0018 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783059829.13280.0031 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1783059829.13340.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1783059829.13390.0005 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783059829.13630.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783059829.13680.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783059829.13890.0021 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783059829.14140.0025 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783059829.14210.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783059829.14270.0006 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783059829.14490.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783059829.14530.0004 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783059829.14760.0022 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783059829.14890.0013Request time: 0.2119
1783059829.14890Process time: 0.2118
1783059829.14890Memory: 1.657