The Barefoot Birdman

This month I'd like to start with a few more of the interesting and unusual animals that have been popping up around our coastline recently. If you haven't had the opportunity to get out and watch some wildlife lately then here are a few more reasons to try. Dungeness, in particular, has had some exciting inhabitants including a spoonbill, the first ever on the Arc reserve, which is predominantly a bird of eastern/south-eastern Europe. They occasionally pop up further west, usually in the winter, when they move away from their summer breeding grounds. These consist of marshes and reedy lake edges with large areas of shallow water, whilst they prefer to winter around coastal estuaries and salt pans. They are perfectly adapted to feed in shallow waters by holding their bill slightly open and partially submerged, sweeping it back and forth whilst walking slowly forward. When a food source is located the bill snaps shut with surprising force. A long tailed duck has also been feeding at the reserve, these are spectacular to watch in clear water as they dive for food. They spend much longer underwater than most diving ducks and are rarely even seen inland, spending much of their time further north around Scandinavia and Iceland, over-wintering in the balmy (to a long tailed duck) waters off Scotland and northern England. The cranes are still being seen around Rye, Dungeness and Denge Marsh and also the great white egret is still providing some great views. Rye Harbour have a new moth to add to their list, the Dark-streaked button, although I believe it is still to be confirmed, along with a rare Dewicks plusia. Also a very rare, red listed parasitic fly called Erynnia ocypterata, which lays its eggs in micro-moths (often a species of tortrix moth) , they hatch into larvae and eat the host moth from the inside out. This type of internal parasite is known as endoparasitoid. Finally a blue Shark, unfortunately deceased, has been found washed up at Camber with a large bite mark in its side. It is believed to have been attacked by another large predator, probably a great white shark or a killer whale, somewhere in the channel which is an amazing thought in itself! The blue shark is a large species growing up to nearly 4m, with bright blue flanks and a white underside. It is slim for its size and has relatively large dorsal fins making it one of the fastest fish in the world. They travel widely but usually inhabit temperate or tropical waters. They can gather in large shoals and are not generally considered to be aggressive, although they have occasionally been known to attack humans when encountered in deep water. They are often caught in fishing nets by accident and up to 20 million a year are killed in this way! So with the Christmas holidays coming up, get out and find something exciting near to where you live. Cheers and happy Christmas!