It is also see that June is one of the quieter months on the Reserve with many of the resident species already fully underway sitting on nests and raising their young. As you go around both Pagham and Medmerry you may be lucky enough to see Great Crested and Little Grebe feeding their young or a Ringed Plover breeding on the shingle.
Great Crested Grebe (above) and Little Grebe (below)
However, all pre-conceptions can be wrong and this idea nothing happens in June was totally proven incorrect when on of our young Birdwatchers (G. Kinnard) reported a Hudsonian Whimbrel. This species is known as a “Mega” in birdwatching terms and this individual is on only the 9th record for the UK, the first for Sussex, so obviously there was a lot of interest over the bird. The car parks soon filled up and hundreds of people descended on to the reserve for a glimpse of this rare North American cousin of the Eurasian Whimbrel (which also attended the show). As of the 13th June it was still present giving the birders a run about as it moved around the harbour with the tide. For those who wish to see the bird then please note that Car Parking at Church Norton is very limited so we ask you to park at the Visitor Centre and walk down the West Side.
Hudsonian Whimbrel -- Photo by J Wardle
But summer is generally about the wide range of invertebrates around the reserve and with the warming air temperature the grasslands and pool are now the territories of dragonflies and butterflies. Emperor and Hairy Dragonflies can bee seen patrolling the pools near the visitor centre, where as a visit to the shingle ridges you may get the first glimpses of Clouded Yellows and Painted Lady’s coming from the continent
Painted Lady (above) and Clouded Yellow (below)
A late item of news was the brief appearance of a male Red Footed Falcon which flew along the beach at Church Norton on the 12th June.
The Warden, RSPB Crook of Baldoon