During February half term, some of the Rye Harbour Nature Reserve ‘Guide in a Hide’ volunteers became Guides on a Train!

Children travelled for just £1, and really enjoyed looking through our binoculars to tick off what they saw on the worksheets provided.

We spotted 33 species of birds, including Red Kite, Lapwing, Great White Egret, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Moorhen, Buzzard and amazingly, through a train window, a tiny Goldcrest!

Several people remarked on how friendly and helpful everyone was and what a great idea this was.
One lady messaged to say “Amazing!! The kids really enjoyed it, particularly my daughter Lyra! She loves birds. She asked for a bird camera for Christmas and loves seeing the birds we get in the garden every day.”

Lyra took it all very seriously, amusing her fellow passengers by exclaiming “look everyone, there is a Pheasant…. tick it off!”

We were thrilled to bits with the fantastic comments from the children and how interested and enthusiastic they were.

Hopefully we have inspired some of those children to continue to watch and enjoy birds – and maybe we’ll see them again soon…at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve!

With thanks to the Kent and East Sussex Railway team for putting on this excellent event and asking us to help!

Hope to see you next year…