Past Events

Guide in a Hide 18 January 2025

In spite of the very cold and murky weather, 125 visitors came along and most were treated to the spectacle of over 3000 Golden Plover, 1200 Lapwing and 250 Dunlin continually whirling around in the air. 500 Oystercatchers, however, preferred to save energy by staying put, huddled together to keep warm. The long staying Spoonbills gave one visitor his first ever sighting.

Here are a few of the volunteer Guide in a Hide team.

giah

26 April – Guide in a Hide

Saturday 26th April 10.00 AM – 3.00 PM

Drop in to the Gooders hide between the car park and the sea where there will be guides stationed throughout the day to show you the birds. Binoculars, telescopes and spotter sheets available for you to use. There will also be guides outside the Discovery Centre.

Suitable for all.

400m walk towards the sea from  Rye Harbour car park, TN31 7TY

No booking necessary

giah

29 March – Guide in a Hide

Saturday 29th March 10.00 AM – 3.00 PM

Drop in to the Gooders hide between the car park and the sea where there will be guides stationed throughout the day to show you the birds. Binoculars, telescopes and spotter sheets available for you to use. There will also be guides outside the Discovery Centre.

Suitable for all.

400m walk towards the sea from  Rye Harbour car park, TN31 7TY

No booking necessary

giah

20 February – Guide on a Train

If you’re looking for ideas for half term with the children and grand-children, how about a spot of bird-watching on board a steam train!

Volunteer guides will be on the steam trains on Tuesday 18th and Thursday 20th February to show passengers the birds. They will have binoculars for you to use, and there will be free activity packs.

Children ride for just £1 so let us know if you’re going…
See www.kesr.org.uk for details and booking.

giah

18 February – Guide on a Train

If you’re looking for ideas for half term with the children and grand-children, how about a spot of bird-watching on board a steam train!

Volunteer guides will be on the steam trains on Tuesday 18th and Thursday 20th February to show passengers the birds. They will have binoculars for you to use, and there will be free activity packs.

Children ride for just £1 so let us know if you’re going…
See www.kesr.org.uk for details and booking.

giah

15 February – Guide in a Hide

Saturday 15th February 10.00 AM – 3.00 PM

Drop in to the Gooders hide between the car park and the sea where there will be guides stationed throughout the day to show you the birds. Binoculars, telescopes and spotter sheets available for you to use. There will also be guides outside the Discovery Centre.

Suitable for all.

400m walk towards the sea from  Rye Harbour car park, TN31 7TY

No booking necessary

Past Events

Talk 14 December 2024

The December talk was a little different, in that it was a compilation of three short talks. These were presented by members of the Rye Harbour History group and each illustrated talk reflected a different aspect of local history.

The topics were:

  1. The Coast Blockade at Rye Harbour – deterring smuggling in the 19th century through the writing of an officer – presented by Angie Perkins.
    • Smuggling was such a huge operation in the 18th and 19th centuries that the government felt they had go to enormous lengths to curb the ’ trade’ along a lengthy stretch of the south coast and between 1817 and 1831 a coastal blockade was put in place. This talk gave us a personal insight into this blockade through the writing of a Naval officer.
  2. Old Winchelsea, a town lost to the sea in 1287 – presented by David Dennis.
    • Old Winchelsea, a large, vibrant port and shipbuilding town had been built upon a spit of land in Rye Bay. Very vulnerable to severe weather, coastal erosion and the changing coastline the town was eventually lost to the sea during a severe storm in 1287. David looked at what is known about this town and helped to bring it to life for the audience.
  3. History in Photographs – The Mary Stanford Lifeboat disaster of 1928 – presented by Roy Brigden.
    • The Mary Stanford disaster was a tragic incident that never should have happened. All 17 lifeboat men lost their lives and this would have affected every household in the village of Rye Harbour. Putting out to sea in appalling weather to rescue a boat that was already safe by the time the lifeboat was launched, would seem unthinkable these days, however communications were very different in 1928. Through old Photographs Roy explained how the disaster unfolded and the aftermath. However, to this day no one knows what exactly happened to cause the death of all those on board.

All were very interesting, lavishly illustrated and providing an insight into a different era.

An excellent afternoon was had by all.

Past Projects

Staff Funding

For more than 50 years the Friends have contributed to the costs of staffing the nature reserve. This enabled the team to increase from a summer warden, to a full time one in then 2, then 3 wardens, then a full time education role. During this time the staff were first employed by the Management Committee, then in 1992 by East Sussex County Council, then from 2011 by Sussex Wildlife Trust.

Now a larger team works on the nature reserve and another team in the Discovery Centre to deliver more habitat management and more public engagement, education and other activities.

Past Projects

Fencing

Much of the success of increasing the numbers of ground nesting birds has depended on developing fencing to exclude most Foxes and Badgers from the core areas. This has been a great investment in materials and staff and volunteer time, and it will be an ongoing commitment to retain much of the bird breeding interest of the area.

This fencing also enables the 400,000 visitors and their many dogs to visit the reserve and have little impact on the nesting birds.

Past Projects

Land Purchase

When Castle Water came up for sale in 1992, the Friends were able to make a significant contribution that enabled Sussex Wildlife Trust to become the new owner. Together these two charities have improved the site for people and wildlife – it’s now a diverse wetland with many rare and endangered species, that can be explored by a network of permissive paths that lead to the reedbed viewpoint, a birdwatching hide and several benches.