Past Events – Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve

Talk 12 October 2024

The Cetaceans of Sussex by Thea Taylor

Thea Taylor, a Marine Biologist and Managing Director of the Sussex Dolphin Project, gave an excellent talk to the Friends of RHNR last Saturday.

The Sussex Dolphin Project was set up in 2018 because the Sussex coast was one of the least studied cetacean habitats in the UK, with very little data on these mammals. Historical evidence and information from local communities indicated that it was not the case that they were absent, just that no data had been collected.

Improved reporting is now available for West Sussex and for East Sussex going westwards from Eastbourne, but from Eastbourne to Kent there is still a huge gap in the data.

The species Thea covered were Bottlenose Dolphin, which are the most common Dolphins seen off our coast, the rarer Common Dolphin, the oceanic White-beaked Dolphin and the Harbour Porpoise.
She also talked about ongoing research, what is needed in the future to protect these fantastic mammals, the threats they face and how we can help.

A key take-away the talk was the things we can all do to support the Sussex Dolphin project by joining, volunteering and, very importantly, reporting any sightings (along with good quality photo’s if you have them) and any strandings to the Sussex Dolphin Project (https://sussexdolphinproject.org/).

There is ID help available on the website, along with lots of information and opportunities. If you do have a sighting of one of these mammals, scroll down a little on the home page and REPORT IT!

Guide in a Hide 05 October 2024

A big thank you to all of those who helped with delivering a great GIAH experience for many visitors to the reserve. The weather was kind and there were many people out and about enjoying the pleasant October sunshine.

The team based in the Gooders hide engaged with 130 Adults and 52 young people. Those based near the Discovery Centre engaged with 43 Adults.

At the Gooders hide we had over 30 species of bird, including Bar-tailed Godwit and a distant Greenshank. Swallows were constantly passing through and a large bouncing flock of Linnet caught the attention of visitors on several occasions. These birds would then often land on the saltmarsh areas along with Meadow Pipits and a few fluttery Skylarks in order to feed on the plant seed available. Redshanks, with their brightly coloured legs and habit of ‘paddling’ straight in front of the hide were enjoyed by many. Another popular sight, particularly through the telescopes, was close-up views of a feeding Curlew. Visitors were often stunned by the length of the bill.

Outside the Discovery Centre, 29 species provided lots of interest, including a Kingfisher and Hobby which were appreciated by those present at the time. Curlew and Black-tailed Godwit were on the Saltmarsh and easily viewable through the available telescopes.

Duck numbers are building up nicely, with whistling Wigeon drawing attention to themselves, whilst amongst them were a few Pintail, Teal and Gadwall plus the more common Mallard.

Guide in a Hide 07 September 2024

Volunteer guides were on Rye Harbour Nature Reserve yesterday, sharing their knowledge, enthusiasm, binoculars and telescopes!

At least 133 people stopped by to chat, excited that we had had at least three sightings of our star bird, the Osprey. Many people walked away looking up at the sky, out to sea and all around to try and spot it. It was terrific!

In all, we saw 39 species of birds. Apart from the Osprey, the feeding frenzy of Sandwich Terns and Gannets in the river mouth towards the end of the day were highlights.

Thanks to everyone who came along, we enjoyed meeting you!

Guide in a Hide 21 July 2024

The Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve had a pretty good day on Sunday!

The Guide in an Hide event at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve was another great success! In and around Gooders hide the team welcomed more than 120 visitors, who were treated to up close and personal views of over 30 different birds.

Meanwhile, at Scots Float sluice other members of the Friends were supporting VolkerStevin as they kindly opened up their doors to show off their new sea defence track to the Union Channel. Visitors were treated to refreshments while they were shown an interesting video about their important sea defence work along a huge stretch of the river. Visitors commented “Very worthwhile and enjoyable visit thanks, now much better informed about what’s going on there! Can’t wait to see it again when finished, and again when as it ‘matures’” and “great to be able to ask the staff questions…. I felt everyone enjoyed it!”

The Friends team of guides took visitors to and fro from Scots Float to the Union Channel where visitors had wonderful views of Common Sandpiper, Little Egret, Redshank and Kingfisher, and enjoyed many Swallow and Sand Martin flying low over the water to the beautiful sounds of a Yellowhammer.

The Friends really enjoyed being part of this bird-watching partnership and would like to say a huge thanks to VolkerStevin for their hospitality and enthusiasm in making it such a fun and interesting day for all.

Talk 13 July 2024

Swifts by Sophie Streeter from the Hastings and Rother Swift Conservation Group.

The Friends were treated to an excellent and informative talk about Swifts yesterday. Sophie Streeter is a volunteer with the Hastings and Rother Swift conservation group – a group of volunteers dedicated to raising awareness of the plight of the Swift. Their aim is to protect and enhance the traditional nesting sites of these iconic summer visitors and to establish new nesting sites where appropriate in the Hastings and Rother area of East Sussex. They will also advise on the supply and installation of Swift nest bricks, soffit boxes and call systems. In December 2021, the Swift moved to the RED LIST of Highest Conservation Priority, as very sadly these beautiful birds are in trouble with a 58% drop in breeding numbers in just 25 years.
The talk to The Friends was beautifully illustrated with stunning images and videos of Swifts flying, catching food, roosting, nest box camera’s etc. I think we were all amazed at seeing young Swifts doing ‘press-ups’ to strengthen their wings before leaving the next box!
Sophie shared her in-depth knowledge of facts and information about Swifts and talked about the various ways in which we humans can help this species that is at risk of extinction in the UK. All in all a very interesting and inspirational talk.

For further information see

https://e-voice.org.uk/hastingsandrotherswifts

https://www.swift-conservation.org

Guide in a Hide 25 May 2024

A very strong and deceptively cold wind did not deter the visitors to our Guide in a Hide day today. We welcomed 136 adults and a whopping 58 children. 35 species of birds were seen through telescopes and binoculars.

The stars of the day, right outside Gooders hide, were four gorgeous Avocet chicks. Just a few days old, they were already sweeping their beaks through the water to feed themselves. It’s amazing isn’t it?

Thank you to everyone who came along. The guides are always thrilled when children are so interested in seeing the birds, like Ruthie and little Harry here.

Talk 11 May 2024

The Conservation of Marianne North’s Paintings at Kew Gardens by Rachel Witt

Rachel Witt, an experienced and talented Paintings Conservator gave a talk to the Friends of RHNR on the local Victorian artist Marianne North and the conservation of some of her paintings that are held in the Marianne North Gallery at Kew Gardens.

Marianne was a brave and unconventional artist who was born in 1830 in Hastings and died in 1890. She had a privileged upbringing and following her father’s death, travelled extensively to paint, concentrating on botanical subjects.

Her unusual choice of painting materials led to many challenges in the restoration process and Rachel detailed some of these, along with how the gallery, funded by Marianne to display her enormous number of paintings was restored to the state it is today.

If anyone visits Kew Gardens and is interested in botanical paintings then a visit to this gallery is a must!

All in all, an enjoyable talk.

Walk 28 April 2024

Leaders Cliff & Stephen welcomed seven “frequent flyers” and five “first timers” on a morning with a promising southerly breeze and an unreliable promise of no rain.

Since the last walk, fresh migrants had arrived; the first we saw being a pair of House Martins over the village (the first had also been seen in other nearby locations the previous day). We once more took the track alongside Narrow Pits both to shelter from the wind and profit from the great range of songbirds in the varying habitats there. Listening in to the many songs, we distinguished 8 species of warbler, including Garden Warbler which, unlike the others (Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Reed, Sedge & Cetti’s) only passes through here on migration.

Overhead, the Black-headed & Mediterranean Gulls were joined by screeching Common Terns and then a wave of migrating Swifts – the very first individuals had been seen only a week previously. All four species had found a thermal and were spiralling upwards.

The original intention had been to continue as a far as the Barn Pools, but the path there was likely to be flooded so we turned east, away from the scrub, into wind and clearly approaching rain. At the end of Salt Pool, we once more came across the famous Spotted Redshank, blacker than ever – even its red legs had darkened – and then the shower forced us into a quick march to the shelter of the Denny Hide. From here, we could see the nesting Black-headed Gulls were joined by a few Common Terns. With water levels still so high, island nesting spaces and feeding edges are restricted, but the latter were patrolled by Turnstones, already resplendent in tortoiseshell breeding colours.

Round at Flat Beach, the creeks were busy with feeding Avocets, now joined by numerous arctic-bound Bar-tailed Godwits in contrasting winter grey and summer chestnut. Up to 98 of these were present, alongside Whimbrel probing the saltmarsh, their trilling calls providing an atmospheric soundtrack. This short walk had turned up no fewer than 65 species!

Walk 13 April 2024

With leaders Cliff Dean and David Bentley, eight of us met in the car park which was otherwise a battleground for territorial male Blackbirds. Clearly the surrounding grass and gardens provide all they need in terms of worms, cosy corners for nesting and song-posts on bushes, fences and rooftops; so ideal in fact that pairs are densely crowded and boundaries constantly disputed.

The preceding days had seen an arrival of many small birds from their wintering grounds in various parts of Africa, so we diverted from our habitual route around Flat Beach through the village and along the track alongside Narrow Pits. Here, Bramble & Hawthorn scrub of varying heights to one side and water and Willow to the other provided diverse habitats for a range of warblers, some of which (Chiffchaff & Blackcap) had been present for a fortnight but others (Whitethroat, Reed & Sedge Warbler) had come in during the week while one (Lesser Whitethroat) had arrived overnight – via an eastern rather than western route.

Most of these birds were hard to see but their songs were loud and distinctive so we spent a lot of time carefully listening, attentive too to the kinds of habitat from which the songs emanated. We watched a Whitethroat’s display flight, dancing about in the air above brambles and noticed BTO Breeding Evidence: not only a Singing Male but a Pair In Suitable Habitat and in fact Nest Building.

Beside these incoming migrants there was quite a range of vociferous resident species, including a Song Thrush delivering excellent mimicry of a car alarm – perhaps the result of living not far from the busy car park! Overhead were squawking Black-headed and yelping Mediterranean Gulls, in the background braying Greylag Geese and one lucky birdwalker caught the call of a Cuckoo.

For those unfamiliar with this Wall of Sound, it can be hard to distinguish one song from another, so we tried to start with Entry Level songs – monotonous Chiffchaff, explosive Cetti’s Warbler, chortling Green Woodpecker for instance – then fill in the gaps…. Some people make a big deal about identifying birds from song but those same people will go to a pub quiz with a music round in which they will instantly recognise songs from the first two notes; and that’s without the birds’ contextual clues of season, habitat etc.

Emerging past a hedge-hopping Sparrowhawk and rasping Sedge Warbler in the warm shelter of the bushes we were exposed to a cool breeze on the causeway to Cuckoo Corner where, to one side were Shelduck, Shoveler and displaying, newly arrived Little Ringed Plovers, and to the other, for comparison, chunky Ringed Plovers and…and…the previously mentioned wintering Spotted Redshank but now almost moulted into fabulous summer plumage of jet black, charcoal grey and the eponymous Spots as well as an eye-ring in silvery white. Restrained yet dramatic, it must be off to the Arctic very soon so take the opportunity to have a look – at the southern end of the Salt Pool.

Talk 13 Apr 2024

Pett Level – Then and Now by Keith Swallow

Members of the Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve were privy to a very informative and enjoyable talk by the author Keith Swallow today.

Keith initially developed a love of Romney Marsh and the surrounding area as a child, whilst visiting his Grandparents, and has gone on to live in the area. He has a passion for researching local history and has written several books.

The talk brought many aspects of Pett Level back to life. Keith took us back in time to the Pett Level of the Napoleonic wars with its eight Martello towers situated between Winchelsea Beach and Cliff End and the downfall of these structures; the importance to local life of the Ship Inn (then situated at the heart of Pett Level village, which was where the shingle is now, opposite Pett Pools); the contentious undertakings of the local landowners, and much, much more.

All in all, an excellent talk, enjoyed by a packed audience.