Guided Walk 16 Apr 2023

Today I had the pleasure of leading 21 Friends of Rye Harbour NR around Flat Beach to watch the newly arrived nesting birds and a couple of stopping migrants.

The number of Sandwich Terns now is slowly increasing to about 85 with 5 newly arrived Common Tern. Passing through on migration were three Bar-Tailed Godwits (2 in breeding plumage) and 2 Wheatear up near the river mouth. It was nice to see plenty of Terns bringing in fish from the Bay. Fingers crossed for a successful breeding year. Other birds of note were two Ruff and two Stonechat.

A great walk which is gaining popularity and remember all Friends are welcome!

James Tomlinson

Open Day Walk 08 April 2023

A fabulous start to the morning walk, so still that water perfectly mirrored the blue sky and birdsong rang out so clearly that a Mistle Thrush up at Coastguard Square could be heard right down by Nook Drain and the air over the saltmarsh was full of Skylarks. The calls of returning Avocets can be heard everywhere now everywhere now, while flocks of Dunlin and Ringed Plover are feeding hungrily before continuing their journey northwards. The closeness of the path to the edge of the Salt Pool gave us excellent views of these while three newly-arrived Little Ringed Plovers, scuttling along the edges to in flight allowed us to appreciate the features which distinguish them from Ringed Plovers.
While watching these waders we noticed small insectivorous migrants searching the turf: White Wagtail with a pure, pale grey back, an apricot-fronted Wheatear and a dazzling Yellow Wagtail.
Although some common birds were mysteriously missing, the variety is increasing, so that along this short route we found 56 species.

Guide in a Hide 19 Feb 2023

Guide in a Hide is part of the Discover Rye Harbour project, supported by National Lottery Heritage Fund through Sussex Wildlife Trust (SWT) 

Discover Rye Harbour offers a range of community engagement activities, encouraging visitors to learn a little more about the special wildlife at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. 

The Guide in a Hide activity involves a team of volunteers, made up mainly of Friends members, sharing telescopes and binoculars with visitors, to give really close up views of the birds on the reserve, and explain a little about their behaviour and migration routes.

Brent Geese

The event has grown in popularity since it began in August 2021, and we have now engaged with over 3400 visitors!

On 19th February, in beautiful weather, we showed 233 visitors a good variety of waders and ducks but perhaps the best sounds and views came from beautiful Brent Geese and singing Skylark, which accompanied us all day. 

It’s an absolute joy to be a part of the team of volunteers and from the feedback we received, our visitors enjoy it as much as we do!