Past Events

Talk 08 Jul 2023

We had another excellent talk on the afternoon of Saturday 8th July. This time from Michael Howard who is a Ranger for the National Trust and came to speak to the Friends of Rye Harbour about Winchelsea Wildlife.

Michael has worked for the National Trust in Winchelsea for 6 years and along with another member of staff and six volunteers is responsible for caring for, monitoring and enhancing the nature value of 1,100 acres of varied habitat in and around Winchelsea.

His very interesting and informative talk focused on the amazing variety of birds, mammals, butterflies, dragonflies, and bees to be found on this National Trust land and the huge task involved in working to make the area even better for wildlife and people. Michael’s stunning photography gave us an insight into the identification, and also the challenges of accurate identification, for monitoring the rare bees and dragonflies that are to be found in the area. His fantastic trailcam footage showed us aspects of wildlife and behaviour that largely go unnoticed. He has set-up several community projects, such as moth trapping in Winchelsea, a Winchelsea wildlife group, and with his group of volunteers, is involved in making and erecting various bird boxes to help with Barn Owl and Swift conservation in the local area.

Thank you to Michael for a wonderful talk and we wish him well with his future plans for the area.

Past Projects

Sound Trails Workshops

The Friends arranged a Sound Recording Course, comprising three workshops, experimenting with a variety of commercial and improvised recording devices to capture the natural sounds of the reserve.

See the event report for more details of what went on. It is intended to repeat the course in the future.

Book Seaside Flowers Past Projects

Books

The Friends commissioned two books about the Reserve:

  • Seaside Flowers of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve
  • The Shingle Shore

See the Merchandise page for more details and where to buy.

Past Events

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

Past Events

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.

Past Projects

Writer in Residence

Anthology of poems titled New Ways of Looking

The Friends provided the seed funding for the first Writer in Residence project. This was led by the award-winning nature poet Jane Lovell who organised monthly meetings to walk the reserve and to write about nature. The pilot project was so successful that the writing group produced an anthology of poetry and artwork, New Ways of Looking, inspired by the reserve. The book is on sale for £15 at the Discovery Centre and has proven so popular that it is already on its second print run.

Past Projects

Defibrillators

Defibrillator

The Friends bought two new defibrillators for the reserve using funds from the 833 Lottery Club. One is kept in the Discovery Centre, the other is a mobile unit that travels out on volunteer work parties around the reserve.

Past Projects

833 Lottery Club

The Draw

The Trustees of the Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve and the 833 Administration Team decided to close the 833 Lottery Club, with July 13th 2024 as the last draw.  The Lottery was set up at the end of 2019 to raise funds for the development and ongoing management of the Rye Harbour Discovery Centre.  Since that time the building has been finished and its management and activities firmly established. 

We thank all the Lottery members for their generous support over almost 5 years.

Past Projects

Birdwatching Hides

Rye Harbour Bird Hide

The Friends have funded or part-funded the five birdwatching hides on the reserve, all of which are wheelchair accessible.

Each hide is dedicated to former volunteers and supporters.

Guy Crittall

Dr Ray Parkes

John Gooders

Dr Ken Halpin

Steve Denny – photo above.