Our first brood of kingfishers has fledged from the bank opposite the kingfisher hide. We watched the fledglings sitting in the entrance to their nest hole, and five were counted out. There may still be one to emerge. There is still plenty of activity visible from the hide. Last year the kingfishers in this nest bank had three broods, so there should continue to be activity here through the summer, fingers crossed! Kingfishers are also nesting in the bank from the Gadwall Hide.

Joan, Site Manager

Good afternoon everyone. I hope you are all well.

So, welcome to the next "People at Rye Meads" blog post! It's been a while since I last interviewed someone so I thought it was about time!
You know, there is more to a nature reserve than just the nature! There are just under 100 volunteers and staff that keep this fantastic nature reserve in shape!

So this is where you come to find out more! This installment of "People at Rye Meads" is an interview with Marion Moss (my mum!), who is one of our volunteers... here we go:

What do you do at Rye Meads?
I am a reception volunteer on Thursday afternoons.  This includes greeting visitors and giving them information about the reserve when they arrive at the visitor centre.  It also includes other tasks, such as helping out members of staff etc.

How long have you been working at Rye Meads?
I have been working at Rye Meads for 6 or 7 years now.

 
Why did you decide to work at Rye Meads?
I really liked the reserve when I first visited and came back again and again.  When I found out that volunteers were always welcome, I applied and got the job. 


What do you enjoy most and least about your job?
I like meeting and greeting visitors, helping out with other tasks, and of course watching the birds and wildlife.  I love helping with "pond-dipping" and "bush bashing", although my identifications skills could improve!  I enjoy walking round the reserve at the end of the day when it's frosty and cold, snowy, sunny, and warm, lovely!
I don't like doing the closing walk round in the pouring rain!  I love it when I can help with the children that visit the reserve.  I enjoy the social experience of meeting up with other volunteers that I don't meet very often as they work on different days.

 What other jobs have you done?
I have helped with some computer tasks in the office, which I enjoy.  I've also helped out with the holiday education schemes (the Wacky Wildlife Adventures), this is great fun.  

 
What is your favorite hobby?
My favourite hobby is dancing.  I dance three times, sometimes four, each week.  This is a close run thing with bird watching!  I also enjoy training and walking our dog in Broxbourne Woods and local open spaces. When I'm out with the dog, another favourite is watching the butterflies and other insects in summer.  I've been lucky enough to see some rare butterflies too!

 
What got you into wildlife?
Years ago, my father showed me some ladybirds and butterflies that he identified for me, and some birds that came into our garden that were also identified by my father.  When I went to work, we had a very large garden with mature trees, and the birdlife was amazing.  I could watch the birds from my office window.  I put bird seen out on the windowsill and a robin visited me regularly, as did the bluetits.  The kingfishers regularly visited the pond in the garden.

 

What is your favorite creature and why?
My favourite creature .... hmmmm that's a hard one.  There's the bittern, kingfisher, waxwing, and then there's butterflies and birds, and also badgers, foxes and deer......  I really can't say I have a favourite, they are all beautiful!

Stunning bittern picture from this winter by Tom Mason

Do you have any funny stories about the reserve, something that has happened or something strange?
I remember one day a couple of years ago when Louise was leading the Wacky Wildlife Adventures; the theme was seas and oceans.  We had to take the children out to the grassed play/games area as crabs, walking sideways and moving our arms like crabs' claws.  The children thought it was great fun.  However, visiters to the reserve thought it a very strange sight!  We had quite an audience.

Editors note: she's even got a certificate in buffalo herding! Vicky, our Assistant Site Manager made one up to day thank you for helping!

Good morning all,

How are you today? I hope you had a nice weekend.

 Just a quick update about the kingfishers (as I know that's what you all want to know) and the wildlife highlights of the weekend.

 Stunning kingfisher picture by Peter Hewitt

Well.... the kingfishers were still taking in fish into the bank yesterday - so they didn't fledge over the weekend.
They are getting close to the fledging age... I'll keep you up to date.

Other wildlife highlights over the weekend were:
There was a garganey - it's still at the Draper hide today, keep an eye out!

Keep an eye out for waders - we had some lovely views of two little ringed plovers.

A little egret was showing well too over the weekend!

Afternoon all,

How are you?

The kingfisher at the Kingfisher hide are still taking fish into the bank.
They've got to be getting close to fledging!

 Kingfisher taking fish into the bank by Geoff Harries

By the way - we don't tend to see them fledge, they have a habit of doing it early in the morning before we're all here!

See you soon, and I'll keep you up dated,

Lou

Hi everyone,

How are you today?

Have you been enjoying the nice weather over the last couple of days?

 Great picture by John Young

We are recording all waders that we see on the reserve, and we need your help! We would like to you let us know what waders you see, where, when and how many (and if you have any pictures that would be lovely too!)

Passage waders play a very important role in providing us with a measure of how effective our wetland management is. Areas that are carefully managed will provide feeding and breeding areas for many wading birds - and provide us with fantastic views. For more about the Love Passage Waders Challenge read this Rye Meads blog post.

Lou