Rye Meads - Recent threads

Today at Rye Meads (6/5/13)

StuartH — Mon, 06 May 2013 19:11:50 GMT

1 Garganey (male) from the Tern hide but also seen from the Draper hide
2 Little Ringed Plover from the Draper hide

Lots of Blackcaps, Sedge Warblers, Reed Warblers, Cetti's Warblers and Garden Warblers. There was also a report of a Grasshopper Warbler from the Warbler hide but the observer was not too sure and also a Hobby over the grazing marsh.

Over 275 visitors and many who had seen and/or photographed the Kingfishers and were happy bunnies.

It was a good day to be on roving duty; I enjoyed it a lot.

Dawn Chorus walk

JeffG — Sun, 05 May 2013 18:37:55 GMT

Thanks to all those involved in the Dawn Chorus walk - it was excellent. I've just done a count and I saw/heard 42 different species of bird during the morning.

Jeff.

seen on the reserve 30/4

Adnams — Wed, 01 May 2013 18:03:44 GMT

Beautiful day with so much going on

From bridge one Pair of Blackcaps, lovely close up views through the water vole viewpoint

Draper Hide

Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Pochard (10+)

Little Grebe , Shelduck, Black headed Gull

Common Tern (2), Lapwing, Canada Goose

Heron, Coot, Moorhen, Magpie, Cettis(H)

Buzzard, Teal, Jay

Trails

so much activity going on,a good slow walk pays dividends

Chiffchaff, Blackbird, Robin, Greenfinch, Reed Warbler Cettis heard and seen,

Whitethroat, Wren, Great tit, Blue tit,

Blackcaps 6 males

Spotted Woodpecker

Sparrowhawk flying low over reedbed

Gadwall hide

Black headed gulls nest building on rafts

Pochard, Little Grebe, Coot, Moorhen, Common Gull

Tern Hide

Shoveler, Shelduck, Gadwall, Coot, Moorhen

Kingfisher Hide

Kestrel,Top box, Kingfisher, Heron, Pochard, Reed Bunting

Blue tits feeding on reed heads, Collared Dove, Chaffinch, Teal

Warbler Hide

3 Hobby hunting low and perching on fence posts, Little Egret

Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler ,

Draper Hide PM - Little ringed Plover

Butterflies around too

Peacock, Brimstone, Small White, Tortoishell, Orange Tip

Spring at last!

BrianP — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 08:25:04 GMT

Last Thursday was my first real spring day, and the reserve was alive with birds and insects.

I was pleased to see lots of Bee-flies all round the reserve, and I saw five species of butterfly - Comma, Peacock, Small White, and single Brimstone and Orange-tips.

A Bee-fly:

A Comma:

Cowslips:

More photos CLICK HERE

My apologies for a rather late post, I've had problems logging on to the forum.

Brian

On the reserve today 23/4/13

Adnams — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:27:58 GMT

A Beautiful day out on the reserve with loads happening and lots

of visitors out enjoying the sunshine

From the Draper Hide

Tufted Duck Gadwall Coot Moorhen

Heron Shoveler Pochard Shelduck

Pair of Redshank

Lapwing

Little ringed plover

Little Grebe Mute Swan

Stock Dove

Afternoon visit to draper also provided views of Sparrowhawk and a Hobby Flying high over the meadow,

Gadwall Hide was busy with volunteers working on the rafts - new raft is looking very smart

Turn Hide

Shoveler Gadwall Little Grebe

black headed Gull

Lesser Black Backed Gull

Shelduck

Cormorant

Trails

Very busy on the trails today lots of activity

lots of insects around and butterflies - Peacocks Brimstones

Blackcap

Great tit Blue tit Long tailed tit

Chiffchaff

Cettis heard all over and seen twice on the brambles just past the Tern Hide

Whitethroat

Chaffinch Robin Goldcrest

Kingfisher Hide

Kingfisher

Kestrel in top box on pylon

Pair of Teal

Thoughts from Manchester

KatT — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:41:50 GMT

Hi all at Rye Meads,

I live 200 miles away and am planning a visit to Rye Meads soon, so I thought I'd check out the blogs. I have only been once before and was delighted to see kingfishers from the hide. The gorgeous little film posted by a member recently just about sums it up, thank you for that :)

I am very concerned about the possible siting of a picnic area close to the kingfisher hide, within earshot of the nesting birds and on their flight path. Surely this cannot be allowed otherwise there will be no kingfishers to watch! These birds as we all know are protected, and you are so lucky there to have so much activity within sight of the hide. Please, please confirm that this picnic area idea is just an ugly rumour!

As for a bigger hide, that would be fantastic so let us hope that somebody can come up with the cash.

I am really looking forward to my visit and seeing those brilliant birds in action again.

Yours, Kat

first visit to Rye Meads

ed keeble — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 09:13:32 GMT

Just to say I had a moment to drop into Rye Meads the other day for the first time and was very inspired by the sight of one of the male Kingfishers (of two chasing each other) perched in the root tangle by the hide: result attached

http://edkeeble.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/roots.html

well done all for the obvious hard work at the site!

More on Rye Meads

Joan Childs — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 08:45:22 GMT

The thing to remember about Rye Meads is that the RSPB does not own the site, and we are just one of six partners who use it. We have a partnership agreement that outlines what we all can and can't do, and when, so that the partners can effectively work together on site. Like the balance between wildlife and people, sometimes this is a bit of a juggling act with compromises needed on all sides. These other users have keys and access agreements, just like the RSPB does, so if there are people on site before our visitors turn up then they will likely be our partners from one of five other organisations. Also, we have work parties of volunteers who work hard to help to manage the reserve on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and sometimes other days, and they make an early start so that any work that might disturb or affect visitors is done before you all arrive, so they will be on site on those days before visitors come in. As I write this, I can see our volunteers strimming the path edges.

The owners of the site require that this part of the reserve is only accessible to visitors when there is a staff member on site, which is why it is locked and fenced out of hours. The Wildlife Trust part of the reserve has open access so visitors can always get onto that half of the reserve no matter what the time of day. There are advantages and disadvantages to both scenarios. For our fenced site, we offer an extremely safe location where all visitors come through the visitor centre with one access point on and off. We know that families and lone walkers appreciate this feeling of safety. Also, it greatly reduces vandalism - you are probably aware that the Otter Hide on the Trust side has had to be removed due to persistent vandalism and arson.

We do run a number of out of hours activities - early opening mornings, VIP Kingfisher mornings, dawn choruses, evening activities etc. Please check on the web site and the blog for details of our events and watch out for our Big Wild Sleepout coming up in August.

Finally, disturbance of schedule 1 birds, like the kingfisher, is an offence no matter where the birds are nesting. The legislation applies just as much on a nature reserve as anywhere else.

I hope this helps answer some questions.

Thanks

Joan

Kingfisher hide.

rayk — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 06:16:21 GMT

Joan,

Thanks for your reply, their are one or two points that you not answered, like increased opening times!!

The volunteers do a great job.

With regard as to what happens by the nest being illegal, this is true in the wild where you have to have a class one licence from Natural England for use at the nest, I don't think this applies at a place such as venue?

With regard to a bigger hide, I am all for that providing it is done at time where it WOUD NOT interfere with the Kingfishers, i.e - out of season, sometimes though bear in mind, the biggest is not the best and if it`s not broken don`t fix it.

News from Rye Meads - reedbeds and kingfishers

Joan Childs — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 20:27:54 GMT

If you've visited Rye Meads recently, you will see we have had lots of work done to the reedbed visible from the Ashby Hide. This is to increase the number of pools and edge in the reedbed which will improve it for wildlife. We also want to cut it using a mechanical Truxor rather than by hand (reedbeds have to be cut otherwise they dry out and scrub up). Cutting by hand means draining the reedbed which damages fish stocks, so cutting mechanically will again be beneficial to wildlife.

A Truxor is a large bit of kit and to get it into the reedbed we have had to create access which needed plenty of material for bridges and bunds which we have taken from the bank behind the Kingfisher Hide and from the bank by the Draper Hide. It all looks new and raw at the moment, like any works on a reserve, but it will all settle down soon particularly as things start to grow in spring and summer.

The improvements in the reedbed should also make it easier to view into it to spot wildlife. You can see into the reedbed all the way along the path, and from the elevated position at the top of the ramp to the Tern and Gadwall Hides, where we have added a seat, so the viewing slot didn't add anything.

When the kingfishers nest at Rye Meads we want to make sure that the birds are not disturbed while ensuring visitors get great views of these amazing birds. Last year we had people climbing the bund in an attempt to get closer to the birds, and also visitors frequently commented that they didn't get good views of the kingfishers because people weren't vacating seats to let others get a good view. We hope to take advantage of the fact that the area behind the Kingfisher Hide has been cleared by having more of a staff and volunteer presence there whenever we can - that will help to ensure the welfare of the birds and to help everyone get good views as well as being able to interpret to visitors what the kingfishers are doing.

All the staff and volunteers are passionate about Rye Meads, its wildlife and its visitors; sometimes it's a juggling act to balance the needs of both!

It's a great time to visit Rye Meads as the spring migrants arrive back and we hope that you will continue to support our work.

Joan

Joan Childs, Site Manager

A little film of the male kingfisher yesterday :)

DeniseAnderson — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 18:36:32 GMT

Hi :)

Here's a little film of some of the moments captured of the male kingfisher yesterday, who no matter how hard he tried didn't seem to be able to persuade the female to venture far from the nest :)

(Please visit the site to view this video)

What's going on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

rayk — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 17:11:15 GMT

I write this post out of concern about the way Rye Meads
seems to be going of late, moreover since the management changes.

I know that from speaking to other regulars there, a
number of us share the same concerns; let’s look at some of the things to date.

The information on the website is now always out of date.

It is accepted that works have to be carried out, but the
way some of the areas look, is very poor.

The viewing screen on the path near Turn & Gadwell hides
has been removed without replacement and no reason given.

One of the biggest concerns of all is surrounding the
area by the Kingfisher hide, speaking to staff/volunteers at the site, mixed
messages are coming out, some seem to be strange to say the least, the others
are of great concern, the first message is that visitors were unhappy with the
undergrowth to the side of the hide, for those that can remember it, it did not
cause an issue if you stayed on the path, some why remove it?, the other
message that is coming out from a staff member is that area is going to be a
picnic area with tables & chairs, please no, the people who get in that
hide do so for the interest, if a picnic area is put there, in turn it will
lead to noise and disruption which will lead to the scaring of the Kingfishers,
this cannot be allowed to take place!!!!, don`t get me wrong, an area from
tables and chairs already is in place outside the main entrance and further to
that at the rear of the visitors centre, so come on Rye Meads management, spill
the beans, put up a post and tell us all what is going on, we are all members,
we deserve to know, if a picnic area is or does go in, I for one will make representations’
to the senior management the the RSPB head office.

Car park yesterday

Adnams — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 15:27:27 GMT

Seen on the reserve today 10/4/13

Adnams — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 19:30:24 GMT

Before we had even left the visitor center we saw on the camera the Kingfishers mating

Bumblebees and lots of insects about

DRAPER HIDE

Teal, Gadwall, Shoveler, Coot, Moorhen, Little Grebe,

Juvenile Lesser Black Backed gull

Juvenile Herring gull

Black headed gull, Cettis (H), Chiffchaff(H), Buzzard, Lapwing,

pair of stock doves coming out of right had owl box

PM - snipe, pair of Oystercatchers, Redshank, Cormorant ,Tufted Duck

Trails

Robin, Dunnock, Wren, Magpie, Blackbird, Goldcrest, Great tit, Blue tit, Pheasant, Chaffinch

Ashby Hide

Coot, Moorhen, Snipe, Wren

Female Pochard in reedbed off trail

Tern Hide

Gadwall in large numbers - Shoveler (30male) Coot, Moorhen, Little Grebe Canada Goose, Heron, Cormorant

Kingfisher Hide

Kingfisher - Male seen very busy fishing - female seen by other visitors

Long tailed tit,Goldcrest

2 Buzzard thought it was 3 but as they flew over one was a lovely Red Kite

As leaving in the car park Female Kestrel hunting from the fence posts

Other visitors I spoke to also reported seeing Blackcap, Mediterranean Gull, Sand Martin

Seen on the reserve today 10/4/13

Adnams — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 19:11:13 GMT

Very busy day on the reserve today

before we had even left the visitor centre on the camera we saw the Kingfishers mating

Bumblebees, and lots of insects about

DRAPER HIDE

Teal, Shoveler, Gadwall, Black headed gull, Coot, Moorhen

Little Grebe, Buzzard, Cettis (H) Chiifchaff(H)

Pair of Stock Doves coming out of right hand owl box

Juvenile Lesser Black Backed gull

Juvenile Herring gull

Tufted Duck

PM - Redshank - pair of Oystercatchers- Snipe - Cormorant

Trails

Robin, Dunnock, Pheasant,Blue tit Great tit, Blackbird,Wren,Magpie, Goldcrest - Chaffinch

Tern hide

Heron, Gadwall large number - Shoveler (30Male) Cormorant

Moorhen,Coot Little Grebe, Canada Goose - Lesser Black backed gull

Ashby Hide

Snipe- Wren Coot

Female Pochard On reedbed off trail

Kingfisher Hide

Kingfisher Male - very active fishing- Female also seen by other visitors

Long tailed tits - Goldcrest - Blue tit - Crow

2 Buzzard - thought it was 3 but as they flew over one was a Red Kite - got some lovely views

Chiffchaffs heard all over the reserve as well as Cettis

As leaving in the car park Female Kestrel

speaking to other visitors also seen Mediterranean Gull ,Sand Martin, Blackcap

Seen Today on the reserve 6/4/13

Adnams — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 15:06:56 GMT

Draper Hide

Shelduck - Tufted Duck - Teal - Little Egret

Shoveler - Stock Dove - Black headed Gull - Little Grebe

Snipe - Coot - Moorhen

Ashby Hide

Shoveler - Teal - Mallard - Magpie

Water Rail seen by another visitor

Lagoon Hides

Gadwall in significant numbers - Teal - Shoveler

Black headed Gull - Common Gull - Lesser Black Backed Gull - Comorant flying over

Little Grebe -Coot - Moorhen - Stock Dove

Kingfisher Hide

Tufted Duck - Teal - Long Tailed Tit - Goldfinch

Male Kingfisher sitting outside bank and checking out hole second layer down first from left (both male and female seen earlier)

Pair of Kestrels mating (twice) + checking out both boxes on the pylon -seem to be favouring the top one (followed by magpie as soon as they left)

Chiffchaff heard

Trails

Blue tit Great tit Robin Chaffinch Cettis (Heard) Magpies seen all over reserve

On the reserve today 1/4/2013

StuartH — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 19:48:39 GMT

From the Ashby Hide
1 Jack Snipe feeding right in front of the hide

From the Tern Hide
50+ Gadwall
8 Shoveler
2 Shelduck
16 Common Gull
100 + Black-headed Gull
2 Little Grebe
1 Pochard (m)
3 Lesser Black-backed Gull
1 Cormorant
1 juvenile gull - possibly Herring
Coot - not counted
3 Moorhen
Tufted Duck - not counted

From the Gadwall Hide
7 Tufted Duck
1 Little Grebe
2 Teal (pair)
Black-headed Gull - not counted but 10 - 12
Coot - not counted but 10 or fewer

From the Kingfisher Hide
1 Red Kite
No sign of any Kingfishers while I was there but others had infrequent sightings.

From the Draper Hide
14 Shoveler
12 Teal

On the trails
1 Cettis Warbler - heard near the Gadwall Hide
2 Kestrel together, possibly a pair. One seen in the nestbox on the pylon in the car park or on the pylon itself.

Spring is here! Kestrels mating!

Simon Hurwitz — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 00:21:33 GMT

First visit for a couple of months on a sunny morning. Hoping to see the reported pair of Kingfishers but it was just the male making occasional appearances, once looking at a hole.

But the visit was made worthwhile when a female Kestrel flew into the top box at the Kingfisher hide, then popped out on top. Suddenly a male appeared, straight on top of her and mated - to put it politely! Never seen this before. He flew off, she went into the box. Then she was threatened by 4 Magpies, one was being very aggressive. Eventually she flew off.

A couple of pictures (only cropped) here taken with my Bridge camera, not too bad for the distance, sure some of the Dslr boys have better. But like to share with you.

Simon

Photos from last week

BrianP — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:41:04 GMT

Some photos taken on the reserve last Thursday. It was such a lovely day, many thanks to the staff fora great reserve.

http://secalis.co.uk/notes/?p=358

Brian

out on the reserve 17/3

Adnams — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 08:17:38 GMT

Cold and showers

Little Grebes very active at both Draper and Tern hides,

Black headed gulls,Common Gull, Lesser Black backed gull

Coot, Moorhen,Tufted Duck, Shoveler, Teal, Swan Blue tit, Great tit, Long tailed tit, Chaffinch,

Pheasant including one very dark coloured hen bird, blackbird

Dunnock, Robin, Cormorant, Cettis Warbler (heard) , Buzzard,

Gadwell in large numbers from tern hide

Chiff Chaff (heard) around the Kingfisher hide

seen on the reserve today

Adnams — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 19:24:22 GMT

Weather was cold -nice in the sun, in between the snow showers blowing across

water now lower at the Draper hide

seen from here

Green Sandpiper-Teal-Little Grebe-Tufted Duck-Shelduck

Black headed Gull-Common Gull and we think a Juvenile Herring Gull 2nd season?

usual Coots and Moorhens

elsewhere on the reserve Cettis Warblers heard calling from several locations

Shoveler -Comorant -Lesser Black Backed Gull Heron -Magpie-

Blue tit- Great tit-Long tailed tit- Chaffinch-Robin-Dunnock- Greenfinch-Pheasant

Wren-Jay - Buzzard flew over Lagoon

Buzzard seen in meadow on posts+flying low, thenat one point dropped to the floor, crows started mobbing looked as if it had caught something

Come and play! (naturally!)

Joan Childs — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 09:19:34 GMT

Rye Meads has a brand new play area next to the visitor centre.

Funded by our partner Thames Water, we have a brilliant natural living willow dome and tunnel.

Come and try it out! Over the months it will leaf up and change with the seasons!

Joan

Dawn Chorus Walk

JeffG — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 21:15:37 GMT

Will there be one this year? Thanks. Jeff.

Ringing Group

JeffG — Sun, 24 Feb 2013 15:40:21 GMT

I've just been reading up on the Bearded Tits that made the national press by turning up in Hyde Park. Both birds (females) were ringed and some close up photography was able to identify that they were ringed at Rye Meads - I'm assuming the ones mentioned on the blog in November (link below)

http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/placestovisit/ryemeads/b/ryemeads-blog/archive/2012/11/10/three-bearded-tits.aspx

I think results like this help highlight the fantastic work the ringing group at Rye Meads do. I thoroughly recommend going on the ringing event they hold every year. Their knowledge and the chance to see birds in the hand make it an event not to be missed.

Well done the group and long may their records continue to contribute to the welfare of our birds.

Jeff.

Today on the reserve

Adnams — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 18:54:25 GMT

very cold today - but still lots to see

Shoveler

Female Pochard

Teal

Gadwall

Buzzard

Kestrel - on pylon again by kingfisher hide

Sparrowhawk

Shelduck - up to seven today

Lapwing 50+

Black headed gull - Common Gull - Lesser Black Backed Gull

Greenfinch - Chaffinch- Blue tit- Great tit- Dunnock - Pheasant all at the feeders at the visitor centre

Large numbers of magpies