December Sightings

Rye Meads News

Those of you who visited or read the November blog will have heard about our concerns about the potential for Avian Flu. The good news for us is that there was no further suspicious bird behaviour in December and no bird fatalities beyond the handful to be expected in winter or via predation. Unfortunately though, avian flu remains a huge concern in the wider region and nationally, so please do remain vigilant!

The weather has been all over the place with everything from T-Shirt temperatures to frost, to heavy snow. The volume of snow even meant we had to close the reserve for a few days to make the paths and trees safe - and we're very grateful to the volunteers that travelled in to help us de-ice the car park and the boardwalks! The drop in temperatures meant that despite the raised water levels on the lagoons, much of their surface area froze over, and despite some arrivals we are yet to see the usual large influx of waterfowl that we expect at this time of year. 

That said, there's still been some major highlights for us, in particular for those daring to stick around close to sunset, with a Barn Owl, Yellowhammer and Pipistrelle Bats being seen as the light started to fade.

Mel's Mutterings

Regular blogger Mel's latest offering has been a quiz via Twitter - he's been out on the reserve with a clicker counter, with our keen Twitter followers guessing what he's been counting each day. Not always easy! Check out @RyeMeadsRSPB on Twitter as Mel will be continuing this in January!

1st December - Felt chillier than of late grey dismal dank 3 Egyptian geese flew through & a female Pochard was a drop in surprise at Draper hide and a Pheasant is always interesting. Lots of Water rail activity, both seeing & hearing Green woodpecker, Cetti’s & plenty of Redwing around although still NO Fieldfare on site YET for me … but the outstanding bird was a Lesser spotted woodpecker albeit just off site but would have been visible from the stream by boardwalk

2nd December - Chilly again but stunningly beautiful sunshine today making the reserve look striking 3 Water rail today Teal Shoveler Gadwall & Tufted ducks aplenty 3 Grey wagtail & many Blackbirds Red kite & Kestrel …

21st December …. Still hearing & reliably seeing Water rail, 2 Shelduck were new in Tufted ducks numbers climbing Great spotted woodpecker Song thrush singing …

22nd December … 3 Reed Bunting along the stream by Ashby hide , a single female Pochard was a surprise. Great crested grebe thanks (Matt) , Goldcrest among a roving mixed Tit flock was a bonus

Visitor Photos

Our photos this month are a mix of the common and the not-so-common, but we value everything here! Our major highlights were the continued sporadic sightings of the Bearded Tits at various points around the reserve, as well as a Barn Owl hunting over the meadow and popping up in the box seen from the Draper Hide. The Rye Meads Ringing Group have been making use of their new toy (a thermal camera) which has helped them to net Jack Snipe in the meadow, while photographing a Goldcrest is always a commendable achievement!

At times the lagoons have been frozen over so focus has been more on what's in the trees and reeds. Redwing have been a major presence in December along with Reed Bunting and the classic Christmas Robins. We have also had the occasional Fieldfare sighting, Great Spotted and Green Woodpeckers, Chaffinch and Goldfinch. Birds of prey such as Peregrine, Red Kite and Sparrowhawk are regulars at many points on the reserve.

On the lagoons we haven't had quite the hundreds of wildfowl we usually expect but still a fair bit of variety. Water Rail continued to be more confident in showing themselves, and the Black-Headed Gulls were joined by Common, Lesser and Greater Black Backed at various points. A large flock of Lapwing disappeared and returned either side of the snow, joined by the usual assortment of Gadwall, Shoveler, Teal, Tufted Duck and Pochard. Towards the end of the month a few Shelduck appeared and are still hanging around in early January.