Rye Meads Sightings Blog - September

This month has come and gone in a blur it seems! Hot weather continued for a while but we are now seeing the signs of the changing seasons as our summer species reduce in numbers. Habitat management work is also picking up with the Wildlife Trust doing plenty of work in the meadow, and our volunteer work party tackling some of the vegetation at the Draper and Gadwall Hides. We've also had a major sighting for us at the reserve. Normally in the Visitor Centre we're asked about otters several times a day and have to manage expectations. But recently we've had an increase in early morning sightings on trail cameras in the "deeper" parts of the reserve, and a few weeks ago a male was spotted during opening hours sprainting underneath the start of the Kingfisher boardwalk!

Sticking with the ‘non-bird’ species, the start of the month was also a good time for Water Voles, with a couple of very photogenic examples. There was also a lovely Elephant Hawkmoth Caterpillar on the steps down towards the Ashby area. Odonata species have included Willow Emerald Damselfly, Green-Eyed Hawker Dragonfly, and Common Darter. Mel has also spent weeks muttering about these species, as well as the colourful flora on the reserve at the moment, particularly the Dogwoods with stunning russet’s & purple leaves, and the Guelder Rose with its shiny red berries along the walk to Warbler hide.

Mel also converted the "Go Big Or Go Home" mantra to "Stick Small and Stay Here", focusing heavily on the flora and the insect species they were attracting. There is lots of fleabane in flower, as well as Orange Balsam - much nicer than its Himalayan bully! He spotted lots of Ivy bees & Common carder bees, however the best find were 2 Southern Green Shieldbug during their 3rd instar phase, 7 spot & Harlequin ladybirds & a very large Hornet Hoverfly.

Orange Balsam (Mel)

Now to the birds.... Kingfishers continue to be seen pretty much every day throughout September; at the start of the month four were regularly seen at the Draper Hide or fishing at the Gadwall Hide. There are few sightings now at the Hub, but still very regular at Draper.

Garganey and Shoveler were regular sightings in the first couple of weeks of September at the Draper and Gadwall hides. As ever the reserve is home to plenty of Gadwall, and we’ve also had regular recordings of Wigeon (35 on the reserve recently) and an increase in Teal numbers. Little Grebes have also been mentioned regularly at most hides, as there are now plenty of young around.

A feature of this month has been Cormorants sunning themselves at the Tern and Gadwall hides as well as Lagoon 3 (from the ramp down to Ashby), along with the usual extroverted Herons, Little Egrets and Swans. We also had another brief visit from a Great White Egret last week. Not much to speak of in the plover family, except for three separate visits of very large lapwing groups!

Green Sandpiper caused a fuss this month as a ringed example was photographed recently. Rye Meads Ringing Group have confirmed this is a regular visitor to Rye Meads and was ringed in 2016. At the start of the month there were between one and five, but we peaked at 11 recently and now there are regular reports of at least eight. Common Sandpiper were a regular sighting at the start of the month but seem to have dropped away a bit now and have been somewhat replaced by Snipe with anywhere between 5 and 10 being seen each day over the last week or so, and they have taken over at the Draper Hide this week with several great photos.

Draper Hide has also been a good place for bird of prey flyovers. Buzzards have been seen there throughout the month as well as over the meadow from both the Lapwing and Warbler hides, and Kestrel flyovers are still regular after the pair fledged from the Kingfisher Hub nest box. We’ve seen some great photos of hobbies on the wing, and sparrowhawks perched too. Peregrines have been around over the meadow and on the pylons. Towards the end of the month we’ve also seen our first Red Kites for a while.

Starlings have been regularly sitting on the pylon in the car park, with someone keen counting 86 of them. Stonechat have twice been recorded from the Lapwing Hide this month, while at Draper and Gadwall we have also seen Green Woodpeckers and a Treecreeper. Dave North was also the lucky photographer capturing a Water Rail, while we’ve also seen both Greylag and Egyptian Geese a few times this month.

The unmistakable sounds of Cetti’s Warblers have increased, as well as sightings of Chiffchaff and Reed Warbler which is encouraging for us. A grasshopper warbler was heard reeling on the 1^st September near the Ashby Hide and Willow Warblers recorded three times at various points along the path. Flocks of Long-Tailed Tits and Goldfinches are also regular, as well as Grey and Pied Wagtails

That's pretty much everything for September! Thank you everyone who contributes to our sightings reports in the Visitor Centre, as well as providing your images to us and in the community Friends of RSPB Rye Meads facebook group.