Happy New Year to everyone! We hope you all had a nice festive season and managed to get some time to relax and reflect on 2024. As we reflect on 2024 we can’t help but think of the large hole that was left by the absence of the Kingfishers. It looked good at the end of March as there was a couple mating and checking out the nest bank at the Draper hide but by April they had disappeared, either predated or found a more suitable spot. Whilst we all missed their presence at the reserve, it did allow us all to redirect our attention to other things that spent the summer with us with highlights including Water Voles, Grass Snakes and Oystercatchers as well as the many different Dragonfly’s, Damselfly’s, and Butterfly’s. As we get closer and closer to the Kingfisher breeding season, all eyes will be on the Kingfisher hub and Draper hide as we hope they come back for a successful 2025 season. Before we get ahead of ourselves though, lets take a look at what we saw over December.
Interestingly, December saw a reduction in reported species which could be down to less species being seen or certain species not being reported as they aren’t as ‘interesting’ as others (we love them all so please make sure you write what you see). However, we did have a few unusual drop-ins over the month with Fieldfare being the first on the first day of the month. Whilst Fieldfare aren’t what you would call unusual for the reserve, what is unusual is the fact they were only reported once. This could be due to the lack of berries on the bushes this year which is what they (and Redwings) are here to eat. To finish the month, on the very last day of December we were visited by a Great White Egret which hasn’t been reported on the reserve since last month, it could well be the same one that keeps coming back or different ones each time. Unfortunately it’s very difficult to tell without them being ringed and having clear photos of the rings to check, but it’s always nice to see one around anyway. Speaking of returning visitors, we were graced with another visit by a male Pintail on 10th December at the Gadwall hide (the favourite haunt of the Pintails it would seem as that’s where they were seen in November). We only had 1 reported sighting of it this month whereas last month we had three.
Another unusual sighting we had was a male Mandarin duck that popped in at Draper for a very brief visit (obviously hadn’t heard of the delicious coffee at the Visitor Centre). It was seen by visitors swimming around with some Mallards but by the next day it had obviously gone looking for somewhere else to hang out as it hasn’t been seen since. One species that has hung around and increased in numbers on November is the Lapwing where there has been a consistent flock (also known as a deceit) at the Gadwall hide of up to 200 birds during December. You can sometimes see them flying over the reserve doing their best impression of a Starling murmuration and it is just as impressive too, so if there are none at Gadwall have a look up as they might be putting on a display for you.
Another bird that we’ve had a huge increase in sightings is Jack Snipe. Although this is a slight cheat as they have been shown to us by the Rye Meads Ringing Group who have caught them in the meadow in front of the Lapwing hide for ringing. The increased accessibility to thermal imaging cameras is what has made this possible as they are almost impossible to see when they are in the wild, as you can see from the picture below:
In total, over December the group managed to catch and ring 24 Jack Snipe.
Whilst we’re talking about Snipe, the group of Snipe that have been spending their time at the Gadwall have stayed very consistent at around 5 birds and a couple of days there were up to around 10-12. They’ve obviously been enjoying the company of the Water Rail that has also been very consistent at the Gadwall hide, usually showing on the island among the reeds.
Another consistent sighting we’ve had over December is the Peregrine Falcon, which has been seen almost exclusively on the pylon in the meadow from the Lapwing hide. The number of sightings increased a lot in December with 2 being seen at one point flying from the meadow pylon to the car park pylon and finally settling on the pylon that is on Thames water’s land. It stayed on the Thames water pylon for so long, the scope we had pointing at it had to be brought in not because it had flown off, but because it was too dark to see it!
So as we welcome in the new year we look forward to seeing what else decides to join us at Rye Meads and look forward to seeing you on the reserve as well. Don’t forget to add what you see (no matter what) to our sightings book as it helps keep us informed of what wildlife is out there and means we can let other visitors know as well.
The Rye Meads team.