Hello!

Joan Childs, our Site Manager, (see an interview with Joan here) had identified a hoverfly that I wanted to show you.

This is Orthonevra nobilis  - a first record for the reserve!
The are quite wide spread but they are declining.

 

 

All pictures by Joan!

 

Hi all,

Just thought I would let you know about the kingfishers - as I know that is what everybody like to see!

Well, the pair at the Gadwall hide are still feeding young, we have had lovely views recently. Keep an eyey out as they have been investigating other holes - so they could be getting ready for another brood!

The pair at the Kingfisher hide are still sitting on eggs.
When they are incubating we will only see…

Hello everyone,

How are you today? I hope that you are well.

I've been away for a couple of days, so I thought I would let you know what waders Joan (our Site Manager) spotted over the weekend!

 Keep your eyes pealed at the Draper hide as there were a couple of oystercatchers mating! I love oystercatchers, they are fabulous birds! As well as the oystercatchers there were two green sandpipers, two lapwings, one

…

Hello all,

How are you?

Have any of you been to the reserve over the last week?
Well round on the main path by the Kingfisher loop (instead of turning left to the Kingfisher hide if you were to go straight on its on that path there) we have a couple of swarms of honey bees Apis mellifera.

It's quite unusual, and rather nice (I love bees).

When the size of a honey bee colony reaches a certain stage, usually in…

I just managed to knock my cup of coffee all over my desk and myself.... Urg im all soggy and coffee smelling now!

So while it *ahem* dries out I'm having to use Caroline's (our Education Officer) desk and everything is taking me twice as long... so bear with me!

Strange isn't it! Shuuuuuush! Don't tell her I said that - it's between you and me! ;)

 

 

 

***EDIT***

If you are interested, we…

Morning all,

How are you?

Quick update on the two pairs of kingfishers!

 Lovely picture of one of the Rye Meads kingfishers by Peter Hewitt

The pair at the Gadwall hide are feeding young still, although over the weekend they were investigating lots of the other holes in the bank - so perhaps thay are investigating for their second brood.

The pair at the Kingfisher hide were spotted at the weekend doing a 'change over…

Morning everyone,

How are you today?

You know the garden at the front of the visitor centre?

 

Well over the last couple of days we've been watching the wildlifethat visits it... I wanted to show  you just a couple of pictures....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Vicky took this lovely picture of a bee on the chive flowers - you can see the pollen sac - isn't it great!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These moths are Pyrausta…

Was any one watching BBC Springwatch Unsprung last night?

Well, Alice the fox had her pictures shown again!
This picture was taken by Tom Mason - one of our volunteers, and a talented young photographer (check out his blog here)

Tom is thrilled that the BBC chose to show one of his pictures,  that he took here at Rye Meads...

Have a look at this picture taken from the BBC's iPlayer:
 

Afternoon,

How are you?

Earlier today I took a wander out to the Draper hide to see what wildlife was about. so I thought I would lte you know what I saw.

I saw blue tits, great tits, crows, pigeons, magpies, and lapwings flying round the meadow.

 

Talking of the meadow - have I mentioned the three big buffalo are back after their numerous escape attempts and a mini holiday?

Along the edges of the bridge (that you…

Afternoon,

I'm very happy to announce that the kingfishers at the Gadwall hide are taking fish into the bank, which means that the young have hatched!

We thought they might have hatched earlier in the week but we hadn't managed to see the adults taking fish into the bank, we have today!

Very exciting so keep your eyes pealed!

 Lovely picture - it was taken at Rye Meads - by Geoff Harries

 The pair at the Kingfisher…

Good morning you lovely blogger-ers!

I hope that you are enjoying this bank holiday Monday! Rye Meads is open over the bank holidays so do come over and enjoy a lovely walks - and perhaps see the most royal of birds... the kingfisher!  I'm wearing red, white and blue flowers in my hair today as it is the Jubilee long weekend!

You can pop over tomorrow and help us celebrate by creating our very own "Bug-ingham Palace…

Me again!

Not only is our fox a highlight at the reserve at the moment - she's now been on TV!

So, who has been watching BBC Two's Springwatch programmes?
Well the other day her pictures appeared on 'Springwatch Unsprung' Programme!

 

She's a TV star!

Have a look at this - it's a picture from the BBC's iPlayer where you can watch all the episodes if you missed them or want to enjoy them…

Morning all,

How are you today? I hope you are all having a nice weekend! :)

Like them or not, foxes are fascinating creatures.
Keith Bedford managed to get these amazing pictures of the fox hunting the other day, have a look -

What a brilliant series of pictures!

Hello everyone,

I thought I would tell you some of the highlights recently...

There are two pairs of little ringed plover investigating the scrape at the Draper hide.
 Lovely picture by Brian Bishop

The other day there was a pair of redshank around on the Draper as well - keep an eye out! There are lapwing pairs around investgating nesting spots in the wet meadow after the flood. Talking about the meadow - the three big…

Aren't they stunning!

They are Steve Kershaw's artwork (read my previous blog about the art display here).

Steve is a local artist and a regular to the reserve, check out his blog here!

 

The display is here all week (until Sunday 10th June) and Steve is here tomorrow so you can see him draw, ask any questions, and you can buy some of his work!

See you soon!

Lou :)

Don't forget this week we have Steve Kershaw's fabulous art display here at Rye Meads!

His fabulous art is on show until Sunday 10 June - you can even meet the artist and see how he creates his work. Paintings, prints and gift cards will be on sale as well as a specially printed book. Steve has kindly offered to give Rye Meads a donation from any sales towards the work of the RSPB, so please come along!

 More…

Hi everyone,

Quick up date for you...

 

The kingfisher from the Kingfisher hide fledged on 24 May.
Have a look at these stunning shots from Dave Mardle:

 Amazing picture by Dave Mardle

 This picture is one of the adults feeding the young! By Dave Mardle

 

The kingfishers are now getting ready for their second brood. The young have gone now, they get fed for a couple of days but then they have to find their own territory…

Don't miss out on the fabulous event coming up - things to do this half term!

 

 

Springwatch with the RSPB
Come along and enjoy pond dipping, minibesting, a fabulous walk, crafts, trails and more over the weekend Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 June. Click here for more details! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don't miss Steve Kershaw's fabulous art display from Saturday 2 to Sunday 10 June. The title is "Wonderful Wetlands…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Afternoon everyone,

How are you?

Just wanted to let you know some of the highlights for today...

There was a marsh harrier flying over the meadow today! Great views!
 Click here for information about marsh harriers!       

 

 

Some of the other highlights for today include:

It's been swift galore out there! Keep an eye out for lapwing, little ringed plover, great crested grebe, buzzard, kestrel, and loads of warblers…

Hi everyone,

How are you?

Don't forget to look up! There was a red kite flying over the reserve yesterday!

 Click here for some more information about red kites!