Lovely treat today as members of the Rye Meads Ringing Group were able to re-trap a female stonechat on the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust meadow.

She was ringed in the autumn and aged as a 2019 bird, so it looks like this young female has spent the winter on the meadow.

As an update to our posting earlier this month  on the Kingfisher Viewing Hub development we wanted to let you know that

• contractors have now completed their works extending the pool in front of the hide, removed clogging vegetation from the ditches and created some new water vole habitat
• Contractors have now completed all the work that can be done until the hide is constructed
• Our volunteer work parties have installed…

It has been a real treat for the last few years to be able to watch the kestrels roosting and breeding in the nest box on the pylon in the car park. The youngsters fledging this summer was especially entertaining as they took their first flight, sitting on cars, or in hedges as they explored.

During the week we have erected 2 new kestrel nesting boxes around the visitor centre. The first is located on the roof of the…

Happy New Year!

We thought we’d kick 2020 off by giving you an update on the progress of the Kingfisher Viewing Hub.

Here is what we’ve been up to in the last few months…

Our fantastic team of Habitat Management volunteers completed their work clearing vegetation to allow access for contractors and creation of Water Vole habitat. Windows, benches and artwork were removed from the old hide.

Mike Langman…

Hello everyone

We have changed our usual festive period opening times this year and will be closed 24 December  but open again on 1 January 2020 ready for the new year!

We would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

from all the Rye Meads team

Plenty of things to look forward to in 2020

• our new Kingfisher Viewing Hub
• what exciting moths will be in the trap
• 3 dates for…

December kicked off good sightings of the Bittern from the Gadwall Hide which became less frequent throughout the month until the beginning of this week when it reappeared. We have also had good sightings of Water Rail, Kingfisher, Green Sandpiper and Goldcrest.

Raptors made a nice appearance this month with the usual host of species seen (Kestrel, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Red Kite) plus Peregrine and a Marsh Harrier towards…

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We have a volunteer internship…

November kicked off with our first Bittern sighting of winter from the Gadwall Hide. The Bittern has been frequently sighted throughout the month although refused to put in an appearance for our monthly Bittern Roost Watch!

Kingfishers were spotted from the Gadwall and Draper Hides as they continue to maintain their territory. We’ve had frequent reports of our winter visitors: Redwings and Fieldfare. Green Sandpiper,…

Back in September we announced the fantastic news that the Kingfisher Viewing Hub project would be going ahead.

We closed the Kingfisher Loop at the beginning of October and this closure will be in place until the new Hub is up and running in March 2020 - just in time for the Kingfisher breeding season.

So, what's been happening in the meantime?

Our dedicated team of habitat management volunteers have been clearing…

Hi All

Just a quick update on recent sightings.

First off a bittern, first of the winter, was seen on Friday (8/11) from the Gadwall hide, the heavy fog and rain Saturday were not conducive to further sightings but the bright sunshine this morning was a reward in its self but also multiple sightings of the bittern first seen flying over the meadow  towards the reserve and then visible from Gadwall hide on and off through…

October Sightings

As we head into the last month of Autumn, we’re looking back on the sightings from a mild and wet October.

Kingfisher’s were seen frequently from the Gadwall and Draper Hides despite the closure of the Kingfisher Loop (until March 2020) with a pair sighted together in the middle of the month. Stonechat, Green Sandpiper, Chiffchaff, Grey Wagtail, Cetti’s all put in consistent appearances throughout…

Join us for the End of the World family fun day today, we have bush craft demonstrations (learn about the history of fire and try out techniques to start fires), nature art, pond dipping, face painting, and the End of the World Trail. 

The End of the World Day trail is £2 each and continues until Sunday 3 November, so do come along.

Hello Everyone,

Since our last communication the project team have been working hard behind the scenes and awaiting decisions on planning and funding.

We are very excited to share with you the great news… the Kingfisher Viewing Hub is a go!!!

In August our planning permission was approved, and we have been successful in another funding bid. This has allowed us to progress the project this winter.  We are continuing…

We are hosting an event this Sunday 29 September 2019, 10am -4pm, to mark 50 years of RSPB Local Groups 

4 Local Groups are taking part: South East Hertfordshire, North East & North West London and Potters Bar and Barnet.

So come along and meet your local group! Find out what they do, the groups history, view some memorabilia and much more.

In celebration of this anniversary there will be lots of fun filled activities…

September at Rye Meads: expect the unexpected

As the mornings become cooler and the days shorten, wildlife is leaning towards the Autumn months as the few remaining swallows, swifts and house martins begin their long journey to their wintering grounds in Africa. Wigeon, Teal and Shoveller can be seen dabbling on the lagoons and their numbers will grow as we head towards the winter months.

Starlings are clustered on wires…

Its a beautiful bank holiday weekend with great weather and plenty to see and do here at Rye Meads.

Steve Kershaw is on site with his wildlife art and demonstration, family activities, a elephant hawk moth caterpillar was found walking the path this morning so we have popped him in a display tank on reception for the day if you would like a look.

The third brood of kingfishers are due to fledge 24-26 august so we are…

Great News the second brood of kingfishers hatched on Saturday, so we now have 24-26 days of increasing activity before fledging around 15-17 July.

Therefore we have been able to set 2 more dates for our VIP Kingfisher mornings, these are Saturday 13 & Sunday 14 July 2019, 6.30am-9am, only 8 places available each day, members only, please call 01992 708383 to book your space. £17 per person

Come and join us for some family fun during half term.

We have an exciting migration trail where you can take part in the epic migration with Sunny the swallow and friends all the way from South Africa back to the UK to breed, face all the challenges and see how well you do, then help us build a nest ready to rear some young. 

We also have the ever popular pond dipping kits for hire, who knows what you may find in the…

Cuckoos have been showing really well, with at least 2 males and a female on site.  There have been a couple of fights between 2 males, favourite perch seen from the Draper hide large tree to left but  also spotted around site at Ashby, Kingfisher and Warbler hides as well, fingers crossed we may get views of a youngster.

The kestrels are incubating in the box on the pylon outside the visitor centre, so we are looking forward…

Well it has been a bit of a topsy turvy week for our kingfishers.  

Fledging was expected 14-16 May after 24-26 days of being fed increasing larger fish and putting great demands on both parents.  Well so far there has been no sign of fledging! 

Last Saturday 11 May we ran our first VIP kingfisher morning of the season and both adults were seen, however very soon after that the male seemed to disappear! We time our VIP mornings…

Nestbox watch

Would you like to see some baby birds in the hand? Join members of the Rye Meads Ringing Group as they monitor and ring the birds breeding in the nest boxes around the reserve.

We have a variety of boxes around site offering nesting sites for little, tawny and barn owls, kestrels, blue and great tits, house sparrow and stock doves, however these species don’t always take up residence, so you may find other…

The kingfishers have hatched their first brood of 2019.

Today, we received 2 reports of small fish going in to the bank and 1 of something white being dropped just outside the bank (probably egg shell). The pair were very active yesterday with change overs occurring every couple of hours so the signs were looking good and smack in the middle of our estimated time frame of 19-21 April.

Great News, 2 changeovers have been sen today at the kingfisher bank! The first was at roughly 11.50 and the next almost exactly 2 hours later at 1.50.  Incubation lasts 19-21 days so we would expect hatching around 19-21 April.  An early start to the season but looks good for another successful year.

The last week or so has provided some nice surprises as spring migration kicks in, a common crane fly over on the 23 March…

Last week was British Science Week: a celebration of science, technology, engineering and maths. Here at RSPB Rye Meads in Hertfordshire, we were keen to show that science happens everywhere and doesn’t just happen in laboratories by people in white coats. Students from Wormley Primary School in Hertfordshire found that science can be done in a pond, on a path and even from a bird hide! The school, who had chosen the…