March on the Reserve
Spring has definitely sprung, although my final memories of March are of going through three sets of clothes putting all of our Easter activities out in the rain and mud…
Regardless, we’re calling is Spring – blackthorn is in blossom, there’s daffodils around, and we’ve had our first butterflies of the year (Peacock and Brimstone). Before we get to the birds, we’ve also had a stoat make an…
Day to day operations at RSPB Rye Meads are run by two full-time and one part-time member of staff to keep the doors open 7 days a week from 9am-5pm. It therefore relies heavily on a brilliant team of volunteers - 79 of them in the last year! One of our more recent recruits, Colin, has been with us every Monday in our 'Roving' volunteer role, heading out onto the reserve as a friendly point of contact for our visitors.…
Over the last few months there's been a bit of a buzz around several visitors to Rye Meads (of the avian variety, although I'm sure some of you create a buzz too).
One of those species is the Bearded Tits: first spotted in October, we've had peaks and troughs of sightings in various parts of the reserve all the way to March.
Like most species that have visited Rye Meads, Bearded Tits have been tracked and…
Its a bit odd to write this looking out of the window at snow, but its been an unusually mild February, particularly during Half Term. Its been another bumper month for major sightings, with our highlights from January sticking around and being joined by some other firsts for 2023. Water levels at Draper stayed relatively high for the month but we did bring them down at Gadwall. Both are now reducing…
The start of a new calendar year is always a busy time for us here at Rye Meads, with the slate wiped clean and our annual sightings log reset to zero! But the year has started brilliantly with some major highlights for us, as early as New Year's Day.
We're also recruiting volunteers to a variety of roles at the reserve, so if you have any time to spare, however small, do check out volunteer.rspb.org.uk to find…
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…
As we're finally getting some winter weather, we're into the time of year of a lot of habitat management on the reserve. Regular visitors may have seen the floating reed cutter out on the Draper and Gadwall lagoons at the start of the month, as well as contractor machinery clearing some of the scrub along the paths. We're very grateful to a generous donation from the South East Herts RSPB Local Group for…
October’s been an interesting month! At times we’ve finally had the rainfall we desperately needed, but in general its been incredibly mild. Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve been able to do some large scale habitat management, cutting back much of the scrub along the paths and on the Draper scrape, both with a contractor and our excellent volunteer work parties. That possibly combined to lead to some different species…
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…
Its been another good season for the Rye Meads Kingfishers, although at times they've really kept us guessing! At the Kingfisher Hub, a new male arrived and was quickly put in his place by the female, leading to three successful broods. Although they took a little while to get going, once the first brood hatched, there was a short crossover with the second - so short that they hatched a week before we were expecting!…
It's been relentlessly hot and dry over the last couple of weeks - I actually spent a week in Menorca to go somewhere a bit cooler! Water levels on the reserve have been pretty low and the total lack of rain isn't helping, and yet there's still been plenty around to keep us occupied while we're trying to find some shade. Kingfishers are of course the highlight of the reserve and we're flooded with hundreds of photos of…
The record high temperatures this month did send some of our wildlife (and staff!) hunting for shade and shelter but there has still been plenty to see. We’re also heading into the Summer Holidays, meaning we’ve got six weeks worth of young explorers joining the ranks for our sightings guides coming up!
Here we cover the last three weeks of your records from our sightings book, and contributions from our regular…
It’s been a packed month, so much so that we missed an end of month blog! Away from the species sightings, our work party have been busy painting and repairing the handrails and fences around the site, we’ve been preparing for the RSPB’s upcoming Big Wild Summer events, and we’ve had school groups visiting almost every weekday. It’s been amazing seeing so many enthusiastic kids taking part in the curriculum-based activities…
Strangely mixed weather on the reserve over the last few weeks, but summer is very much here now – between myself and our volunteers we could definitely have a good ‘Knobbliest Knees’ competition. Over at the Kingfisher Hide we finally have signs of incubating a second brood, after a lot of confusing behaviour! For plenty of variety, you don’t even need to reach the Visitor Centre, as our herb garden and Wildlife Garden…
In the last full week of May there’s been plenty happening! Our first Kingfisher brood of the year fledged on Monday with four youngsters finally leaving the nest. One was very reluctant but they’re now all away, and there’s signs of prep for the second brood at the Kingfisher Hub. At the Draper hide there may be signs of hatched young so its all go!
Here are the latest highlights in the next instalment…
Approaching May Half Term we’ve had some very warm weather, but as I write this it’s hammering down with rain! That combo over the last few weeks has brought out some serious greenery, and plenty of butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies to go with it. Out of the window by my desk I’ve had a brilliant distraction with starlings making use of a nestbox above the door to the Visitor Centre – they could fledge any day…
The other side of Easter has seen a mixture of warm and still, and cool and windy - fortunately we've begun to see plenty of Year Firsts, including Reed Warblers and the unmistakable sounds of Cuckoos. We've also had a pair of very confident Kestrels mating around the nest boxes near the Kingfisher Hub and the car park - we have our fingers crossed for nesting after a couple of years of absence! Redshank have also been…
The Easter holidays has seen a buzz of activity at Rye Meads, and that’s not just from the early gathering bees! Families have been enjoying our Easter Egg-stravaganza activity trail, and pond dipping discoveries have included newts, water scorpions and more!
A very lucky pond dipper, catching a newt, a backswimmer, and a caddis fly larva!
But around the rest of the reserve, our migrant species are beginning to…
What a beast! Amazing great diving beetle from our pond dipping area today. #greatdivingbeetle Pond dipping running until 18 April £3 if you want to try your luck.
Last year we were delighted to see two active pairs, and despite the drama of losing a male from the hub pair we still successfully fledged 4 broods. So, we are keen to see what the 2022 breeding season will bring!
We aim to offer everyone a great visitor experience when visiting Rye Meads. In anticipation of another busy year, we are launching some new requirements…
Due to the strong winds and Amber warning issued for #StormEunice we are taking the decision to close the reserve tomorrow (18 February 2022). We have made this decision with everyone’s safety in mind, stay safe!
Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year 
, from all of us at Rye Meads.
We’re delighted to be partnering with Netflix and Aardman on Robin Robin, a half-hour, stop-motion, festive story for the whole family, about a young robin trying to fit in. It’s debuting on Netflix on 24 November – get the date in your diary!
To celebrate, we’re inviting you to join exclusive Robin Robin-themed adventure trails right here at Rye Meads this Christmas season.
