National Grid will be undertaking maintenace on the pylon in our car park during July. This will mean the closure of part of the car park and so limited parking while work is undertaken. Closures:- 9-12 July & 26-27 July We will keep you updated about any changes.

Rye Meads Half Term Events

Sunday 30 May – Friday 4 June & Sunday 6 June

Self-led Migration Trail

Sunday 30 May – Friday 4 June & Sunday 6 June 9 am-4.00 pm

Join Sunny the swallow on migration from South Africa to Rye Meads, 6,000 miles!  Face the perils and see the sights as you cross the Sahara Desert, Europe and the English Channel and arrive ready to breed at Rye Meads!

Closed Saturday 5 June

Great start to 2021 Year List, Peregrine up on the pylon, male blackcap and redwing in the car park. What's the first bird on your 2021 year list, do let us know! Hoping yesterdays little weasel visits again to start off mammals as well, bonus.

We are now in a Tier 3 Area

We know how important getting into nature during this difficult time is for our health and wellbeing.

Here at Rye Meads Fieldfares and Redwing are feasting on the hawthorn berries and starlings and yellowhammers are roosting in the reedbed.

We also have lots of muddy puddles for jumping in for little ones... or big ones too!

Come and visit your local nature reserve and enjoy the autumn colours…

️WINTER OPENING TIMES  ️

From Monday 24 Nov to end of Feb:

Car park open (9am-4pm, £4 for non-members)

Staffed, Covid-secure, outdoor welcome point (10am-4pm)

Trails open (9am-4pm)

Toilets open (10am-4pm)

Take away refreshments available to purchase, card payment preferred

Hides and Visitor Centre closed

Reserve remains closed on Saturdays

Please note: Rye Meads will be closed 24, 25, 26 Dec and 4 and…

We know that for many of you, Rye Meads reserve provides enjoyment and solace in the natural world throughout these challenging times. In line with Government guidance on essential, daily exercise outdoors, during #SecondLockdown, our car park, trails and toilets remain open for you to visit. Please follow all current Government guidance around social distancing, who you can visit with, hygiene and follow all signage…

Sightings over the past few weeks have included Stonechat and Whinchat out on the meadow.

From Draper there have been sightings of  Jack Snipe, Snipe, Green Sandpiper and Wigeon.

Photo: Snipe by Keith Bedford

Waterfowl numbers have been building up nicely with 120 Teal seen and good numbers of Gadwall and Shoveller.

Photo: Gadwall by Keith Bedford

Visitors have has nice views of Goldcrests on the trail up to Draper…

We currently have a wood sandpiper visible from the Draper hide.

We have opened the Draper hide for visiting but there are some restrictions on use: please follow social distancing and wear face covering, maximum capacity 3 people or 1 family group, maximum stay 45 min. 

The wood sandpiper is regularly joined by green sandpiper (up to 6) and snipe (up to 6), we also had a common sandpiper last week, so being able to spot…

Come to Rye Meads with the family to try out some of the RSPB’s wild challenge activities.

Have your phone ready and look out for the QR codes on signs around the reserve. 

You can find links to activities such as bird watching, matching natures colours, being a nature detective – finding out what animals are about and looking at tress, leaves and seeds.

It’s free and could be the start of a whole outdoor…

Hi Everyone,

Bryony here... the Visitor Experience Manager at RSPB Rye Meads. It’s been a little while since we shared with you some sightings so with August here we though now would be a good time to let you know what was spotted around the reserve in July.

We’ve had a good array of warblers making themselves known out on the reserve with White Throat, Lesser White Throat, Chiff Chaff, Black Cap, Garden, Reed and…

Its a great time of year to look out for insects, from butterflies to bugs, beetles and bees. So when you visit the reserve don't forget to check out the vegetation next to the trail, there are many insects lurking with in. A clump of bramble flowers area a great source of nectar, so often full of bees of many species. Why not have a got at identifying them?
Please share any insect pictures you get on your visit with…

We are checking in to reports that Rye Road is going to be closed at the bridge over the new river for 5 days, if you are thinking of visiting Sunday or Monday please be aware. Thanks

Our visitor centre, shop, café, toilets and hides remain closed. Some of our trails and car park are now open Sunday-Wednesday, but please be mindful that it has limited capacity. We urge our visitors to please stay local to your nearest reserves and greenspaces.  Anyone choosing to visit should observe all current government advice around social distancing and hygiene.

A focus on Kestrels at Rye Meads

Rye Meads has had many years of success with kestrel nest boxes, with pylons proving to be popular, if sometimes a bit problematical, locations. Traditionally used is the box at the kingfisher hide, with National Grid workers adding another box as the initial one became dilapidated. So, two boxes can now be seen in this location and bizarrely Tawny Owl decided to nest there in 2017 and…

Despite some very slight changes in lockdown restrictions, the reserve remains closed to the public for now. Our priority is to ensure that we only re-open when we have everything in place to keep our members, visitors, volunteers and employees safe.

We must also make sure that the wildlife that calls our site home is ready to receive attention after a couple of months completely on its own. With reports of rare species…