Sunday 12th March 2023
Rye Harbour NNR
East Grinstead RSPB Local Group
(13 members present)
Trip Report
We spent most of this trip in the
Castle Water/ Camber Castle area, visiting the Reedbed viewpoint and the Halpin
Hide on the way and returning to the reserve car park via Castle Farm, the Long
Pit and the Narrow Pit – a long walk made all the more difficult by some very
muddy paths.
As we walked down Harbour Road towards
the industrial site we saw several birds of interest:-
- A
lovely mistle thrush greeted us from the canopy of the roadside tree. Singing beautifully, it could be heard from a
distance around.
Courtesy of Ian Hodgson
- A
marauding red kite caused mayhem among the local gull population causing them
all to take flight.
- A
kestrel was seen in the distance.
As we turned west and headed for the
Reedbed viewpoint a couple of other birds drew our attention:-
- In
the nearby field, we watched a couple of mistle thrushes on the ground.
- A
sparrowhawk flew overhead.
- We
heard our first green woodpecker of the day.
At the Reedbed viewpoint, the usual
suspects were present:-
- Pick
of the birds was a cracking marsh harrier, flying low over the reedbed.
- As
we moved away, Kevin spotted a raptor flying past and away from us which Martin
identified as a short-eared owl – a very welcome, if somewhat surprising,
sighting.
- Almost
immediately, a raven flew past us to add yet more variety to our growing list
of larger birds.
By now the path was very muddy but
thankfully we were all wearing boots. As we approached the Halpin Hide, conditions
underfoot improved.
We were intrigued by a large flock of
birds flying over the fields to our right. When they landed we were able to get
up close to ascertain that it was a mixed flock.
- Most
of the birds were linnets.
- Interspersed
with the linnets were a few goldfinches.
- At
the top end of Castle Water the cormorants caught our attention with their
large numbers but mainly because of the brilliant plumage they displayed. Patrick was particularly impressed by them as
witnessed by his superb images.
Courtesy of Patrick
Sullivan
Courtesy of Patrick
Sullivan
Courtesy of Patrick
Sullivan
Looking over Castle Water from the
Halpin Hide there were all kinds of birds on show.
- Pick
of the birds was the drake goldeneye, looking absolutely stunning in the
afternoon sunshine.
Courtesy
of Martin Jeffree
- The
pintail ducks also impressed us.
- Disappointingly,
there was no sign of the black-necked grebe that has been around the reserve
for well over a year.
The trek from the Halpin Hide back to
the car park by the Martello Tower was largely uneventful and quite tiring
because of the state of some of the paths that we used. Some were so muddy as to be unpleasant.
- John
and Martin heard a Mediterranean Gull utter its characteristic cat-like call
and also loud pings which could have been Bearded Tits but this was not
confirmed.
After a well-earned lunch, 8 of us set
off to visit the southern aspects of the reserve, calling in at the Salt Pool,
Flat Beach and New Saltmarsh. We were
well rewarded, picking up quite a good number of new birds for our list. By now the weather had deteriorated, with
strong winds and falling temperatures the main changes.
- The
avocets were soon evident and we saw more and more as we moved round the
reserve.
Courtesy of Martin Jeffree
- There
were plenty of redshank around but sadly we could not find the spotted redshank
that had been reported earlier in the day.
- Dunlin
and ringed plover were also well represented.
Dunlin – courtesy of Patrick Sullivan
- Martin
spotted a ruff which some of us saw before it disappeared.
- Of
course there were several skylarks around – a Rye Harbour staple.
- At
the mouth of the river, there we saw at least 30 turnstone, huddled together
sheltering from the wind.
- A
single Brent goose flew by us as we walked towards the Visitor Centre.
- We
finished the day at Gooders Hide where we saw some lovely grey plover and a
snipe.
In the end we finished up with a huge
species count of 74.
Ian missed the scaup at Camber when we
visited Dungeness on our February outing. He returned this morning, before we all met up,
and this time he was successful with the scaup coming very close.
Courtesy of Ian Hodgson
It was another excellent turnout by our
members today. What a pity that
conditions underfoot were so bad at times.
This, together with the long distance we walked, took its toll and
detracted from what was otherwise a very good birding trip.
Thanks Kevin!
Bob Hastings
Today’s species
list:
|
Name:
|
|
|
Name:
|
|
|
Avocet
|
1
|
|
Magpie
|
38
|
|
Black-headed Gull
|
2
|
|
Mallard
|
39
|
|
Blackbird
|
3
|
|
Marsh Harrier
|
40
|
|
Blue Tit
|
4
|
|
Meadow Pipit
|
41
|
|
Brent Goose
|
5
|
|
Mediterranean Gull
|
42
|
|
Buzzard
|
6
|
|
Mistle Thrush
|
43
|
|
Canada Goose
|
7
|
|
Moorhen
|
44
|
|
Carrion Crow
|
8
|
|
Mute Swan
|
45
|
|
Cetti's Warbler
|
9
|
|
Oystercatcher
|
46
|
|
Chaffinch
|
10
|
|
Pheasant
|
47
|
|
Chiffchaff
|
11
|
|
Pied Wagtail
|
48
|
|
Collared Dove
|
12
|
|
Pintail
|
49
|
|
Coot
|
13
|
|
Pochard
|
50
|
|
Cormorant
|
14
|
|
Raven
|
51
|
|
Curlew
|
15
|
|
Red Kite
|
52
|
|
Dunlin
|
16
|
|
Redshank
|
53
|
|
Dunnock
|
17
|
|
Reed Bunting
|
54
|
|
Egyptian Goose
|
18
|
|
Ringed Plover
|
55
|
|
Gadwall
|
19
|
|
Robin
|
56
|
|
Goldeneye
|
20
|
|
Rock Dove / Feral Pigeon
|
57
|
|
Goldfinch
|
21
|
|
Rook
|
58
|
|
Great Black-backed Gull
|
22
|
|
Ruff
|
59
|
|
Great Crested Grebe
|
23
|
|
Shelduck
|
60
|
|
Great Tit
|
24
|
|
Short-eared Owl
|
61
|
|
Green Woodpecker
|
25
|
|
Shoveler
|
62
|
|
Grey Plover
|
26
|
|
Skylark
|
63
|
|
Greylag Goose
|
27
|
|
Snipe
|
64
|
|
Herring Gull
|
28
|
|
Sparrowhawk
|
65
|
|
House Sparrow
|
29
|
|
Starling
|
66
|
|
Jackdaw
|
30
|
|
Stock Dove
|
67
|
|
Kestrel
|
31
|
|
Teal
|
68
|
|
Lapwing
|
32
|
|
Tufted Duck
|
69
|
|
Lesser Black-backed Gull
|
33
|
|
Turnstone
|
70
|
|
Linnet
|
34
|
|
Water Rail
|
71
|
|
Little Egret
|
35
|
|
Wigeon
|
72
|
|
Little Grebe
|
36
|
|
Woodpigeon
|
73
|
|
Long-tailed Tit
|
37
|
|
Wren
|
74
|
Species count = 74
2023 species count = 128
