Rye Meads Ringing Group

The Observation pages contain a synopsis of the more interesting sightings of birds at Rye Meads this year, plus a summary of last year.

A pair of Barn Owls were our first presumed wild Barn Owls since 1995
The severe weather in February produced two Bitterns
Up to four Water Pipits were present during Jan and Feb, with two more in November
A Marsh Harrier in late April was followed by a pair two days later, tantalisingly displaying over the Scrape; another was recorded in September.
A Wood Sandpiper joined the regular Green Sandpipers on one day in late June
An Autumn juvenile Reeve spent a few days on the Scrape
One record of Osprey moving south in August
A juvenile Mediterranean Gull in Autumn is in danger of becoming an annual event
A Little Owl in August was amazingly our first since 1984, even though they breed just a few hundred metres off site
Goodness knows why we get so few Nightingales - a bird caught in August was our first for eight years
A Garganey stayed for two days in October - another species becoming almost an annual visitor
Finally, a Black Redstart endured awful weather on one day in November

Observations