Rye Harbour Nature Reserve sightings March 2026

Bobbie Lane
, 07 April 2026
Rye Harbour Nature Reserve sightings March 2026
Wheatear © James Tomlinson

By David Bentley

The UK experienced its joint tenth hottest March, in a series dating back to 1884, with the Rye area being warmer and drier than usual, but with an average amount of sunshine. This weather provided some welcome respite after a very wet start to the year.

March is a month filled with excitement at the first proper arrival of summer bird migrants and also with anticipation that the main floodgates are about to open.

Spotted Redshank © David Rowlands
Spotted Redshank © David Rowlands

After another winter in residence, 'our' Spotted Redshank started its moult towards the end of the month. You can watch its ghostly, pale elegance being replaced by tarry-black beauty.

Our first Little Ringed Plover was seen at Salt Pool on 11th, four others having been seen at nearby Pannel Valley on the exceptionally early date of 5th.

Two Black-tailed Godwits on 14th, 11 Ruff on 18th, all at Flat Beach, and a single Bar-tailed Godwit on Salt Pool on 19th hinted at a (hopefully) heavy passage of spring waders soon to come.

Around 40 Golden Plover were still present at the end of the month, most now sporting their smart summer suits. Catch them quick, as they'll be heading north very soon.

Green-winged Teal © James Tomlinson
Green-winged Teal © James Tomlinson

Bird of the month goes to the male Green-winged Teal seen on 19th at Salt Pool. This is the American cousin of our Eurasian Teal. The male birds of the former species are easily picked out as they have a bold, vertical white stripe down the side of the breast, as opposed to a horizontal white stripe along the body of our resident species.

Scaup is an increasingly scarce winter visitor, so it was great to have a male bird at Castle Water on 24th.

Garganey © Roger Wilmshurst
Garganey © Roger Wilmshurst

A male Garganey - a regular and popular early spring migrant - was at Salt Pool from 11th until at least 20th.

Over 100 handsome Sandwich Tern were gathered on Flat Beach by the end of the month. Listen out for their 'squeaky-garden-gate' calls as they pass over, heading out to sea to feed.

One of the special days of the year on the reserve is when the first Wheatear arrives. As usual it was an almost impossibly beautiful male bird, this time at the north end of Castle Water on 16th. There were at least three more there on 26th. The male birds are usually seen first, stealing a march on the females, so that they arrive at their breeding grounds first, ready and waiting to woo.

Several pinky-tinged 'Scandinavian' Rock Pipit (sub-species littoralis) could be seen right in front of Gooders Hide on 6th and 7th.

The first Sand Martin sighting of the year consisted of at least ten birds at Castle Water on 26th. The first Swallow was seen near the caravan park on 28th. We know that just one

Swallow doesn't make a summer, but we can be sure that we are now well into spring, with the exciting months of April and May to follow.

Early Colletes Bees © David Bentley
Early Colletes Bees © David Bentley

The Castle Water colony of rare Early Colletes Bee was extremely active on 19th. Emerging females were immediately pounced on by hoards of super-keen males, forming excited 'mating balls'.

Plants in flower this March included Coltsfoot, Danish Scurvy-grass, Blackthorn and Wallflower, the latter on the ramparts of Camber Castle.

Leave a comment

Comments

  • Paul Clancy:

    Did not know about you & your blog. Lovely to see.

    10 Apr 2026 16:30:00

  • Valerie Hodgson:

    Very informative. Thank you!

    25 Apr 2026 07:12:00

Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1782490894.42750 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1782490894.45870.0313Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1782490894.4590.0002Server address: 216.73.216.76
1782490894.4590.0001Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1782490894.4590Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/rye-harbour-nature-reserve-sightings-march-2026
    [s] => rye-harbour-nature-reserve-sightings-march-2026
    [1] => rye-harbour-nature-reserve-sightings-march-2026
)
1782490894.45940.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782490894.46090.0014 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1782490894.46320.0023 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1782490894.46390.0007INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1782490894.46640.0025 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22316915
1782490894.46760.0012 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22316915
1782490894.46860.001 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-06-26 16:21:00' AND saleTo>'2026-06-26 16:21:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1782490894.47070.0021 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='rye-harbour-nature-reserve-sightings-march-2026')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-26 16:21:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1782490894.47440.0037 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782490894.47560.0012 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3918 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-26 16:21:00'
1782490894.47720.0016 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1782490894.47840.0012 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1782490894.47960.0012 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=279 LIMIT 1
1782490894.48070.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=70 LIMIT 1
1782490894.48160.0009Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782490894.48250.0009 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1782490894.48410.0016 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-26 16:21:00' AND postSlug='rye-harbour-nature-reserve-sightings-march-2026'
1782490894.50480.0207Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782490894.50580.001 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1782490894.50780.002Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1782490894.50810.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1782490894.50890.0008 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1782490894.51040.0015 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782490894.51380.0034 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782490894.5150.0011 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782490894.51730.0024Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1782490894.51740.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782490894.51870.0013 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782490894.51940.0006 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782490894.52250.0031 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782490894.52370.0012 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782490894.52460.0009 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782490894.52790.0033 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782490894.52910.0012 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1782490894.53180.0027 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1782490894.53250.0008Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782490894.5330.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='35' LIMIT 1
1782490894.53420.0012Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1782490894.53480.0006 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='rye-harbour-nature-reserve-sightings-march-2026')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-26 16:21:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1782490894.5370.0022 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782490894.53750.0005 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782490894.54070.0032Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1782490894.54180.0011 [2] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3918 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1782490894.59280.051 [2] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1782490894.59360.0009Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782490894.59390.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='35' LIMIT 1
1782490894.59510.0012 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1782490894.59830.0032 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1782490894.59920.001 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782490894.60180.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782490894.60240.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782490894.60460.0023 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782490894.60550.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782490894.60640.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782490894.60680.0005 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782490894.60940.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782490894.61080.0014 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782490894.61310.0024 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782490894.61720.0041 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1782490894.61840.0012 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1782490894.61920.0008 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782490894.62230.0031 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782490894.62340.0011 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782490894.62640.003 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782490894.62940.003 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782490894.63060.0012 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782490894.63130.0008 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782490894.63410.0027 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782490894.63490.0008 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782490894.63690.0021 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782490894.63870.0018Request time: 0.2157
1782490894.63870Process time: 0.2155
1782490894.63880Memory: 1.6525