Rye Harbour Nature Reserve Wildlife Sightings – April 2023

Barry Yates
, 01 May 2023
Rye Harbour Nature Reserve Wildlife Sightings – April 2023

During this very wet and cold month:

  • the reedbeds filled with warblers and the soundscape became more complex – Water Rail, Cettis’ Warbler and Bearded Tit have been here all winter, then the first Sedge Warblers arrived in late March and the Reed Warblers from 9thApril, then the Bittern started booming – hear this and other soundscapes at https://soundcloud.com/rx-nature
  • the islands filled with nesting seabirds – first and most numerous are Black-headed Gull, with a few Mediterranean Gulls, Herring, Great Black-backed and Common Gulls. Then about 50 pairs of Sandwich Tern settled in at Ternery Pool and a few Common Terns from 16th and started to nest by the end of the month. First Little Terns on 19th and 8 on 30th.
  • The breeding waders birds started nesting (approx. pairs) – Avocet (50) Oystercatcher (40), Ringed Plover (25) Lapwing (10), Redshank (10), Little Ringed Plover (5).
  • rarities - Spotted Redshank all month, a pair of Garganey 8th, 2 Little Stints to at least 20th, 6 Cattle Egrets 28th, White Stork on 30th
  • First Common Whitethroat on 8th and Lesser Whitethroat on 11th, Hobby from 29th. Swifts from 27th. And the long staying Black-necked Grebe was moulting back into breeding plumage.
Black-necked Grebe
Common Tern at Ternary Pool
Cattle Egret at Castle Water


On a cold walk mid-month at Castle Water we managed to see 5 species of bumblebee and Clarke’s Mining Bee. Several Dotted Bee-flies were seen mid-month.

Flowering plants in the dry grassland of the beach included Common Whitlowgrass, Danish Scurvygrass, Rue-leaved Saxifrage, Dove’sfoot Cranesbill, Common Stork’sbill, Dandelion and Early Forget-me-not. 

Rue-leaved Saxifrage

Along the path near the Discovery Centre Red Dead-nettle and White Deadnettle were both flowering and attracting bees. The most overlooked and underrated flowers are the willow trees which provide lots of early pollen and nectar for many insects.

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1787960283.6380 [907] 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
1787960283.68010.0421Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1787960283.68030.0002Server address: 216.73.216.170
1787960283.68030Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1787960283.68030Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/rye-harbour-nature-reserve-wildlife-sightings-april-2023
    [s] => rye-harbour-nature-reserve-wildlife-sightings-april-2023
    [1] => rye-harbour-nature-reserve-wildlife-sightings-april-2023
)
1787960283.68060.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787960283.68170.0011 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1787960283.6840.0023 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1787960283.68470.0007INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1787960283.6890.0044 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=24573361
1787960283.68980.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=24573361
1787960283.69070.0009 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-08-28 23:38:00' AND saleTo>'2026-08-28 23:38:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1787960283.69230.0016 [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-wildlife-sightings-april-2023')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-08-28 23:38:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1787960283.69650.0042 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1787960283.69730.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3063 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-08-28 23:38:00'
1787960283.69870.0014 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1787960283.69960.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1787960283.70080.0012 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=57 LIMIT 1
1787960283.70150.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=70 LIMIT 1
1787960283.70230.0008Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787960283.70280.0004 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1787960283.70390.0012 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-08-28 23:38:00' AND postSlug='rye-harbour-nature-reserve-wildlife-sightings-april-2023'
1787960283.73750.0336Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787960283.73820.0006 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1787960283.74020.002Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1787960283.74050.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1787960283.74160.0012 [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
1787960283.74340.0018 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1787960283.7480.0046 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787960283.74880.0008 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787960283.75220.0034Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1787960283.75230 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787960283.75310.0009 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787960283.75370.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787960283.75690.0032 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787960283.75810.0012 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787960283.75910.001 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1787960283.76180.0028 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787960283.76290.0011 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1787960283.76670.0037 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1787960283.76720.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787960283.76740.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='6' LIMIT 1
1787960283.76850.0011Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1787960283.76890.0005 [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-wildlife-sightings-april-2023')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-08-28 23:38:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1787960283.77250.0036 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1787960283.77320.0008 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787960283.77630.003Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1787960283.77720.001 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3063 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1787960283.96140.1842 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1787960283.96160.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1787960283.96190.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='6' LIMIT 1
1787960283.9630.001 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1787960283.96390.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1787960283.96470.0008 [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
1787960283.96790.0032 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787960283.96870.0009 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787960283.97210.0034 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1787960283.97290.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1787960283.97390.001 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1787960283.97470.0008 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1787960283.97820.0035 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787960283.97910.0009 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787960283.98220.003 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1787960283.98510.0029 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1787960283.9860.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1787960283.98810.0021 [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
1787960283.99210.004 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787960283.9930.0008 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787960283.99610.0031 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1787960283.99920.0031 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1787960284.00020.0011 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1787960284.0010.0007 [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
1787960284.00420.0032 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1787960284.0050.0008 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1787960284.01040.0054 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1787960284.01160.0012Request time: 0.377
1787960284.01160Process time: 0.3768
1787960284.01160Memory: 1.6274