Rye Harbour Nature Reserve Wildlife sightings: March 2025

David Bentley

Volunteer and Trustee of the Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve

March 2025 was dominated by high pressure and generally very settled conditions. There was below average rainfall and significantly above average sunshine hours - indeed, England had its sunniest March on record. The start of March often feels like a bit of a lull in proceedings, with winter ebbing away without much of a spring 'push'. But, as the month progresses, things start to happen and so it was that the first Wheatear was seen on the 21^st and the first Swallow on 30^th.

Visible migration in March can be obvious in some species. Dozens, sometimes hundreds, of Brent Geese can be seen offshore heading east. These birds will 'turn left' at Dover, head up the east coast and then across the North Sea aiming for breeding grounds in Norway. Some will pause to feed up, including 35 birds on Flat Beach on 17^th.

The over-wintering Spotted Redshank remained, and was showing signs of moulting into its summer plumage by the end of the month. The first returning Little Ringed Plover was seen at Salt Pool on the 15^th. Look carefully, and with good views, it's easy to tell these lovely summer visitors apart from the larger, resident Ringed Plover. The former has an all-black beak, a yellow eye ring, a rather distinctive, slim demeanour and - often definitively - a lack of a wing-bar in flight.

Pintail numbers for the month peaked at around 30. There were still two Black-necked Grebe at Long Pit until at least the 8^th and three Cattle Egrets present near Castle Water on the 26^th.

This is a good time of year to look closely at Rock Pipits. Scandinavian birds of the sub-species littoralis may stand out, as their new summer plumage shows a distinctive pink flush to the underparts. Two were seen around Ternery and Salt Pools on the 17^th.

Red Kites are commonly seen in March, generally heading east on migration. These are large and impressive birds of prey, but one was dwarfed by a truly enormous bird on the 13^th over the New Saltmarsh. It was a White-tailed Eagle, with a wingspan of over two metres. A transmitter fitted to the bird revealed it was around four years old and one of those released as part of the Isle of Wight re-introduction programme.

Black Redstarts can pop up almost anywhere close to the coast at this time of year. There were a few sightings this month, including one by Harbour Farm Barns on the 23^rd. Another spring regular, in small numbers, is the delightful Little Gull; one was seen from the Halpin Hide at Castle Water on 22^nd.

The first singing Sedge Warbler was reported near Long Pit on the 24^th and the first Willow Warbler near Harbour Farm Barns on 29^th.

Over 80 Sandwich Terns were counted by the end of the month and we hope that these iconic Rye Harbour birds - plus the soon-to-arrive Little and Common Terns - will settle down to enjoy a successful breeding season.

The settled weather will have helped early emerging butterflies which included Brimstone, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell and Comma.

Further signs of spring, were flowering Coltsfoot, Blackthorn, Grey Willow, Alder and Common Gorse.  

Thanks go to all the visitors whose observations contribute to the monthly sighting reports. If you have spotted something interesting on the reserve, please do make a record via https://irecord.org.uk/, and if you think it is particularly significant, please let us know at [email protected].