Wednesday 17th May: Rye Harbour and Abbot’s Wood

 It was lovely to have a day out with Sue M after a busy time over recent weeks. In warm sunshine we headed for Rye Harbour, pausing at Pett Level en route, but there was little of note here. We started our day at the Bittern viewing point, an ideal spot to try our the Merlin app song ID feature which Tim had recently downloaded to his phone. We immediately heard Cetti’s Warbler and spotted a Sedge Warbler moving furtively through the undergrowth. In nearby bushes Tim thought he heard Lesser Whitethroat, confirmed by the new app, and we located a bird singing from the top of a tall shrub, a new tick for Tim! In fact we enjoyed a number of these birds singing amongst the scrub, a real highlight of the trip, as it is unusual to find so many in one area. A Song Thrush poured out his tuneful song, loudly and repeatedly from a tall willow, before finally showing himself as he flew to a nearby hawthorn. A rosy breasted Linnet posed in the same spot, and several Common Whitethroat and a Blackcap joined the melee. On the water we found Great crested Grebe and a pair of Pochard, plus Reed Warblers flitted amongst the vegetation, giving frequent tantalising glimpses but limited binocular views, although Sue managed to see one in her scope.

From here we drove to the main reserve, walking in an anti-clockwise direction as a change from our usual route. There were good numbers of Avocet scattered across the reserve, and a cluster of Curlew and Whimbrel were visible in the saltmarsh. On some muddy islands we found Ringed Plover and from one of the hides summer plumaged Turnstones foraged along the water’s edge. 

As we walked the path, a Little Egret landed on the track ahead of us, with a raucous call, sounding a little like a crow. We noticed his feathers were fluffed out as he strutted up and down in front of us. Then we spotted another bird, with a similar fluffed up appearance also strutting its stuff along the fence. The two then flew together and performed a little dance together in the air, before going their separate ways. It was a fascinating and rather magical encounter.

At Flat Beach we found plenty of nesting Common Terns, and even managed to spot a heavily camouflaged egg and eventually in one corner a small group of Little Terns, a delight to watch with their fast, acrobatic flight and a new year tick for us all. Tim was also thrilled to observe a resting Avocet stand up to reveal no less than four speckled eggs before it nestled back down. 

The weather had cooled substantially so we ended the morning with a spot of tea and cake or soup at the visitor centre, before heading off to Abbot’s Wood near Arlington in search of a reported Iberian Chiffchaff. We played the song on the Collins app to familiarise ourselves with the difference from the common Chiffy, and when we arrived we were quickly able to identify the song, but despite our best efforts searching the high canopy we were unable to locate the bird by sight. 

Despite this disappointment it had been a fabulous day with around 65 species seen or heard and some very special and memorable moments to savour in the future. Thanks to Sue for the photos.

Little Egret