Overview
This nature reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest lies at the head of Rye Bay and close to the great shingle promontory of Dungeness. Like Dungeness this excellent small reserve consists largely of shingle, bare towards the sea but covered with a thin layer of soil further inland. Gravel extraction has resulted in a number of flooded pits which provide good breeding bird habitats and the grassland and scrub of the landward adds variety.
The eastern boundary of the reserve is formed by the River Rother as it enters the sea and this, together with the sandy shores of the bay, provides further habitats.
In the west of the reserve is a very small area of woodland which, although it becomes reduced in size year by year, still has a few extra species that cannot be seen in the more open habitats. A great number of rarities have been recorded on the reserve (including Penduline Tit in October 2003) and around 90-100 species can be seen in a day in spring or autumn.
Birds
Notable Species
The main focus of the reserve is the Ternery Pool, overlooked by two hides. Black-headed Gull and Herring Gull breed on islands in this gravel pit as well as Common Tern and Sandwich Tern. Mediterranean Gull usually attempt to breed, or are at least present in spring, and Little Tern, Ringed Plover and Oystercatcher nest on the shingle around the pit. Great Cormorant have attempted to breed in recent years but now tend to prefer the more inland Castle Water. Other breeding species of the reserve include Little Grebe and Great Crested Grebe and waterfowl such as Canada Goose, Common Shelduck, Northern Shoveler and Tufted Duck. Grey Partridge and Red-legged Partridge both breed on the shingle and farmland as well as Northern Lapwing, Common Redshank and Common Snipe. Pied Avocet has occurred in summer in recent years.
Breeding passerines include Eurasian Skylark and Meadow Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, Reed Warbler and Sedge Warbler, Northern Wheatear and Stonechat. Green Woodpecker is often seen feeding on the ground on the shingle and Great Spotted Woodpecker is usually present in the wood.
The number of species to be seen increases during passage periods when large numbers of migrants pass through the area. Most of the wader and waterfowl species of northern Europe can be seen. Red-throated Diver, and occasionally other divers appear in Rye Bay, and one or two of the rarer grebes are usually present on the sea or the pits. Northern Gannet, skuas and Kittiwake can often be seen over the bay, especially from the rivermouth. The bay is an important area for Common Scoter which is present in large numbers from late summer usually accompanied by Velvet Scoter and Common Eider. Other waterfowl present out of the breeding season include Common Goldeneye, Common Pochard and Greater Scaup, Northern Pintail and Gadwall. Ruddy Duck is now seen regularly and Dark-bellied Brent Goose passes along the shore, sometimes stopping to graze on the fields alongside the numerous Eurasian Wigeon.
All the commoner migrant waders can be seen on passage including Whimbrel, Curlew Sandpiper and Spotted Redshank amongst many others with Kentish Plover and Temminck's Stint virtually annual. Little Gull and Black Tern are regular migrants.
Passerine migrants include large numbers of hirundines as well as Black Redstart, Whinchat and warblers such as Lesser Whitethroat. Scarcer migrant species such as Hoopoe, Wryneck and Firecrest are almost annual.
Winter can be harsh in this rather exposed area but good numbers of waders and waterfowl stay for the winter. Great Bittern is regular in very small numbers, particularly at Castle Water. Apart from Canada Goose and the feralGreylag Goose, geese are scarce and like the two winter swans generally put in an appearance only in the more severe winters. Sawbills, including Smew, appear most winters in small numbers and Long-tailed Duck is sometimes present. One or two Hen Harrier stay throughout the winter to hunt the shingle and grassland alongside Short-eared Owl with Merlin, Peregrine Falcon and Eurasian Sparrowhawk also present. A small Long-eared Owl roost is often present on the reserve, either in hawthorns close to the wood or on bush-covered islands.
Rarities
Rarities seen at Rye Harbour over the years include Glossy Ibis, Caspian Tern]], Lesser Crested Tern and Sooty Tern, Red-rumped Swallow, Tawny Pipit and Savi's Warbler, Aquatic Warbler and Great Reed Warbler. Little Egret has become quite a familiar sight in recent years as in other southern English wetlands. Rye Harbour's most famous rarity was the tern known as "Squeaker", thought by all those who saw it to be the first Western Palearctic record of the North American Least Tern. Despite being present in the Little Tern colony each summer from 1983 until 1990, well-studied and its voice recorded, this record still remains under consideration for admission to the British List.
Vagrant waders recorded in the Rye Harbour-Pett Level area have included Least Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Baird's Sandpiper and Semipalmated Sandpiper and in April 2003 a Pacific Golden Plover was present.
Check-list
Birds you can see here include:
Red-throated Diver, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Slavonian Grebe, Black-necked Grebe, Northern Fulmar, Northern Gannet, Great Cormorant, Great Bittern, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Dark-bellied Brent Goose, Common Shelduck, Eurasian Wigeon, Gadwall, Common Teal, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Garganey, Northern Shoveler, Common Pochard, Tufted Duck, Greater Scaup, Common Eider, Long-tailed Duck, Common Scoter, Velvet Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Smew, Red-breasted Merganser, Goosander, Ruddy Duck, Western Marsh-Harrier, Hen Harrier, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Kestrel, Merlin, Northern Hobby, Peregrine Falcon, Red-legged Partridge, Grey Partridge, Water Rail, Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Pied Avocet, Little Ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Kentish Plover, Eurasian Golden Plover, Grey Plover, Northern Lapwing, Red Knot, Sanderling, Little Stint, Temminck's Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Ruff, Jack Snipe, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Eurasian Curlew, Spotted Redshank, Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Arctic Skua, Mediterranean Gull, Little Gull, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake, Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Roseate Tern, Arctic Tern, Little Tern, Black Tern, Common Guillemot, Razorbill, feral Rock Pigeon, Stock Dove, Common Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, European Turtle Dove, Common Cuckoo, Little Owl, Long-eared Owl, Short-eared Owl, Common Swift, Common Kingfisher, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Skylark, Sand Martin (Su,PM), Barn Swallow, Meadow Pipit, Rock Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Common Wren, Dunnock, Eurasian Robin, Black Redstart, Whinchat, European Stonechat (Su,PM), Northern Wheatear, Eurasian Blackbird, Fieldfare, Song Thrush, Redwing, Aquatic Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Eurasian Reed Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Common Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Goldcrest, Spotted Flycatcher, Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Common Treecreeper, Common Magpie, Eurasian Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Common Starling, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Chaffinch, European Greenfinch, European Goldfinch, Eurasian Linnet, Lesser Redpoll, Common Bullfinch, Reed Bunting, Corn Bunting
Other Wildlife
Like Dungeness, Rye Harbour has a very interesting flora with important colonies of shingle plants such as Sea Heath, Sea Pea, Sea Kale and Yellow Horned Poppy and there is also a well-studied insect fauna with several nationally rare species.
Mammals are few but Brown Hare is common as is Red Fox which is a major threat to the ground-nesting birds on the reserve. Other mammals found on the reserve include Badger, Stoat and Weasel, Common Shrew and Pygmy Shrew and Daubenton's Bat, Serotine Bat, Noctule Bat and Pipistrelle Bat. Common Porpoise can sometimes be seen offshore in summer.
Marsh Frog, introduced to Romney Marsh from the Continent, is now well established and forms noisy colonies in some parts of the reserve.
Site Information
Spring or autumn are the best times to visit the reserve with the highest numbers of species present. However, there is much to be seen at any time of year although in midsummer the beach can be crowded with holidaymakers. In winter the area is virtually empty except for a few dogwalkers.
Areas of Interest
Close-by is Pett Level, reached by returning to the A259, heading towards Hastings and turning left after 3km towards Winchelsea Beach. Pett Level is an area of open farmland with several reed-fringed ponds which lie very close to the road offering excellent birdwatching from the comfort of the car. The birds that can be seen here are similar to those at Rye Harbour but the views can be much better. Each autumn the water level of the pond closest to the road is artificially lowered and this attracts a wide range of waders. The fields support passage Dark-bellied Brent Goose and Golden Plover and large numbers of wintering Eurasian Curlew. Intensive ringing during the 1990s has revealed the regular presence in August of Aquatic Warbler at Pett Level.
Just over the sea-wall is the beach with additional waders, gulls and terns from Rye Harbour and often Northern Fulmar from the cliffs just to the west. In winter seaduck, grebes, divers and auks can often be closer to shore than further east at Rye Harbour.
Access and Facilities
The reserve is located to the south of the town of Rye and reached from the A259 Rye-Hastings road. Leave the A259 onto an unclassified road signposted Rye Harbour just before leaving the western end of Rye town. Follow this for 2.5km to a car-park with a small information centre beside a Martello Tower. From here follow the concrete road towards the sea which runs alongside the river and passes a wader scrape with a wheelchair-accessible hide. At the rivermouth the road turns right and runs parallel to the shore, follow this until it passes the Ternery Pool with its two hides.
Those with limited time can return to the car-park via the path which passes the eastern hide and continues across farmland and a caravan park. Alternatively, continue along the road past the Ternery Pool until a footpath turns north across the fields. This leads to the wood and joins another path which leads past more pits and open farmland to eventually emerge back at Rye Harbour.
Hotel and guest-house accommodation can be found at Rye and Hastings.
Contact Details
To do
External Links
To do
Content and images originally posted by Steve
Reviews
florall's review
Pros
- Wonderful birds at all times of year
Cons
- It is vast - very hard if you are disabled.
