Photo Gallery - birds
This page has some pictures of birds at Rye Meads, either in the field, or in the hand for ringing. Click on the thumbnail for a full sized picture (opens in a new window). Copyright in each of these images remains with the original Rye Meads Ringing Group member.
In the field
One of the most significant rarities of recent years was the Solitary Sandpiper on the Scrape in September 2002:
In the hand
Here are some of the water birds we have trapped - from left to right: two pictures of Little Egret, Shoveler (female and male), Water Rail, Jack Snipe, Green Sandpiper.
These are broods of birds of prey: firstly some kestrels, then some tawny owls, a nest of sparrowhawks, and finally a barn owl chick. The last picture shows the ringing of kestrel chicks in a nest box at the RSPB centre being explained to members of the public.
This is a selection of the smaller breeding birds of Rye Meads. In the next set from left to right are: Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Goldcrest, Dunnock, Goldfinch, a nice male Chaffinch, Green Woodpecker, and Pied Wagtail.
This section shows some of the migrants at Rye Meads. Below is a Wheatear.
Regrettably we haven't yet caught Blyth's Reed Warbler at Rye Meads, but one lucky member did catch one at Gibraltar Point Bird Observatory in Lincolnshire. This warbler is very hard to distinguish from Reed Warbler, and is most reliably separated by its wing formula: in the first picture you can see that the third, fourth and fifth primaries are emarginated (the first primary is tiny and so not visible in the picture), whereas only the third is emarginated in the Reed Warbler. The second image is a composite of the Blyth's Reed Warbler on the left, with on the right a Reed Warbler caught an hour later and photographed in the same spot and similar light conditions. Both are first year birds. The Blyth's Reed Warbler is noticeably more olive compared to the slightly gingery Reed Warbler, and has a more pointed head and bill; however these are slight differences and are not only unlikely to be definitive field characteristics, but are not even clear in the hand without a convenient Reed Warbler for direct comparison.
Now some pictures of winter thrushes - Fieldfare, and two pictures of Redwing, one normal view and one showing the distinctive underwing pattern.
