Whimbrel time
The number of Whimbrel is increasing daily as more arrive from their West African wintering sites. They will stay with us for a short while, fattening up on invertebrates of the pastures in the RX area. We would like to know where they feed, so if you see any away from Rye Harbour Nature Reserve or Pett Level please e-mail here. Then they will be off to their northern breeding sites in Shetland and beyond. Numbers will reach a peak next weekend and the nocturnal roost at the Beach Reserve will reach 2 or 3 hundred. For details of the annual guided walk click here. The Whimbrel’s distinctive call is often associated with a Celtic superstition of the ’seven-whistlers’, supposedly a group of six birds looking for a seventh - hearing the call augured death or other disaster. Listen here.
