June sees the start of a national campaign: 30 Days Wild. This is a Wildlife Trust initiative that encourages everyone to feel happier, healthier and more connected to nature by doing something wild every day in June. Your “random acts of wildness” could include tasting wild elderflowers, listening to the dawn chorus, leaving a patch of your lawn uncut to see what grows, putting a bird feeder in your garden, walking barefoot through the grass or on the beach.
Or, you could visit a wild space near you, such as Rye Harbour Nature Reserve. Here you could listen to the cacophony of gulls and terns nesting on the islands, try to spot a tiny Ringed Plover chick running around on the shingle, count the number of ducklings the Shelducks are trying to hide in a disused rabbit burrow or look for a rare visitor such as a Roseate Tern.
If plants are your thing then there is no better time to visit our vast shingle beach; why not try to count the number of Sea Kale plants in flower (make sure you bend down to take in the honey scent) or try to find every colour of the rainbow in flowers – bright Yellow-Horned Poppies, blue Viper’s Bugloss, purple Salsify and pink Thrift should be easy finds.
Take the opportunity to learn some new identification skills – around Castle Water there should be many Dragonflies and Damselflies emerging from their long development in the ditches near Camber Castle; Common Blue and Blue-tailed Damselflies are usually abundant, as well as the Black-tailed Skimmer.
Why not make your aim for 30 Days Wild be to try out a new hobby such as wildlife photography? At the nature reserve during June we have three events that could help: Photographing Close-ups on Saturday 11, Photographing Birds on Saturday 18 and Photographing Landscapes on Saturday 25. All are led by our reserve manager Dr Barry Yates whose photographs are so enjoyed by many of our followers – check out our facebook page for a good selection.
Or come on a guided walk to find out more about this unique place. There is an Introduction to Rye Harbour Nature Reserve on Saturday June 4 with a walk out to Camber Castle and Castle Water and a Walk with the Warden later in the month when there should be hundreds of newly-hatched chicks to spot. If you are keen to find out more about invertebrates then Spectacular Spiders or Moth Morning could be for you.
With half term coming up we also have some wild fun for our younger visitors – Creepy Crawlies for those that want an up close and personal encounter with some minibeasts, Collect and Create a Clay Creature for the budding artists and our Wild Woodland Holiday Club for the adventurous.
Details of all of our events and how to book places can be found on our website
Do consider signing up for 30 Days Wild – you can receive a pack with many inspiring ideas on how to take action for nature, and it’s a great way to spend more time outdoors feeling connected to your local environment. Visit www.wildlifetrusts.org/30DaysWild.
photo: Dr Barry Yates
When I was working 4 Spun Concrete old mate Tabby Southerden had names 4 birds Terns were Kips Ringed plovers Stone Runners
Dunlin Ox birds Meadow Pippets Titlarks