Tonnes of pigeon faeces removed from Rye's Landgate Arch

Twenty five tonnes of "festering pigeon faeces" have been removed from an 675-year-old ancient English monument.

The bird droppings, which were almost three feet deep, had built up inside the towers of the Landgate Arch in Rye, East Sussex.

Cleaning contractors described the smell from the acidic guano as "awful - even through a facemask".

The historic structure is owed by Rother council and dates from 1340 but is not open to the public.

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Rare bird alert: White ibis spotted

RYE, N.H. —Visitors and residents of the Rye area may have the opportunity to see an immature white ibis.

It was discovered at Awcomin Marsh in Rye on July 11, and was most recently reported on Tuesday.

It has also been reported from marshes along Route 1A just south of Rye Harbor.

This bird is mostly found in the Southeast United States in Florida and as far north as the Carolinas.

The sighting is part of the New Hampshire Audubon's Rare Bird Alert for Tuesday.

Other rare birds seen on the seacoast are a yellow-crowned night-heron, two black-crowned night herons, two glossy ibis and three whimbrels seen in Hampton all on Saturday.

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Things are looking good for rare bird in Rye area

Published on the 05 May 2014 

15:42

A BIRD that was on the brink of extinction a century ago is making a strong come-back in the Rye area.

Bitterns, related to herons, are secretive birds skilled at concealing themselves.

Bittern RSPB SUS-140205-101744001

The only real give-away to their presence can be the ‘booming’ call of the male and so this is used as a measure of how many bitterns are around.

Now for the first time in its history, two male bitterns are calling for mates a the RSPB’s Dungeness reserve on Romney Marsh.

Reserve warden Natalie Holt said, “We had two teams out last week, they were in entirely different parts of the reserve and they each heard a calling bittern close by at precisely the same time - so there has to be two.”

A century ago bitterns had been driven to extinction through hunting for the pot and the drainage of the reed beds for farming. Efforts to bring them back had been slow, with only 11 ‘booming’ males in the UK by 1997. RSPB Dungeness became part of the recovery programme when, in 2007, the creation of reed beds in the former gravel pits commenced to encourage them back. The habitat and associated fish take time to establish and mature, so it was only in 2010 the first confirmed breeding took place. Since then a single bittern has been heard and at least two females have nested each year. The arrival of a second male is great news for the project, bringing the total to 122 in the UK.

http://www.ryeandbattleobserver.co.uk/news/local/things-are-looking-good-for-rare-bird-in-rye-area-1-6035553