These days, when you visit the reserve, we give you a coloured tag for your bag or binoculars, to count you in. The tags are blue for RSPB members, and yellow for non-members and are a tax requirement. They also help us when we're applying for funding, as we know how many visitors we've got.
We are celebrating a very special anniversary this year - 50 golden years of giving nature a home. We first became an RSPB nature reserve back in 1964, and it was a very different place then. Our Warden at the time, John Wilson (who is still a very active volunteer) had major tasks to carry out - surveying the wildlife, coming up with how the reserve should be managed to be best for that wildlife, and putting in some visitor infrastructure. Apart from the causeway, there were no paths and there was also no hides. In the first year, John constructed hides on the sites of the present Public hide, Lower hide and Lillian's hide and the reserve then opened to the public in April 1965.
Unlike today when we are open 364 days of the year (closed Christmas Day) and you can simply turn up to visit, in the early days, it was very different. The following is an excerpt from the Lancaster and District Birdwatching Society's annual report in 1971 (many thanks to JKJ for sending it through to us). Makes you appreciate how good we have it today, being able to enjoy the reserve and fabulous wildlife in every season.