The Beckingam *** Saundby History Group's annual open day is being hels at the Old Willow Works this Saturday 14th September.

This year's theme is 'country crafts and hobbies and we'll have a stand there to talk about the study of birds and to promote the site.

The flyer below gives further information.

Every autumn at Beckingham, yellow wagtails that have bred locally are joined by other birds stocking up on food, prior to making their journey south for the winter. Yesterday, we saw at least 16 of them feeding around the feet of the cattle along the visitor trail. The most that I've seen on site at this time of year was 42 in 2011. Also on site yesterday were numerous house martins and swallows (also loading…

Beckingham's ditches are proving to be real wildlife hotspots, with new species of plants and animals seen each summer,a s the project progresses.

A highlight for me this year has been the discovery of water violet hottonia palustris.  This plant has a mainly easterly distribution (i.e. it's only usually found in the east of England) and is considered to be declining. 

I'm so pleased that we could provide it with…

Mid summer can be a quiet time at Beckingham Marshes and certainly is from a bird point of view.  However, looking and listening a little bit harder can still prove fruitful.

I was very pleased to see two little egrets on the second pool along the visitor trail yesterday morning and heard peregrine falcons calling from the pylons, whilst hay-raking by the trail entrance with our volunteers.  The ever-present tree sparr…

Site Manager and media star Michael Copelston was interviewed on BBC Radio Nottingham on this morning's Frances Finn show. 

Michael, along with Lincoln University students Katie, Laura and Matt, appeared on the show to talk about six new podcasts that the students recorded and produced, that will soon be available to listen to on our web page.

The interview can be found on the BBC Radio Nottingham website under …

The RSPB will have a stand at the Gainsborough Riverside Festival again this year, so if you'd like to speak to us about Beckingham Marshes, we'll be on stand 29.

I believe the weather forecast for the weekend is good, which will make a pleasant change after very strong winds in 2011 and wind and rain last year!

UK nature is in trouble – that is the conclusion of a groundbreaking report published today by a coalition of leading conservation and research organisations.

Scientists working side-by-side from 25 wildlife organisations have compiled a stock take of our native species – the first of its kind in the UK. The report reveals that 60% of the species studied have declined over recent decades. More than one in ten of…

I visited Beckingham Primary School this Tuesday and ran a session with each of the four classes.  The children carried out a 'Bird Friendly Schools' survey of the garden that they will help to develop and then made some pine cone feeders for the birds that they hope to attract there.

They are currently learning all about birds and other wildlife at school and some of them have been busy building some very nicely…

When The Old Willow Works was restored in 2011, RSPB volunteer and Beckingham History Group member Chris duFeu, thought that it would be a good idea to provide nest boxes for the barn owls that had previously bred in the building .  Therefore, the talents of local builder Michael Rennison were employed to build and install the boxes - one at either end of the building.

I've never been lucky enough to see barn owls in the…

Following on from our first public guided walk last month, we had our first visit to the site by a school group. 

Class 2 from Misterton Primary School started with an introduction in The Old Willow Works, using our Beckingham Marshes play mat and then went out on to the reserve to enjoy activities such as 'owl and mouse', bug hunting and dressing up as a lapwing!

The children encountered wildlife such as sticklebacks…

The following were viewable from the viewing platform this afternoon:

9+ Yellow Wagtail, 2 Wheatears, c.20 Tree Sparrows, 1 Little Egret, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Shelduck, 2 Gadwall, 4 Lapwings, 7 Linnets, 3 Sand Martins, Swallows, 1 Fox

 

Incidentally, our telescope is suffering from a condensation problem, but we'll get it fixed as soon as we can.  Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Seven people attended the first of our public guided walks last Sunday.  The group was made up of members of Kismet Theatre Company and members of RSPB Mansfield Local Members Group.

The strong winds proved a little challenging, however, we still managed to enjoy watching and listening to the meadow pipits and skylarks displaying, as well as good views of brown hares jumping ditches and lapwings chasing off crows.

The…

Whilst taking the monthly water table measurements yesterday, Assistant Warden Jenny Wallace saw 6 Little Egrets, 2 Ravens (circling/calling overhead), c.20 Teal, 2 Shelduck, 40 Snipe and numerous singing Meadow Pipits, and Skylarks, as well as a couple of Small Tortoiseshell butterflies.

Whilst installing some new signs with volunteers Mike, Martin and James, I also heard, Linnet, Tree Sparrow, Reed Bunting and Chaffinch…

We've recently been working with three students from The University of Lincoln, to record six podcasts for the Beckingham Marshes web page.

The six themes that we've asked them to record podcasts about, are the River Trent, the history of the landscape, memories, bird song, oil production and the history of the Old Willow Works.

Lora, Katie and Matt, who are studying media, have already been busy recording with…

Despite three days of dense fog on site, we've seen quite a lot actually.

The lapwings and skylarks certainly seem to think that spring is on its way, as both species could be seen and heard singing and displaying.  'Mad march hares' have also been seen chasing each other about and taking part in some sparring!

There have been up to six little egrets on site for a good month now, with at least four there…

Forgotten your binoculars?  Don't own any?  Don't worry, it's no longer a problem if you visit RSPB Beckingham Marshes, as we've just installed a telescope on our viewing platform! 

The Biffa Award funded telescope was installed yesterday, with the help of volunteer Martin Fox and  it was put to use straight away to look at five shelduck and a little egret, that were using the site's scrapes.

The telescope…

Whilst on site last Thursday, I was inspecting our drop -board sluices (used to let water off site), when I discovered what appeared to be water vole droppings on one of the boards.

Water voles are one of our target species and whilst we knew that they occasionally occur in the surrounding drains, we'd yet to record them (or their field signs) for sure, within the site's boundary.

I decided to investigate further…

Please note that, due to staff illness, the car park at The Willow Works may not be open over the Christmas period.

If you do wish to visit the site over the next couple of weeks, sensible parking is possible in the main entrance, opposite The Willow Works. 

 

We're recording a series of podcast-style stories to capture the voices of real people who have seen and worked on the changing landscape at Beckingham Marshes.

The audio files will cover a range of stories from the marshes including the changing landscape, wildlife and birdsong, and tales from the river. Along the way, the reserve's team will be talking to local characters for snippets of history from the marshes…

Hedge layer (and all-round forester) Andrew Pickup has been recruited to sort out some of Beckingham's neglected hedgerows.  Most of the site's hedges haven't been managed for many years and as such, have started to die back.  The art of hedge laying is a traditional method of hedgerow management, that not only provides a stock-proof barrier, but also rejuvenates the hedge plants and provides a habitat for wildlife…

The RSPB's East Of England Region Membership Development Officers have been having a recruitment drive at Marshall's Yard in Gainsborough this year.  Whilst Gainsborough falls into the East of England Office's region, it made sense for me to join MDO Dwane Lilley there last Monday, seeing as Beckingham Marshes is only just over the river.

I'll be there again this coming Wednesday 19th December with MDO Nikki…

Four members of 3rd Gainsborough (Whiteswood) Cub Scouts, carried out a sponsored walk in aid of Children in Need a couple of weeks ago. 

Dressed in fancy dress, including the very appropriate 'Pudsey Duck', the four walked from Gainsborough to Beckingham and back again.

Some great images on the following link - particularly when you consider that they were taken when it was nearly dark!  The 'discovery domes' look great.

Rob is is working on a web-based interactive interpretation project for us and you can follow his progress here:

http://rspb-robgbsn.blogspot.co.uk/

If you've been out on the Marshes recently, you might have had a little difficulty getting through the gateway between the first two fields due to the muddy conditions.

To alleviate this, we put in a temporary boardwalk over the worst of it, yesterday.    I hope it helps.