Dee Estuary

Recent sightings

Since my last blog a few weeks ago there has been some very mixed weather. I only seem to recall the glorious sunny days that were a wash of colours across the reserve. The change of autumn leaves is in full swing no, and as you drive down our main track try not get distracted by the fantastic shades ochre and red.

Autumn leaves: Elizabeth Maddock

Raptors have been a little quieter on the reserve this…

If you enjoyed the July blog from volunteer Mark, here is the compilation of his reports from warden work parties over the last three months. Late summer and early autumn is always a busy time for reserve management work, between breeding season and the large winter assemblages of birds and this year was no different, especially with some tasks to catch up on after lots of work not being able to get done whilst the reserve…

Following on from our last access update five weeks ago which can be found here, we're pleased to announce a few more changes to improve your visit to the reserve this autumn.

After weeks of hard work by the warden team and volunteers cutting back the dense reeds and lush wet grassland surrounding it, Marsh Covert hide was ready to open to visitors on Saturday 3 October. Visitors are already grateful for the additional…

Blog posted on behalf of Katie Ellis:

Recent sightings

It’s certainly felt a lot more like autumn over the last couple of weeks, but with the change of seasons we’ve been treated to some fantastic sunsets and rainbows amongst the mix of sunshine, northerly winds and even hail! The birds have also been reminding us winter is on the way with the arrivals of whooper swan, redwing and modest starling murmurations…

Recent sightings

After a summer break whilst we got on top of running the reserve in a Covid-safe manner, here's a first update on the last few weeks as we've moved into autumn. Well, after thinking the weather was turning a bit cooler it’s been a stunning week here, with brilliant sunshine and fantastic wildlife.

Excitement wherever you look despite the lack of hides in use! If you’re seeking raptors, we…

It’s hard to believe it’s now eleven weeks since we tentatively re-opened Burton Mere Wetlands following the Covid-19 lockdown. As we slip from summer into autumn, here’s a thorough overview of what to expect when you visit.

 

After a relatively quiet start, we’ve seen a steady increase in the number of visitors each week, reaching full capacity of the car park’s limited spaces on a couple of sunny…

Since joining the warden volunteer work party team at the start of the year after relocating to this area, Mark has sent snippets and photos of what they've been getting up to across the reserve.

Back in mid-March, we did consider it could perhaps be the last volunteer work party for a good while, given the current circumstances. We spent the morning clearing bramble growth from the reserve footpaths and rebuilding…

Burton Mere Wetlands will be closed for the morning of Friday 10 July (tomorrow). This is to allow contractors to complete major urgent repairs to our telephone lines along our access track and car park. Work is expected to be completed by 12 noon allowing us to open for the afternoon.

Please see our Facebook (@RSPBBurtonMere) and Twitter (@RSPB_BurtonMere) pages for live information as they are more easily updated than…

Something a little different to our usual blog content, here our former site manager, Colin Wells shares a fascinating insight to some local botanical history, inspired by his coronavirus lockdown experiences.

Burton Point (Lynne Greenstreet)

During lockdown a daily early morning walk of mine has been along the Burton Marsh Greenway from Denhall Quay to Burton Point. I realize how lucky I am to have the estuary on my…

Image: Paul Jubb

Burton Marsh Greenway is re-opening today (Wednesday 20 May) after being temporarily closed.

We are delighted to re-open this permissive path (part of National Cycle Route 568) which provides people with green transport links while enjoying views across our RSPB Dee Estuary reserve. Sadly it had to be temporarily closed on 9 May due to a significant rise in anti-social behaviour.

We are very grateful for the patience and support…

Burton Mere Wetlands

Despite some very slight changes in lockdown restrictions in England, Burton Mere Wetlands remains closed to the public for now. Our priority is to ensure that we only re-open when we have everything in place to keep our members, visitors, volunteers and employees safe.

We must also make sure that the wildlife that calls our site home is ready to receive attention after a couple of months completely…

The RSPB Dee Estuary nature reserve is vast and complex, covering over 6000 hectares of varying wetland habitats making it the fifth largest RSPB reserve and the largest protected coastal wetland in the UK. Since 2011, Burton Mere Wetlands has become the much-loved heart of it all, but this series of blogs aims to lift the lid on some of the wilder, lesser known locations we manage.

Owing to its location just the other…

The RSPB Dee Estuary nature reserve is vast and complex, covering over 6000 hectares of varying wetland habitats making it the fifth largest RSPB reserve and the largest protected coastal wetland in the UK. Since 2011, Burton Mere Wetlands has become the much-loved heart of it all, but this series of blogs aims to lift the lid on some of the wilder, lesser known locations we manage.

After Burton Mere Wetlands, Parkgate…

Following the clear instructions from the Government on Monday evening for us all to remain at home apart from a limited number of allowed activities, we are closing our reserve to visitors until further notice.

This means we will close our car park, toilets, hides and trails to the public. These measures are on top of the earlier closure of our visitor centre. It is with great sadness that we ask people to refrain from…

Following the latest government advice we have made the difficult decision to close our visitor centre to visitors from 5pm on Thursday 19 March. This is to prioritise the health and welfare of our staff, volunteers and visitors.

These are difficult and unsettling times for all of us but we hope that nature can provide a welcome respite in whichever form and wherever you may encounter it. We want to do everything we can…

Recent sightings

It's been a wild, windy week with lots going on! Walking towards the visitor centre every morning we're greeted by the sound of the increasingly active scrape with the many black-headed gulls and lapwings busy getting ready for breeding season. It's that lovely transition time between winter and spring, with wigeon, teal, shoveler, shelduck, gadwall and tufted duck all present on the scrape…

Recent Sightings

Spread your wings and shake off the cobwebs - spring is here!

Perhaps tempted by the increasingly sunny skies (and who could blame them!), the most noticeable change to our main scrape this week has been the rapid increase in avocets, making their way back up north and pairing off in preparation for breeding season. Burton Mere Wetlands is a haven for this landmark species, and if you plotted their numbers…

Recent Sightings

What a mixed week of weather with a great mix of birds. 

Across the reserve but mainly from the visitor centre we have had great views of black-tailed godwits, lapwing, snipe, ruff, curlew, oystercatcher, dunlin, redshank, spotted redshank and still occasional sightings of green sandpiper. We did also have a special little wader visit us for a couple of days but you will have to see my star sighting of the week…

Written by Matthew Scarborough, Burton Mere Wetlands residential volunteer

One of the best things about living on a nature reserve is that you’re always a few steps away from seeing amazing things. As a birder it has been such a pleasure to be able to just step out outside and be surrounded by birds and wildlife, some of which are quite scarce in the UK.
The most reliable spectacle that I see get to see every day…

Written by Matthew Scarborough, Residential volunteer.

Recent sightings

A wild weather week with all sorts of weather conditions from sleety rain to warm still sunshine has been reminding us that spring isn’t too far away now!

Great white egrets have been seen every day this week mixed in with the usual daily sightings of little egret and grey herons fishing in pools around the reserve. Some days all three of them…

Recent sightings

The week has been wild yet wonderful! Thankfully the weather did not put off the wildlife or the visitors. 

On Tuesday all the pink-footed geese that were feeding out on the fields past the Bunker Hide decided to head out to the marsh round about high tide time. It was slightly unusual to see them head out on mass in the middle of the day but fantastic to see them as they flew right over the Visitor Centre…

A little update to let you know how I'm getting on as a residential volunteer at Burton Mere!

Written by Matthew Scarborough

Recent sightings

The wetlands here provide us with many daily spectacles and this week we have had the usual fantastic variety and views of raptors. Common sights are soaring buzzards and sparrowhawks as you arrive at the reserve and kestrels just outside the Visitor Centre hovering very obligingly for photographers. Most days we also have marsh harriers quartering over the marsh and reedbed as…

Recent sightings

A week of beautiful wildlife much like the last with a couple unusual visitors that turned up, see my star sightings to find out who!

Still hanging around most of the week was the great egret, one showing well on the Reception Pool then up to seven seen at Inner Marsh Farm Hide. Great to see little egret and grey heron with the great egret, brilliant to watch them interacting with each other as they all…