The world has gone a bit dinosaur mad at the moment with the release of the newest Jurassic Park film - well we have plenty of modern-day dinos here at Fairburn Ings!  Looking at some birds it isn’t hard to see their dinosaur lineage; cormorants are probably one of the most pre-historic looking birds we have on the reserve – they look like pterodactyls flying overhead.

Cormorant - Andy Hay (rspb-images.com…

We’ve had a blast of summer this week (looking out the window today it’s hard to believe), with plenty of sunshine and balmy temperatures! The British weather may be unpredictable, but that doesn’t stop some of us from getting out there to see what’s about no matter what’s thrown at us. So with that, here are the latest sightings from Fairburn Ings.

The regulars are still down at Lin Dike;…

It’s been a lovely sunny and dare I say warm weekend here at Fairburn Ings, with plenty of people paying us a visit over the past couple of days.  There’s been lots of different wildlife about for people to spot; over at the pond dipping platforms there are some huge tadpoles (or so I’ve been told by some of our excitable younger visitors)!

There’s been lots of activity down at Lin Dike, with fairly…

Hi all, I’m Tallulah and I’m the new Visitor Experience Intern here at Fairburn.  I’ve been here for about a month now, and some of you may have seen me in the visitor center so thought I’d introduce myself. I’m fairly local to Fairburn, coming about 20 minutes up the A1 from Doncaster.  I’ve spent the last 3 years studying biology at the University of York and took up a job as a waitress before…

BBC Springwatch is finally back on our tellies!  It’s a great way to inspire people to get out and about to discover all the wildlife that lives near them.   Here are some of the recent sightings from Fairburn from the last week.

Spring is well and truly here judging by the number of chicks around! A lot of you will have seen our blue tit chicks from the nest box camera; they are doing well even with the scares from…

We've had a very special visitor causing quite a stir this week at Fairburn – if you've visited us in the past week or so you may have heard us all talking about our guest or you may even have had the chance to see it for yourself!  I even briefly mentioned this wonderful bird in last week’s blog! Drum roll please... It is of course the spectacular spoonbill! We’ve had daily sightings of this impressive bird;…

I’ll confess as my alarm began blaring at 5 am on Sunday morning I did wake up in a very confused state of mind.  As someone only recently out of her student days, 5 am still seemed like the middle of the night (which begins at about 3 am and lasts through to about 11 am!). But it appears I was mistaken; the sun was rising and the dawn chorus was in full swing – hardly the middle of the night!

Arriving at…

The sun is shining and it’s been a lovely day here at RSPB Fairburn Ings.  We’ve had a pretty exciting week of sightings across the reserve.

There was plenty of excitement on the reserve towards the end of last week as we had regular sightings of a great white egret flying overhead.  This impressive bird is an uncommon visitor to the UK, so caused quite a stir over the few days it was here.  Also towards the…

May is finally here and we have plenty to tell you about from the first week of the month.  Bird song is filling the air, with blackcaps, chiffchaffs, whitethroats and numerous warblers all in full voice!  If you don’t know your chiffchaff from your great tit, why not join our knowledgeable staff and volunteers on a guided dawn chorus walk on 17 May.  Check out http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/seenature…

It’s been a busy week down at Fairburn Ings; the reserve is just buzzing with life. The arrival of swifts now, added with the sand martins and swallows that were already here, have really added to the buzz. I stood on the duck feeding platform yesterday and the air was thick with a fog of flitting and fly catching, swooping over the heads of the six avocets dabbling in the shallows. Shelducks paddled in the background…

 We had Wader Wednesday last week, but I’m going to name the whole of this week Warbler Week because we’ve had so many! Willow warblers, grasshopper warblers, chiffchaff, blackcap, sedge warblers, Cetti’s warblers and whitethroat all... well... warbling to their heart’s content.

Willow warbler.  Credit to John Bridges (rspb-images.com)

The coot chicks have been entertaining families while…

All the gorgeous sunny weather this week has brought out the butterflies, with brimstone, peacock, small tortoiseshell and comma spotted. The brimstone, not only is it usually the first butterfly to be seen in spring as it emerges from hibernation on warm days, but it’s also thought to be the species to inspire the use of the name “butterfly”. This is due to its “buttery” yellow colour. Bees are buzzing too with plenty…

Spring is well and truly springing; frogs are spawning, birds are nesting and the trees are ready to burst.

Avocets are back on the Main Bay islands so we’ve all got our fingers crossed for some more chicks this year. The tawny owls have been lurking fluffily in the hung tree between Bob Dickens and Village Bay. For a while, two of them treated visitors to a sneak peek through the branches, but only one has been spotted…

Here is a blog from David, our new warden intern.

Wow how time has flown, I have now completed my first month at RSPB Fairburn Ings where I am on internship with the warden team. I have settled in quickly with everyone being very friendly and welcoming.

The tasks done here are exciting and varied some of which I have had experience in before but others are completely new to me. Wood working for example is something…

It’s been a little while since our last sightings report so we plenty to tell you about. A pair of Egyptian geese paid us a brief visit on the 18^th but haven’t been seen since. A pair of smew have been seen most days but can give observers the run around as they flit from one end of the reserve to the other.

A pair of tawny owls have been roosting along the Riverbank Trail and have been providing great views…

What goes on behind the scenes at Fairburn? There is a busy team of staff and volunteers who dedicate their time to keeping the reserve an incredible place for birds and wildlife.

Karen is the assistant warden at Fairburn and here is a little about the work she does.

 How long have you been here?

“I volunteered here for six months back in 2007 and joined the staff team in 2008.”

 What does a typical work…

That red-headed smew is still causing havoc, especially now she has a partner in crime. The drake was first seen on Sunday 8^th and since then the trixy pair have been up and down the reserve. They have been switching between Main Bay and Village bay a few times a day, with occasional jaunts down to the Cut and Lin Dike.

Male and female smew, Mike Langman (rspb-images.com)

The other big excitement this week has been…

That red-headed smew has been giving us quite the run around the past couple of weeks. Each time someone asks where it is we have to run and check the book because it switches between Lin Dike and Village Bay every other day it seems. It has been most recently seen on Village Bay, so if you’re heading down at the weekend that’s the probably the first port of call.

Water rail have also been popping up all…

The balcony feeding station came down on Monday as we bid goodbye to Big Garden Birdwatch for the year. Some of the regular birds returned for a few days and looked a little bereft that their dinner had gone missing, but they’ve grown used to the feeders being down in the Wildlife Garden again. There also appears to have been an explosion of finches, with at least seven bullfinches out there the other day.

Don…

Here's a blog from Jonny, our warden intern.

My time as an RSPB warden intern is coming to an end. I can honestly say it’s been an amazing experience!

Surveying is a key element of our work and it’s an aspect of the work I particularly enjoy. Spring and summer are particularly busy times and getting up at sunrise can be a bit tricky sometimes but you do get to hear the most amazing bird song. Of course…

Another amazing week for birds of prey here at Fairburn.  Red kites and marsh harriers have been seen every day, a peregrine was over Hickson’s Pool on Tuesday and today five buzzards were seen together from Pick-up Hide.

One of the most exciting sighting this week was a female smew out on main bay. It was reported on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, and there is still time today so hopefully it’s still around!…

Snowdrops flowered in the Discovery Trail this week and catkins have started appearing on the alder trees. Cormorants and herons have begun nest building, and woodpeckers have started drumming. So while it may be grey, and it may or not be snowing, it’s time to start looking forward to spring!

Discovery trail snowdrops, taken by Sally Granger

Birds of prey have been spotted across the reserve with a sparrow…

Well, where to start, there are all sorts of exciting things happening on the reserve at the moment. The beautiful weather has enticed so many people out into the fresh winter wind, and the wildlife hasn’t disappointed either.

Perhaps the biggest excitement of the week was the brimstone butterfly sighting near Phalarope Pool on Monday.  We have since found out that this was the first sighting in the UK this year…

Just a quick update from Fairburn Ings today.  

Its a gorgeous crispy day here with the reserve covered in a frosty blanket. The icy weather is encouraging lots of birds to visit our feeders with willow tits, bullfinches, tree sparrows, reed buntings and even a water rail spotted outside the visitor centre today. The long-eared owls are still roosting in their usual spot and several sightings of kingfishers have been…

Here's the latest blog from our Wildlife Garden team

Hi everyone! Its time for an update on our lovely wildlife garden here at rspb Fairburn Ings. One of the keys to wildlife gardening is creating a variety of habitats and making best use of the available space - no matter how small or awkward. Thats why we have recently installed a fabulous new green roof on the shelter. We've used sedums as they are evergreen,…