Rosemary Despres

Pond dipping is back at Fairburn Ings for the summer! Although the creatures are starting slow (it's a bit cold yet), we've had at least one frog rrribbit out of the water!

St. Aidan's is also home to heaps of frogspawn in the ditches, these amphibians sure know how to make the most of a wetland.


Come on down to either site to hire a Bug Hunting Backpack (£3, free to members), or go…

Discovery Trail & Feeders

There’s a lot of activity around the Discovery Trail and visitor centre at the moment – it’s time when birds pair up and begin the hefty job of building their own specific nest. We’ve had nuthatches and willow tits singing frequently (we manage Fairburn Ings to have lots of dead wood for this species).

Ok, it may not be a real one but Fairburn's star species is…

Despite working in mostly harsh weather and freezing temperatures, the warden team have completed the ridge & furrow habitat improvements to enable more successful breeding. The predator fence around the wet grassland is now complete, but had to be checked for foxes trapped inside. On Friday 23^rd March, a small army of volunteers, mostly from the Swillington Ings Bird Group, walked across to herd any foxes out of…

One morning in mid-March, in a grove of trees overlooking the shimmering Mediterranean, a chiffchaff woke up, stretched its wings, and decided it was time to hit the sky-road and head north to sunny Leeds.

The chiffchaff is one of the earliest migrants to arrive back in Britain in the spring. I heard my first of the season on my walk to work the other day. It was flitting about in a silver birch across the canal announcing…

I love new Spring beginnings, cleaning out the house, dusting, organising and making room for fresh flowers on the windowsill.
It's a chance to appreciate nature's first signs of hard work. And celebrate the new season of colour in our gardens and communities. 
Last week all over the country we showed support for nature and the RSPB with the Show the Love campaign, but why not continue that all year round with these…

Spring is trying very hard to arrive at St Aidan's. The snow has been and gone, and been and gone again, buds are ready to burst, and many of the birds are looking for partners – some of them rather noisily. There was an absolute cacophony of black-headed gulls, many wearing their chocolate brown breeding plumage, over the reedbeds when I took my walk this week.

Black-headed gull - A sign of spring

Along…

I'm lucky enough to live 2.5 miles from my workplace, and I can walk there along National Cycle Route 66 – the Aire Valley Towpath. The first half mile is built up, and there's a noisy, smelly road to endure, but then I step away from the traffic onto the canal towpath and into nature. It matters to me that I do what I can to keep my carbon footprint low to protect the nature that I love. The RSPB is doing its…

Nature has always inspired creativity for me. From my first school poetry attempts describing seasonal changes, to university studies into natural plant dyes. I have always returned to wildlife for guidance and influence.
In my growing connectivity to the RSPB and a beloved interest in the animals they protect, I have rekindled a joy for observational drawing and painting. Looking for details in different species to create…

The sun shone for my visit to St Aidan’s this week. The place just sparkled!

I started my walk with a stroll along the Hillside. Great tits, blue tits and long tailed tits accompanied me as I crunched through the icy puddles, warming their voices ready for spring. The great tits are already practising their ‘teacher, teacher’ calls. Emerging from the still-bare trees I found a flock of greylag gees…

The days have dropped cold and misty again in winter’s last icy breath. The atmosphere around Fairburn Ings is serene but charged like the calm before a storm. The storm in this case being the hustle and bustle of upcoming spring.

A visit to the reserve in this weather opens the opportunity for quiet reflection over the end of winter and new beginnings. As drizzly as it was, I had the chance for a personal tour…

Well Poppy’s first Big garden Birdwatch was a fun weekend, my little amateur bird watcher had a flurry of visitors. Although like most wildlife she sees now they were greeted with excitable woofs.

Too ensure we got the most out of our weekend, we stepped up our offerings for the local birds. Normally we simply share our scraps on the bird table and the grass for ground feeders such as thrushes. But this weekend…

Did you take part in the Big Garden Birdwatch? My Birdwatch was from the comfort of my kitchen where I while away many an hour watching the visitors to the feeding station in my tiny urban back yard.

I installed my feeders about a year ago – a pole with a small tray, and 3 hanging feeders, and a bowl of water. There are 3 more feeders hanging from the edge of my shed. I put out fatballs, suet blocks, sunflower hearts…

January is a long and desperate month for us; cold, mostly dark and goes on forever. For birds and other wildlife, it is February, which is just around the corner. Food is scarce and hard to find, the nights are still long, the temperatures low (in the main) and bird’s hormones are kicking in to start their breeding cycle. You may have noticed signs of the hormonal changes; the dawn chorus is getting busier with the early…

The year has started with some great showings across the Fairburn Ings. Most notably a visit from a pair of white fronted geese at the New flash, who were joined soon after by pair of pink footed geese. They didn't hang around long en route, but it was a nice treat. If you are on the lookout for these visitors, be sure to have some binoculars handy. As getting a closer look at them is essential, due to the difficulty…

RSPB's Big Garden Birdwatch is taking place at the end of the month! Sparrows, blackbirds, robins, how many will you spot in your green space? Half a million people took part last year and both Fairburn and St Aidan’s are hosting events to get you and your family prepared to welcome and record birds into your garden or local park.

As a new volunteer with RSPB I threw myself in the deep end and recently helped…

To the delight of St Aidan's staff and visitors we’ve had sightings of a male hen harrier at the beginning of this week. Spotted early Monday morning at the North of Ridge and Furrow and up onto The Hillside.
Deciding to stay for a little B&B in the area he was seen late on towards Western Reed beds and again the following morning over Ridge and Furrow and Hillside.
Hen harriers, currently on the RSPB red…

January. You could be forgiven for thinking it’s just a drab, grey, dive under the duvet month. The tinsel and fairy lights have been packed away, and the festive season feels like a distant memory.

But a squelch round St Aidan’s is probably just what you need to refresh your spirits – and work off some of those Christmas calories. Even on the dullest of days, there is a splash of colour - and possibly a patch…

From the moment my little girl was born, I just wanted to show her the world around us. I am well aware that without getting the next generation interested in nature and teaching them how to look after it, there may not be much left to see in the future.

Wanting to get Poppy interested in wildlife and nature from a young age, I racked my brains to think of ways to grab her attention and funnily enough it was her who…

George has been in the Aire Valley again , this time Fairburn Ings- here's her sightings blog for the week:

The new year has been welcomed in with a dusting of snow and icy clouds. A chance to sit with a cup of your favourite brew and take pleasure in watching our feathered visitors at the Fairburn feeders. Although the house was warm and there were still plenty of leftovers, it was time for trip to see whats been…

Happy new year to all of our visitors and readers, we've had some lovely sightings to report since the festive period. 

The big focus of the last week has been the great white egret. It's been seen from the visitor centre every day this week, which has provided brilliant views and photo opportunities! The egret is certainly getting its fill from the fish in Bowers Lake. Had a tasty pike (well done to Gavin for his…

The third and final of our new team of blogging volunteers is Gael - she recently started photographing wildlife and hasn't looked back! Here's her experience of a blustery walk around St Aidan's with me before Christmas:

'One of my few memories of primary school is a lesson where we were given a selection of pamphlets about birds, and had to choose one and write about the bird. I chose lapwing, and because…

Sometimes we all get carried away with how rare the birds we see are, to the point where the more common but still amazing sights are overlooked. Our new blogger, Phil - took one of his first trips around Fairburn Ings and shares his experience.

He'll be writing frequent blogs, and teaching his young daughter Poppy all about wildlife and why we should protect it along the way.

'There is honestly nothing better than…

George, one of our very first blogging volunteers in the Aire Valley, visited St Aidan's this week. An eager self-proclaimed 'newbie' to bird watching, here's her experience:

Bundled up from head to toe, with a new set of binoculars and enough enthusiasm to warm me on this very icy day, I set out on my first exploration of St Aidan's.

This time of year is a great opportunity to see many species…

It's been a while since our last blog, but in the new year we'll be welcoming three new volunteers to the Aire Valley. Our social media and blogging volunteers, Gael, Georgina and Phil will be out on site collecting stories and information to share with our visitors and readers. 

The ducks of St Aidan's may have had their own blog last week but they're showing up in great numbers at Fairburn too! We've had hundreds…