This Bank Holiday weekend visit one of Greylake's neighbouring RSPB reserves on the A378 at Swell Wood.  There you can explore an enormous woodland carpet of bluebells.  Come along with the family to see woodlands in their full spring glory.  Join our wardens on Sunday for a walk around the Scarp Trail to enjoy the spectacle.  The woodland birds are also in great voice.  Well behaved dogs on leads (and their owners) welcome…

A kind visitor to Greylake found a SanDisk (Extreme HD Vido 30 MB) a short while ago and they've kindly sent it to me here at West Sedgemoor.  If you've lost one and think it may be yours, give me a call - 01458 252805 or email trish.harper@rspb.org.uk.

Hope you're all enjoying your visits to Greylake, for photography or just to enjoy getting out in the fresh air and sunshine .... at last!  We've renewed another…

If you're a little concerned about all the coppicing and clearing on Greylake at the moment, here's a quick update.  This information is also in the hide for all our visitors.  If only we could improve on the weather too!

So ...Why the big fence all around the reserve?

• We’ve had a fence around half of the reserve for the last four years at the far end of the area, which couldn’t be seen from the hide …

During my morning stroll around the reed bed at Greylake this morning, I started to think about the biodiversity an environment like reeds provide and why they are so popular at reserves like Greylake.

During my induction as an RSPB volunteer, it was explained to me that the fields at Greylake used to be arable farmland when the drive from European policy makers to produce more food led to widespread use of fungicides…

Approaching south Somerset from my Bristol commute this morning (Monday 4 March)  and the weather wasn’t looking promising. As I arrived at Greylake grey sky enclosed around me. At that moment I didn’t think I would find much bird activity around the reserve. A quick walk around the reed bed proved me wrong, one grey heron, two buzzards and numerous mute swans. Once nestled at the hide I was immediately drawn to a snipe…

I think the evenings of Saturday and Sunday were the warmest I’ve felt for a long time after leaving the Greylake hide at the end of the day- Saturday especially had some incredible lighting, although its slightly stronger and colder wind seemed quite determined to get in through the open viewing windows. Over the two days the usual birds were showing from the hide- mainly teal, with some wigeon, mallard, little egret…

Looking out of the window as I write this blog post I can see the snowdrops in flower, and over the last few weeks I’ve also noticed more birds singing- spring is on the way! For any interested in learning birdsongs and calls (myself included) then now is the best time to try and start learning. At the moment it’s easier to pick out the fewer species that have started to sing- and, as more birds start to join in with…

To take part all you need to do is count the birds in your garden or a local park for one hour over the weekend of 26^th or 27^th January ......... then tell us what you see.

1) Over the hour keep a log of the highest number of each bird species you see landing on the ground at any one time

2) Register online and submit your results. It doesn’t matter how many or few birds you counted - the lack of birds can tell us…

   A snowy Greylake over the weekend with frozen ground left the ducks and waders outside the hide with fewer places to feed and less active, instead trying (like us in the hide) to keep warm. Most (birds) were huddled tightly on the other side of the large body of water N-NW further out from the hide, and were packed so densely they could have even been mistaken for a muddy bank stretching out across the water. However…

  Last Saturday (12th) two pairs of peregrine were seen frequently throughout the day from the hide at Greylake. They were mostly seen perched on the various fence and gate posts, but every now and then they would fly over the ducks and waders feeding on the ground and in the water, bringing them all up in large flocks. At one point, and with great speed, a teal – itself too slow moving up into the air - was caught a couple…

Over the last few weekends a Barn owl has been spotted from the Greylake car park from around 4 in the afternoon. On Saturday 12th it even landed in perfect view on the treestump in the car park.

(photo: Lynne Newton)

For the rest of the day the usual birds are showing at the feeding platforms including pied wagtail, a brambling, reed bunting, chaffinch, and robin. Bring your own feed and watch as they come out from…

The vastness of the winter floods has given incredible landscape views over the Somerset levels and moors. However, as they waters now begin to recede and leave bare ground behind my eyes have been drawn to the much smaller scale of animal movements. It seemed almost impossible to miss the numerous types of footprint pressed and preserved perfectly in the muddy ground either side of the trail path at Greylake, whilst…

Visited yesterday, Thursday 10th Jan.  Wonderful flocks of lapwing, golden plover and a large flock of snipe being chased by a merlin. Also pintail, wigeon, brambling, reed bunting, chiffchaff, cetti’s warbler and goldcrest. A very good day and some sunshine!  Hurray!

                                                             Snipe - Photo:  Nick Stacey

                                                          Chiffchaff - Photo: Nick Stacey

                                              Lapwing & Golden Plover - Photo: John Crispin

Greylake is now once again officially open to the public, after RSPB staff and volunteers spent yesterday clearing up the boardwalks from the leftover duckweed, silt, and mud. The carpark still remains a fantastic site for viewing the brambling and other small birds coming down to the feeding platforms. Nonetheless, walking along the trails you can now experience large groups of snipe, and even some jack snipe, flying low…

Just to let you know that Greylake reserve is still closed as regards access to boardwalks, paths and the hide, but do pop in to the car park as you might still catch a view of a raptor or two and lots of lovely little birds.  The surrounding Levels are quite amazing to see, with varying water levels on both sides of the main road.  So bring a flask and a sandwich and enjoy a bit of birdwatching from the comfort of your…

I've always been fascinated by birds of prey. Could it be their huge variety in hunting tactics? what about the incredible agility many show in flight? some flying so fantastically and almost dangerously close to the ground- like the marsh harrier or hen harrier?......................... what about the various ways they hunt? or the efficiency they manage this?

It could also (sadly) be the way that so many have been…

Saturday proved another beautiful, clear day for watching birds at Greylake car park up on the viewing platform. Standing here over the weekend large groups of snipe, lapwing, and golden plover could be seen rising up from the distant fields, while ducks rested on the flooded grassland. Despite these sights, the cold wind on Sunday meant many chose instead to stay in the shelter and warmth of their cars, putting out bird…

Fancy the chance of being pointed out this bird (photo courtesy of John Crispin)?

Or this one (photo courtesy of John Crispin)?

What about large flocks of these?

If so, have you checked out about booking onto one of our guided walks?

Join us on one of our Ducktastic events for the chance to look out over our beautiful RSPB West Sedgemoor reserve, and the Somerset Levels. See ducks and waders in their…

While the hide and trails are still closed at Greylake due to flooding, the car park and its viewing platform continue to provide an excellent (and the only) place for watching birds across the reserve. All main habitats can be looked out over including seed crops, reedbeds, and of course wet / flooded grassland, and the species from these are continually flying over or even moving into the car park itself.

For Saturday…

What’s your reason for getting outside? How connected do you feel to nature? For some of us the recent weather conditions may have provided an unwelcome answer.....

...BUT...

there are also so many fun and interesting ways we can enjoy the natural world around us either alone or as a family.

Find out how connected you are to nature by filling in our quick survey here.

Are you an egg, a caterpillar, a chrysalis…

Due to recent flooding Greylake boardwalk and hide have been closed until further notice - most likely the rest of the week.

However, the carpark and its viewing platform are still open for people to enjoy the wetland birds, which are now far more spread out across the reserve.

Birds seen within the carpark yesterday (Sunday 25th Novermber) included; Lesser redpoll, Linnet, Brambling, Long-tailed tit, Blue tit, Great…

We are sad to say that due to adverse weather conditions and flooding

The Binocular and Telescope Demonstration Day, due to happen at Greylake today (25th November),

has been POSTPONED until further notice.

We are very sorry for any inconvenience, but please keep an eye out for its rescheduled date!

The RSPB Greylake reserve is itself flooded, with boardwalks to the hide inaccessible.

Sunday 25th November 2012

The Binocular & Telescope Demonstration Day is

STILL HAPPENING IRRELEVANT OF THE WEATHER

FREE EVENT

10:30am - 3:30pm

Come to learn about and try a wide range of optics over the day to suit YOUR needs. All levels of experience accounted for.

Make use of all the binoculars and telescopes we will have available to view the amazing bird life seen from the hide;

snipe, teal, gadwall, wigeon…

Pathway maintenance has now finished at Greylake for the winter season, and the hide is now accessible from the outward boardwalk loop. Some tasks such as willow coppicing continue to be scheduled for the coming weeks, although these should cause a progressively decreasing level of disturbance ready for the winter ducks and waders coming in.

Bearded tits can still be seen in the reedbed reaching more than 10 at a time now, and these are still joined by a diminished number Reed bunting. Brambling also continue to feed on the seed crop left of the starting reedbed loop (seen best from the carpark viewing platform) and are even moving into the carpark to feed on seed left out on the posts and rails. From the hide bird numbers haven’t picked up yet, although…