Wednesday 7 & 14 November 2018

10am-1pm

Price: £5 per person (children free)

Please wear suitable clothing and bring binoculars if you have them.

Do you ever wonder what lives on the estuary? Well now’s your chance to find out. Join the RSPB warden and explore the shoreline and mudflats around this wonderful estuary to look for wild birds. This is the season when birds return to the estuary in…

A boxed item of jewellery has been found on Hayle Estuary Nature Reserve. If you believe this could belong to you please call 01736 360624 or email jane.comer@rspb.org.uk 

Many thanks

It's a fact! The RSPB wouldn't be able to achieve all it does without its fantastic volunteers.....People just like you.

Right now Cornwall Reserves need volunteers in these areas. If you think you might be interested and would like to have a chat, please ring 01736 360624 or email jane.comer@rspb.org.uk.

• Photographer
• Visitor Information Officer
• Pin Badge Box Minder
• Volunteer Coordinator
• Events…

The RSPB is pleased to announce that Porth Kidney Sands - part of the Hayle Estuary Nature Reserve in Cornwall - has been classified as ‘Excellent’ under the new bathing water classifications. The classification will appear as a symbol on the bathing water information signage at the beach before the beginning of next year’s bathing season. The category achieved is based on monitoring data collected by the Environment…

The Hayle Estuary Sunday litter pick has been a highlight in the RSPB calendar for over ten years. We have around 30 fantastic volunteers who work hard to keep both the estuary and Porth Kidney beach in tip-top condition.

Sunday 15th October saw a new collaboration with Biffa Waste Management who have offered their amazing support to our project. In the past the disposal of collected litter has cost the RSPB hundreds…

RSPB Cornwall Reserves will be holding a Sunday Litter Pick on 15^th October at Hayle Estuary Nature Reserves in association with Biffa Waste Management. If you’d like to come along and help keep this lovely area looking its best for visitors and wildlife please meet up from 10am to 1pm at Ryan’s Field Car Park, Chenhalls Road, Hayle (next to the Bird Hide).

Hot drinks and biscuits are provided as are sturdy…

We are

RSPB volunteers

It’s a fact—the RSPB wouldn’t achieve all that it does without its fantastic volunteers. People just like you.

Can you help our small reserves team do more for nature? We need someone to help clean our office in Penzance. If you can spare 2 hours a fortnight to help with housekeeping duties at the Reserves Office we’d love to hear from you.

Contact us on 01736 360624…

Want to do something rewarding for nature?

It only takes a couple of hours a month

By becoming a pin badge volunteer in your area, looking after our pin badge boxes you will be able to raise vital funds for nature .

What’s in it for you?

Managing the boxes is easy and flexible working around your lifestyle giving you the chance to get out and about in your area, developing your fundraising skills and being…

Work has now been completed by Highways England contractors 'Kier Services' at Ryan’s Field at Hayle Estuary Nature Reserve. A locked barrier and granite boulders have been placed on the roadway and grass verge blocking vehicular access to Highways England land around and under the A30 flyover. Access to the area on foot for walkers and bird watchers is unaffected. 

At the moment the land around the bird…

As many of you are aware we have significant fly tipping issues behind the Hide at the Ryan’s Field area of Hayle Nature Reserve. Everything from garden waste to builder’s rubble, old mattresses to fish tanks is dumped in the area around and under the A30 flyover. This issue creates an eye sore and spoils a beautiful area which is visited by hundreds of keen bird watchers and walkers every week.

We…

Thank you Kate for your lovely comment, I am pleased you enjoyed your visit.

We had a brilliant turn out of 14 volunteers to our monthly Sunday litter pick.  Brain and Mike managed to pull 8 traffic cones and 4 car tyres out from the mud and the other 12 volunteers collected 4 bags of bottles and cans for recycling and 12 sacks of litter.  To get involved please contact us at hayle.estuary@rspb.org.uk

A good broad range of sightings across the Hayle Estuary reserves this week including:

• An immature spoonbill who has been with us for most of the winter
• Water rail have been spotted a couple of times in Ryan's field (the area in front of the hide)
• Great northern diver, goosander and red-breasted merganser are frequenting Carnsew Pool, the harbour area and the estuary up at Lelant Saltings
• A couple of bar-tailed…

When the week started I had no idea it would herald my 15 minutes of fame. It was with some surprise that I therefore found myself stood in front of a television camera with a reporter calibrating it for the dulcet stereo phonics of my voice.  Now, when you are thrust in the spotlight kicking and screaming like a banshee, you hope that you will at least have an exciting and cool message to broadcast to the expectant public…

Please be advised that there is no litter pick event in February.

The next litter pick will be on the 13th March.

Future dates and details can be found on the Events pages of the website:

https://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/seenature/reserves/guide/h/hayleestuary/events.aspx

There is an irony that a bird I used to chase out of the garden when I was a young boy, lest it gobble up the goldfish and shubunkins, now has me skulking around the reserve in trepidation of disturbing it.

Ardea cinera, more commonly known as the grey heron, perhaps gets a bit of short shrift from birders and gardeners with water features.  While I can understand why those with ponds would not want to see one of these…

Anyone ever noticed that there are lots of birds and wildlife in Cornwall? I know I’m not a birder as such, but I’ve paid attention to birds and wildlife for a few years now and despite only being here for a month, I have seen eight species that I hadn’t seen before and many more that I have only seen once or twice!  And the really amazing thing is, I’m not even really looking for them.  There are…

We are pleased to announce that the height barrier has now been installed at Ryan's Field car park.  The height restriction of 2.1m allows all cars and small vans access but not commercial transit vans, lorries or tractors.  We hope this will protect the newly resurfaced area of the car park for many years, giving visitors a pot hole free drive up to the Eric Grace Memorial Hide.  For disabled or emergency access please…

I had the pleasure of meeting an amazing man this weekend on the nature reserve, Gary Prescott aka the Biking Birder.  Gary has been cycling across the south visiting all the RSPB nature reserves and will continue his journey all over the UK until he has visited every RSPB nature reserve.  I have to say I was a little jealous that he will get to see the most incredible wildlife on his travels having myself only visited…

The Lesser Yellowlegs mentioned recently which turned up at Copperhouse Creek 22^nd October is still here so let’s hope it stays on to overwinter. On the subject of winter, our wader and wildfowl numbers are increasing as expected as the days draw in and the nights get colder. Recent counts show 837 Wigeon, 230 Teal as well as the feral population of Canada Geese, which now number a record 325 individuals.  Don’t…

...at least as far as birdwatchers are concerned! The one this week, “Hurricane Gonzalo” brought a North American Lesser Yellowlegs to our Hayle Estuary nature reserve on Tuesday – and a busload of admirers, some of whom were still there today when yours truly managed to take this photo of it. Although we’ve had them before this is only our 7^th and at present the only one sighted in the UK. I say…

Mark left his telescope (within a green skua case) & black tripod in the Hide at Ryans Field on Saturday 18th October in the late afternoon.  Please if anyone found it contact the RSPB on 01736 360624

These six beauties arrived at Hayle mid-morning on 14^th October and after a short feed, promptly fell asleep. Having just flown in from Iceland and having already undertaken a circuit of west Cornwall (they were seen flying SE out to sea at Marazion two hours earlier), they were probably in need of a rest. Whooper Swans are never common here so if you are passing by stop off in our (free) car park at Ryan’s Field and…