Our gallery is teeming with life as usual! The reserve certainly has a number of excellent photographers snooping around the undergrowth or perusing from the hide. Then again Hodbarrow is just so Photogenic! If anyone takes any photos while on the reserve whether that's a close up of one of our many birds, insects or flowers, a sweeping panoramic of the duddon estuary and fells or simply one of the sandcastle you made on the beach - please put them up all are welcome. How do you do that you may ask... well a very informative forum post here tells you all you need to know.
Over the past couple of weeks Hodbarrow has had one particular star stealing the show - Little Tern. We had a peak count of 36 last week on a hide tide and some of those even look to be settling down! Last year's peak was 13 individuals. Having said that Sandwich tern and common tern numbers appear to be down on last year. The next couple of weeks will be crucial in seeing if any breed this year.
If you are unsure of the difference between terns the BTO do a brilliant set of id videos on youtube - here are the two with our common, sandwich and little terns in with roseate and arctic. If you are visiting and not sure about their I.D. this might help you see them when you are at Hodbarrow.
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Other birds around at the moment are the first swifts last week, large numbers of eider. Common tern nesting on the skiibank off the reserve, plenty of sedge warblers. Finally the seals are really loving the sand banks of the sea wall and up to three are seen regularly lounging around or waving a fin to passing people.
One of the Hodbarrow seals by Paul Swales