Langford Lowfields

Following on from the October WeBS (which counted the highest total number of birds on a WeBS since they started at Langford back in 2012), November provided another record breaking month. With barnacle goose (probably a feral one) and purple sandpiper being counted for the first time on a Wetland Bird Survey and in fact this is the first time a purple sandpiper has ever been recorded at Langford, making it the 222nd bird…

Another record breaking count! With the highest ever number of greylag geese on the reserve... 1116!! This follows hot-on-the-heels of the recent record count (made a few days earlier) of Egyptian Geese... 52!! Not had confirmation yet, but that figure is likely to be the highest number ever recorded in the county. The ever increasing goose numbers confirm the importance of us protecting our developing reedbed with the…

This proved to be a historic WeBS count! With the highest ever numbers (for a WeBS at least) of Great White Egrets, Grey Heron and Little Egrets counted at Langford. A Knot was also recorded (the first for a Langford WeBS) and this means that during the 2023-2024 RSPB Annual Reporting Year (which runs from 1st October to the 30th September), 53 species have been recorded on WeBS counts, the highest number of any such…

Late July and August are often slightly quieter times at Langford from a bird perspective, however we do lure in a good range of waders as they start moving around after the breeding season. This waderisation of the reserve was reflected in the recent WeBS count, with various species picked up. These wading birds, along with records of Garganey and Bittern made for an enjoyable morning's birding for the WeBS team. For…

If you've been on the reserve recently, you may have noticed the 3 black hawk kites hovering over the Phase 2 area... after the winter flood water had receded the reed across the whole site was looking very forlorn, most of it has bounced back, but the reeded islands on Phase 2 are slightly lower-lying and this combined with lots of hungry geese has left a lot of the established reed in that part of the site looking extremely…

Hopefully if you've visited in the past couple of weeks you'll have felt a sense of relief that the track to the car park is now nice and smooth, rather than being like the surface of the moon. You may well have also noticed that the wild bird seed plot next to the car park has been re-seeded again recently, this happens annually and whilst the seed went in later this year (weather related) hopefully in the near future…

This is very short post, but please note that the access track to our car park will be closed tomorrow (June 6th) whilst it is levelled out and re-graded. The pot holes have been getting worse and worse, with the super wet winter contributing to this. No access for the day will be inconvenient, but the smooth track, which you can glide along from Friday onwards will hopefully make the inconvenience worthwhile.

Whilst the reserve is now almost back to normal (albeit slightly battered looking) after the winter flooding, the WeBS count was definitely not normal, with a Purple Heron that had been tracked as it flew along the River Trent deciding to drop into Langford. Only the 3rd record for the reserve and the first one that stuck around long enough for a number of people to see it. Photo below was taken by James Wilkinson.

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Even more of the reserve is now open with the full loop around the outside of Phase 1 now accessible. A lot of flood debris (litter and vegetation) had to be cleared up, but it's been a relief to allow people back onto the Visitor Trail. The Floating Bridge is going to be moved back into position this week, but opening will be delayed until repairs are carried out on it and on the Boardwalk. The handrails need replacing…

After a closure lasting 6 frustrating months, Langford Lowfields is now (partially) open! The lower lying sections of the Visitor Trail are still underwater and so currently it is only the new route between The Beach Hut and Corfe Castle (the 360 Viewing Area), that can be accessed, however this takes you out into the middle of the reserve, past the booming Bittern, the display of Cowslips and may well give you good views…

The reserve is still closed... however there is light at the end of the watery tunnel and we have a tentative target of opening w/c 22nd April (to be confirmed). If this happens it'll just be a there-and-back-again walk to the 360 viewing area, but this is a good start and will allow people back into the heart of the reserve. The lower lying sections of the Visitor Trail are still currently welly-depth under water and…

After our four severe flood events in October, December, January and February, I had hoped that by now we would be entering a vaguely drier period... sadly this isn't the case and our water levels are slowly creeping up about 10cm a day, meaning we now have a metre more water than we'd like to have at this time of year. Long sections of the Visitor Trail are still underwater and we are still closed to the public. I'd like…

We are still flooded! The fourth time this winter. This current, on-going event is not as dramatic as the previous 3 inundations, but water is spilling in from Slough Dyke (which follows our western boundary) and water levels are now about a metre above where we'd ideally have them at this time of year. It means that sections of the Visitor Trail are still submerged and so we remain closed, as we have been since last…

Unfortunately we are still closed due to on-going flooding... The reserve has been closed for almost 3 months now! With water levels never dropping low enough during that period to allow us to  re-open. We're slowly getting back to a state that we would consider 'normal' for this time of year, but the threat of more flooding between now and the end of the winter is ever-present and with deep water still on the Visitor…

Unfortunately the reserve is still closed due to the on-going flooding situation! Since we first filled up with water following Storm Babet last October, we've just not been able to shift it off site and in fact just last night levels were topped right back up again by the very generous River Trent. Re-opening date is unknown, but at this rate it might not be until the Spring! Levels have gone up and down since October…

Unfortunately just as we'd managed to shift all the water from Storm Babet off the reserve, we were topped up a couple of days later by water belonging to Storm Elin and Fergus, very generous of them. This has been exacerbated by the fact that the river has found a way around the flood bank and so it is currently taking lower river levels than normal to cause severe flooding on site. We're currently full to capacity with…

Please note that the reserve is still closed due to the on-going flooding situation, however the public car park and the public footpath that follows the outer perimeter of the site are open.

A version of this blog has been posted on the Nottinghamshire Biodiversity Action Group blog, but I thought it'd be nice to publish it here too:

Following a day and a half of heavy rain linked to Storm Babet, the River Trent…

Please note that the reserve is still closed due to the on-going flooding situation. The public car park and the public footpath that follows the outer perimeter of the site are open but it may well be the case that not all the birds counted on WeBS are viewable.

After the October WeBS count was cancelled due to the flooding, the regular honker and quacker counters were released from their cages on Sunday eager for some…

The brilliant Michael Warren has an exhibition this weekend in Collingham, with Langford Lowfields featuring heavily in his wonderful artwork:

We lost access to the blog for a little while, but we're back in action again...

Headline news is that we're still flooded following Storm Babet and the reserve is still closed to the public. At the peak of the flooding, water levels were about 4 metres higher than normal winter levels and the reserve essentially became a colder version of the Mediterranean, with lots of water, a glossy ibis and up to 4 cattle egrets…

Trudging through the fairly grim early morning, the Langford WeBS Warriors tested their counting skills once again, accumulating an impressive haul of species, including the first black tern seen on a WeBS count and a record number of ringed plovers...

P1

P2

P3

Total

Canada goose

28

1

29

Greylag goose

280

12

292

Coot

3

6

83

92

Cormorant

3

7

10

Great crested …

August is often the quietest months for birds at Langford, with most either recovering from the rigours of the breeding season, skulking away whilst moulting, or starting to pack up their bags preparing to head southwards for the winter, following the sunshine:

P1

P2

P3

Total

Lapwing

53

1

54

Little egret

2

10

12

24

Mallard

22

15

99

136

Moorhen

4

3

7

Mute sw…

Earlier this year we received a very generous donation from parcel delivery company DPD towards our habitat management work at Langford... https://www.dpd.co.uk/content/about_dpd/press_centre/dpd-supports-rspb-with-wetlands-restoration-project.jsp

This donation covers the cost of replacing three of the sluices on site, these are crucial water control structures, which allow us to both move water between the different…

If you love coots and mute swans, then Langford is place to be right now! as highlighted by the July WeBS count...

P1

P2

P3

Total

Black headed gull

21

9

10

40

Common tern

2

3

5

Lapwing

7

6

13

Grey heron

1

1

6

8

Little egret

1

3

9

13

Moorhen 

2

3

5

Coot 

4

14

154

172

Great crested grebe

7

11

5

23

Mallard

22

66

…