Langford Lowfields

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

…

Another month gone, another WeBS count completed. A smattering of waders, a confused wigeon, the ubiquitous great white egret, good numbers of great crested grebes and a lone bittern who broke cover at the right moment, were some of the highlights. There are a lot of swans on site at the moment, mainly on Phase 3, along with increasing numbers of geese. The geese are doing their best to eat all the reed on Phase 2, this…

Ownership of the 120ha of land on which Langford Lowfields sits, transferred across from Tarmac and Trinity College (Cambridge) back in February https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-64919469 ... to celebrate this important moment we held an event at Langford last week on 22nd June.

The day was a great success, with thunder storms avoided and the sun shining down upon us. Bee orchids were seen in flower…

We're now in the midst of the breeding season, with bitterns all over the place, swarms of sand martins swooping overhead and common terns plunging into the water for fish. The wildflowers are in bloom with swaths of ox-eye daisies and clumps of ragged robin providing a splash of colour. 

May's WeBS count was carried out at the weekend, providing a snapshot of what's about at the moment. 4 bitterns is the highest number…

Firstly, here's a nice article about the recent land transfer that went up on the BBC website recently: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-64919469

Secondly, this month's WeBS count recorded the highest number to date of shoveler on site - 108, the previous highest WeBS count was 82 back in April 2021. We must be providing a good selection of tasty water snails and larvae to have lured in so many…

Langford Lowfields, reached a momentous milestone last month, when ownership of 120ha of land including reedbed, woodland, grassland and scrub, transferred from sustainable building materials and construction solutions business Tarmac and also from Trinity College, Cambridge, to the RSPB.

There has been a long build up to this historic moment, with the RSPB having worked in partnership with Tarmac at Langford Quarry since…