After breaking Langford's tufted duck record during the September WeBS count, things were back to normal this month on the tufty front, much to the relief of the WeBS team who had probably had enough of counting them... Talking of black and white ducks though, the first goldeneye of the year was seen on Phase 3, 16 pintail were also present a sure sign of the change in the seasons and wigeon numbers are building. Areas…

2022 has been a historic year for Langford... for the first time ever, two bittern nests were found on site! Bitterns have nested on site for the past couple of years, but this is the first time that we’ve had two nests running simultaneously, it represents the next important step in our journey to becoming a bittern-filled, reedbed paradise. The nests were close together, probably indicating that although we had two…

Casting our minds back to August, it is often a quieter time for birds as they skulk around, feeding and recovering from the rigours of the breeding season and a bit more effort is required to find anything. And so attention turns to butterflies and dragonflies and excitingly two species of damselfly were seen for the first time at Langford this year, willow emerald and small red-eyed damselfly. I am awaiting photos of…

During the breeding season visitors are welcome to explore the most northerly part of the reserve (phase 1), and enjoy the wildlife.  However the more southerly parts (phase 2 and 3) are left for the birds so that they can nest and raise their young in peace.

Now that the breeding season is coming to a close we have opened our seasonal trail to all our visitors.  This is a well-signposted track from phase 1 into centre…

I mentioned this briefly a couple of blogs ago, but by popular demand I'm going to return to the amazing news, that bearded tits have once again bred at Langford. These evocative little birds, also known as bearded reedlings, are, as their name suggests, very very fond of reedbeds. Feeding on reed seeds during the winter and tasty reedbed insects during the warmer parts of the year, numbers were as low as 2-4 pairs across…

I'm a bit more on track at the moment, so here they are, fresh in from the dedicated, early Sunday morning WeBS team, the results of July's Wetland Bird Survey...

P1

P2

P3

Total

Black headed gull

27

38

14

79

Canada goose

6

26

36

68

Greylag goose

14

38

187

239

Common tern

2

15

1

18

Coot

12

15

195

222

Cormorant

1

3

31

35

Great…

Firstly, please be aware that there may well be delays accessing our car park up until 10th August, due to the on-going, essential works on the pylon.

Secondly, your sleepless nights of waiting and wondering can now end, as the results from June's Wetland Bird Survey are finally here! 

P1

P2

P3

Total

Common tern

4

9

13

Moorhen

3

2

5

Tufted duck

4

50

18

72

Mallard

…

Here we go... very cold off the press!? ... The belated May WeBS count. With 3 black-winged stilts and 3 bittern record, it was a count to remember, one that will go down in the annals of Langford WeBS history. A smattering of other waders also added to the quality of the count.

Record shot of the stilts - Mark Dawson 

 

P1

P2

P3

Total

Black winged stilts

3

3

Black tailed godwit

1

1

Ringed…

On-going, essential work on the pylon next to our car park, unfortunately means that access is currently unpredictable and can't be guaranteed. The powerlines are being replaced, with the old ones needing to be dropped to the ground. In recent days visitors have been turned away by the traffic management team. There is limited parking nearby and so as sad as it is, the recommendation is to avoid the reserve this weekend…

Regular blog readers will have just recovered from the excitement of reading the March WeBS summary only to be overwhelmed with this April one. We seem to have an exotic menagerie forming with the Egyptian geese being joined by a couple of Cape shelduck...

P1

P2

P3

Total

Gadwall

3

10

26

39

Mallard

10

13

17

40

Teal

5

21

26

Pochard

3

2

5

Tufted duck

28

27

…

Only a month overdue!!?? Here's the WeBS count from March:

P1

P2

P3

Total

Great crested grebe

5

12

10

27

Coot

18

25

51

94

Tufted duck

31

179

134

344

Teal

4

4

40

48

Mallard

7

15

6

28

Canada goose

17

15

11

43

Greylag goose

34

22

4

60

Water rail

2

2

Mute swan

2

7

3

12

Bittern

1

1

Gadwall

…

The WeBS count for February was postponed by a week, due to various storms and the fact the reserve almost flooded again. The river was literally starting to poke its soggy fingers over the top of the floodbank, sneaking through the grass. Another cm and we'd have suffered the same fate as we did during 2021 and 2020. As it is, we had a very lucky escape and I imagine the wildlife in the reedbed breathed a collective…

The weather forecasters will tell us that it's the 1st of March and that it is the first day of spring.  Hoorah!  So what's happening at Langford Lowfields.

We are on the lookout for summer migrants coming in and we have heard our first chiffchaff singing on the reserve.  The first avocet of the year called in and although we have seen bitterns we await the first boom of the season.  Exciting times.

Avocet by Stuart…

You may have noticed that it has been raining recently, as it always does at this time of year, and the River Trent is starting to creep up the floodbank and getting close to peeping over the top into the reserve.

We're alright at the moment but that river is a fearsome sight.

The River Trent on the right is approaching the top of flood bank (25cm from the top at time of writing), Langford Lowfields is on the left.…

We all love electricity but those power lines which carry the electricity need maintenance and the big pylon near our car park is next on the list.

The line turns at ‘our’ pylon (Number 55) and this makes it a special one so National Grid contractors will be setting up a large compound around it.

  Pylon 55 at sunrise, by courtesy of the nocturnal Roger Bennett

Work starts on 15 Feb and continues until 6 May. They…

After the December WeBS count was cancelled, when the team got lost in the thick mist lying over the Trent Valley, it was a relief that the January count was accompanied by beautiful weather. Most of the team had been found again by this point and with a spring in their step they set forth to record an impressive array of species.

(P1, P2 and P3 refer to Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 map of reserve available here https…

After 11 years in the job, our Warden, Jenny, moved into another role with the RSPB last November. We're now on the lookout for a new Warden, full of enthusiasm and who likes bitterns. The Warden role is a 'large' role, with a range of skills required and number of key responsibilities placed upon it. Maybe you're interested?? If so the full advert is here...

https://app.vacancy-filler.co.uk/salescrm/Careers…

The old year slips away, leaving some stunning wildlife memories at Langford Lowfields.

Record numbers of people have been flocking in to enjoy the spectacle and to see a very varied range of birds, mammals and even some insects, as the year draws to a close.

The usual winter birds are here in good numbers and among the big birds were 10 whooper swans and 3 pink-footed geese.  You cannot miss those and the smaller bearded…

Winter is setting in at Langford but this is the season to be jolly because Langford has its own very special beauty and tranquillity at this time of year.

Roe deer in winter, photo Roger Bennett

So join us for a Midwinter Wander, get a breath of fresh air, and wander off a few mince pies and a bit of that turkey.

Midwinter Wander at Langford Lowfields RSPB Reserve

Saturday 8 January 2022

1.30pm - 4.00pm

One of our…

We love frogs (and toads and newts) at Langford Lowfields but we love fish as well, and the fish are blossoming in our main lakes. Unfortunately, the fish like to eat the spawn and young amphibians, so we had this great idea to give the frogs a home of their own.

 

We have had some serious machinery on site to dig out nine ponds for the amphibians to breed in. The ponds are isolated from the main reedbeds to keep the…

Star of the show this month was/is the great northern diver, found during the WeBS count floating around on the crystal clear waters of the Main Lake. This can be viewed from the perimeter footpath as it cuts round the southern part of the site. The bird is moving between the southern and northern halves of the lake and is living up to its name, spending long periods underwater, meaning that it can take time to spot it…

This warm Autumn is producing some memorable sights at Langford Lowfields reserve and our visitors and volunteers are really enjoying the displays.

The leaves are turning beautifully, making the place very colourful after the drab summer months and the wildlife is flocking in to enjoy it too. It’s been quiet since the end of the breeding season but it’s all happening now.

Lots of unusual stuff has been turning…

We have set a new bird record for Langford, with the most ever greylag geese being recorded, 1004 of the noisy honkers were on site during the October Wetland Bird Survey, they were accompanied by 14 Egyptian geese (also a new high count for the site) and excitingly by 3 pink-footed geese, an uncommon, on-the-deck visitor to the reserve. The garganey and great white egret also stand out as exciting Langford WeBS birds…

It’s been a very hectic breeding season for all the birds at Langford Lowfields, but now it’s over and the birds have had a rest, they are starting to stretch their wings and go travelling.

We have had lots of interesting birds dropping in over the past month and here is just a glimpse of what has been seen

18 black tailed godwits

13 yellow legged gulls

9 little egrets

4 curlew sandpipers

3 little stint

…

Slightly delayed, due to me being on holiday, but here are the much anticipated (!?) results from September's Wetland Bird Survey. 27 species were recorded, with a garganey being the standout bird. We also set a new WeBS record for the number of greylag geese on site, amazing news for those who love the relaxing sound of their angry honking call. Greylag numbers always seem to peak in September or October as they try and…