• Wetland Bird Survey - February 2023

    Probably due to the milder weather, it feels like it's been a relatively 'quiet' winter at Langford, nothing too out of the ordinary has turned up and duck numbers have been on the lower side compared to previous years (although during the 22/23 winter period we have set new WeBS records for pintail in October and gadwall in December). Despite the overall lower numbers, a well rounded suite of birds were recorded on this…

  • January 2023 - Wetland Bird Survey

    A beautiful, sunny winter's day greeted the WeBS team on Sunday. A lot of the reserve was frozen (hence there being only 1 wetland bird on it) and so the birds were floating around in the few unfrozen areas. Headline news from the count were the 25 goldeneye and 6 whooper swans.

    P1

    P2

    P3

    Total

    Water rail

    1

    1

    Canada goose

    1

    1

    Gadwall

    5

    37

    42

    Grey heron

    1

    2

    3

  • 5th January - no access to car park!!!

    Apologies for this... On 5th January between 10am and 3pm there will be no vehicle access to the car park! National Grid contractors are working on the low voltage lines that cross the track. Recommendation is either to come early and be off site by 10am or to postpone any planned visits until a later date. 

  • Possible car park disruption - 23rd December

    Quick note to say please be aware that lorries are using the access track to the car park today (Friday 23rd) to collect the big pile of harvested sugar beet. This may cause short delays and disruption, but access to the car park will still be possible with patience. Please give the lorries right of way and pull into the passing places to let them past.

  • Wetland Bird Survey December 2022

    Despite the 80% ice coverage the brave WeBS Warriors completed the wetland bird count at the weekend and recorded a good range of species. The 31 snipe were of note along, with the jack snipe and 2 smew. Other recent birds of note have included 3 bitterns, 7 marsh harriers and a pair of mandarin. With the ice now thawing duck numbers should once again start increasing.

    Phase 1

    Phase 2

    Phase 3

    TOTAL

    Water…

  • WeBS Count November 2022

    Despite the thick mist and a lack of personnel, the diminished WeBS team headed out into the misty wilds of Langford on Sunday morning to carry out the November count. No gorillas were spotted in the mist, however the second highest ever WeBS count of gadwall was made. With the highest count interestingly having been made last November (208 birds).

    Having just completed the Langford Lowfields 2021-2022 Annual Report …

  • WeBS count October 2022

    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…

  • Breeding bittern bonanza

    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…

  • Wetland Bird Survey counts - September (and August!) 2022 + recent wildlife news!

    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…

  • See more of Langford Lowfields reserve....the seasonal trail into the southern wilderness is now open

    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…

  • Breeding bearded beasties!

    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…

  • July's Wetland Bird Count

    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…

  • June's Wetland Bird Survey Results

    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

  • May Wetland Bird Survey results

    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…

  • Car park access difficult to impossible 20th-24th May

    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…

  • April's WeBS count

    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

  • March WeBS count

    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

  • February WeBS count

    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…

  • Langford on the first day of spring

    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…

  • Water, water everywhere...

    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.…

  • National Grid work affecting access to our car park at Langford Lowfields

    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…

  • January Wetland Bird Survey

    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…

  • We're looking for a new Warden

    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…

  • Happy New Year at Langford Lowfields

    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…

  • Midwinter Wander at Langford Lowfields

    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…