• Easter Excitement and New Arrivals

    Sue and Ann are back with the latest Leighton Moss sightings blog

     

    We have had a fabulous fortnight here at RSPB Leighton Moss.  We are delighted to have had sightings of Lesser Redpoll, Siskin and Chiffchafff and the reserve is filled with the sound of booming Bitterns and Cetti’s Warblers. Although not as regular now we have still had some great starling murmurations, a trip up the Skytower can never be a bad end…

  • March Migration and National Lottery Open Week

    One of our volunteers, Sue, is back with the blog for this week.

    March is an exciting month here at Leighton Moss as large numbers of migratory birds are returning to the UK for the spring and summer months. As the largest remaining reed-bed reserve in the North West of England Leighton Moss provides the perfect habitat for hundreds of these returning birds. Many are already busy nest building and using various tactics…

  • Spring is in the air

    This week the Leighton Moss sightings blog has been written by two of our brilliant volunteers at Leighton Moss, thanks to Sue and Ann! 

    The Bitterns continue to boom all over the reserve and are beginning to move around the site with some incredible sightings flying across the pools while searching for females. 6 booming Bitterns have been reported, they have also been heard ‘gull calling’ when individuals circle above…

  • Bellowing sign of spring

    Here's a sightings blog from the Leighton Moss senior site manager, Jarrod Sneyd.

    What an exciting time of year!  Now is the cross-over of wintering birds with the signs of spring coming.  Our ‘bellowing sign of spring’ is the amazing early season booming of bitterns.  Absolutely incredible.  We’ve always known that the vigour and frequency of booming relates to the amount of competition – the more the merrier…

  • New Year, New Sightings, New Binoculars

    I hope that 2024 has got off to to a flying start for you and that you've managed to enjoy some time spent in nature.

    Here at Leighton Moss, as many of you may be aware, we've had some challenging conditions thanks to heavy rainfall in the first few days of the year. The reserve water levels shot up and we soon saw most of the pathways under water. Wellies were the order of the day as the majority of hides became…

  • New Year Celebrations & Recent Sightings

     As we head into 2024, it’s tempting to look back on the past 12 months and summarise what kind of year it’s been. I mean, we could talk about the incredible 11 booming Bitterns in spring, the relentless antics of Otters, summer skies filled with Ospreys and Hobbies, a cracking autumn for Bearded Tits, one of the best ever breeding seasons for Avocets on the saltmarsh pools… the list goes on.

    But rather…

  • Recent Sightings & Christmas Opening Hours

    Picture shows a Fieldfare at RSPB Leighton Moss & Morecambe Bay nature reserve, Lancashire It’s been another brilliant week with lots of fabulous wildlife sightings here on the reserve. The weather may not always have been quite so pleasant, but nature always knows how to get by under such conditions and we’ve seen plenty of activity around the site.

    As ever, our Otters continue to delight visitors on a daily basis, with Causeway and Lilian’s hides being the most consistent locations in recent days…

  • Otters On Ice & Waxwings Delight

    Photo of an Otter at RSPB Leighton Moss nature reserveVisitors to Leighton Moss have been treated to frequent and prolonged views of Otters in the past few weeks. Several animals are currently residing in the reed beds and they may seen at all times of the day, anywhere on the reserve from Lower Hide at the northern end of the site, to the Eric Morecambe Pools at the coastal saltmarsh. (Pic by Jarrod Sneyd).

    Recent icy conditions have proved typically productive, with Otters…

  • Weather, Wetlands & Wildfowl!

     It’s been a mixed week weather-wise, with some lovely crisp autumnal days, a visit from Storm Debi and quite a lot of rain. As a consequence, we have seen a significant increase in water levels across the reserve. And while we are of course a wetland site, there can be such a thing as too much water!

    So much so that many of our dabbling ducks such as Shoveler, Teal, and particularly Pintail, have cleared out in notable…

  • Late Autumn Delights

    After all the excitement of 'Bearded Tit and Red Deer Rutting Season' one would think think that it would quieten down here at Leighton Moss. As if! The wonderful thing about a reserve like this is that there is always something to witness.

    Photo of a Ring-necked Duck at RSPB Leighton Moss nature reserveRegular features such as Otters, Bitterns and Marsh Harriers (the latter back in force with up to seven individuals on site at the time of writing) are supplemented by the…

  • Bearded Tit Bonanza!

    If there’s one thing we know about October, is that it’s a Bearded Tit bonanza!

    Photo of a male Bearded Tit at RSPB Leighton Moss nature reserve.For decades now, we here at Leighton Moss have looked forward to autumn when these dazzling little birds become temporarily ‘easy’ to see.

    Although resident, our Bearded Tits usually reside deep within the reedbed and for much of the year they can be pretty tricky to spot. Of course, those of fortunate enough to work…

  • Ospreys, Bearded Tits and other Otter-ly Awesome Sightings...

     Despite the drizzle of recent days, the wildlife at Leighton Moss has not been deterred - and the inclement weather has not put a damper on our visitors’ days out!

    September sees the start of meteorological autumn, and right on cue, the Bearded Tits began visiting the grit trays. They were first caught on the Causeway live camera on 10 September at 11:30am, but had been seen on the Grisedale grit trays a few days…

  • Whinchats, Wildfowl and Other Recent Sightings....


     After last week’s glorious September sunshine, autumn has arrived rather abruptly with a distinct drop in temperature and the reedbed taking on a golden hue. The wink-wink sounds of Pink-footed Geese are beginning to be heard over head – a sure sign that winter is on its way! But there are still some signs of the fading summer to be seen. Over the past fortnight, visitors have been treated to regular views of an…

  • Making Hay While The Sun Shines

    Life on a nature reserve is often unpredictable. Weather, wildlife and human visitors can often throw up a few unexpected surprises. But there are some things that we can pretty much guarantee – and one of those is ensuring that our warden team get into the reedbed after the breeding season to crack on with essential habitat management.

    Reed is an incredibly fast-growing plant, and if left unchecked will ultimately…

  • Rare Herons Hit the Headlines

    Photo of Purple Heron at RSPB Leighton Moss nature reserveIt's been another week where scarce birds have hit the headlines at Leighton Moss, with the star attraction undoubtedly being the Purple Heron that showed up last Sunday (20). The dazzling continental migrant was seen just a handful of times as it flew above the reedbeds and over the pools at the northern end of the reserve. Photographers and birdwatchers in Lower and Causeway hides got the best views, albeit briefly…

  • Scarce Visitors Play Hard to Get

     As seems to be the case just lately, all the 'unusual' birds visiting the nature reserve continue to play a little hard to get!

    In recent days we've had all-too-brief Hen Harrier (Friday) at the saltmarsh, and this morning (Saturday) a not-unexpected Black Tern put in an appearance at Causeway Pool. This species is a fairly regular scarcity here and they often tend to hang about for a while but unfortunately…

  • Otter Antics and Sunny Delights

    Once again we’ve been at the mercy of the weather forecasters this week and our busier days have, not unsurprisingly, coincided with those occasions when the sun has been out. And what glorious days they were! The good weather not only brought more nature-lovers to the reserve but also teased some of our most anticipated wildlife out for visitors to see.

    Recent sightings

    Photo of an Otter at RSPB Leighton Moss, LancashireOtters continue to thrill, with at least…

  • Egrets, Spoonbills & Afternoon Tea!

    This week is significant in three ways for us here at Leighton Moss.

     The first, sees the twentieth anniversary of the first ever record of Great White Egret on the reserve. It may seem surprising to many modern birdwatchers, but not too long ago these massive white herons were a major rarity in the UK and would cause a significant twitch whenever one was sighted. Now, they're a pretty regular sight on many of our wetlands…

  • Spoonbills, Seabirds and Other Summer Holiday Sightings

     As the breeding season comes to a close, our Warden team make the most of the fleeting opportunity to head out into the reedbed and crack on with some practical habitat conservation before the arrival of overwintering wildlife. Throughout the summer, Common Reed can grow up to 3cm per day, so ensuring that this prolific plant does not obscure views for visitors from the hides is quite the feat. Cutting is a vital component…

  • Rare Wader Rewards Watchers

    When it comes to birdwatching, mid-summer is often considered a rather quiet, if unpredictable, time. The breeding season has come to a close and our resident birds are taking something of a well-earned rest after the frantic and often fraught nesting period. Some of our migrants are already well on their way south - Cuckoos famously depart early leaving their offsprings' foster parents to raise the hungry chicks while…

  • Bold Bitterns & Other Recent Sightings...

     The weather has been rather changeable over recent days, and at the time of writing, a sunny and peaceful morning has come to an end abruptly as a torrential downpour has marked the arrival of noon.  Despite the unpredictability of the British weather, fabulous wildlife sightings have been dependable, much to the delight of many of our visitors who are out braving the rain!

    On Wednesday, a juvenile Bittern emerged from…

  • Seabird Surprise and Other Recent Sightings

     Although we are situated close to the shores of Morecambe Bay, as many readers will know the main part of the reserve that people visit is wholly freshwater, and as such we don’t see too many seabirds flying around the reedbeds.

    Of course, the Eric Morecambe and Allen Pools are part of the tidal saltmarsh and the water here is brackish. These pools are regularly topped up by saltwater whenever there is a significantly…

  • Mixed Weather Brings Mixed Blessings

     It’s been something of a mixed week here weather-wise. And that of course, impacts on the wildlife and how it can behave. Prolonged spells of rain will keep certain birds skulking out of sight while others are totally unfazed by it, and some are actually even easier to see. In the latter camp are Sand Martins, Swallows and particularly Swifts – as the clouds descend so too do many of the insects that make up their…

  • Sandwich Tern, Silverdale Art Trail and other recent sightings

     It’s been another scorcher of a week in Silverdale, but the beating sun hasn’t deterred the wildlife (or, indeed, the visitors). The emergence of dragonflies and damselflies has brought about regular sightings of Hobbies, feasting in flight over the pools. Ospreys are seen fishing multiple times per day as the adults provision for hungry chicks. Views of Otters are becoming more regular; after a few months…

  • Swifts, Swallows and Susan Calman (& other sightings)

     We’ve had a double dose of telly appearances over the past few weeks! If Leighton Moss featuring on Painting Birds with Jim and Nancy Moir wasn’t enough glitz and glamour for you, then we hope you caught us on Susan Calman’s Grand Day Out last night on Channel 5. For the fifth episode of the series, Susan explored Lancashire and Morecambe Bay; her love of Eric Morecambe brought her to Leighton Moss for…