Please note our Christmas opening hours...
The visitor centre, shop and cafe are open 9.30am - 4.30pm daily with the following exceptions:
Christmas Eve: 9.30am-3pmChristmas Day: CLOSED (inc nature reserve, all hides and paths).Boxing Day: 9.30am-4.30pm
New Year’s Eve: 9.30am-3pmNew Year’s Day: 9.30am-4.30pm
Despite some cold and misty days, there has been lots to see on and around the reserve in recent days. As water levels continue to drop, the increase in wildfowl is apparent with an increase in the number of dabbling ducks on most of the pools. Shoveler, teal, gadwall, wigeon and especially pintail can be seen at close quarters from the comfort of the hides while the deeper areas of water attract pochard, tufted duck, goldeneye and large rafts of coot. Both little and great egrets may also be seen hunting for fish in the shallows as majestic marsh harriers cruise over the reedbed in search of prey.
Keep your eyes and ears out as you make your way slowly along the pathways as flocks of birds can be seen and heard as they move through in loose flocks. Treecreepers, marsh tits, nuthatches, coal tits, siskins, bullfinches and goldcrests are all pretty easy to spot at the moment and bearded tits have been continuing to use the grit trays most days. Goldcrest photo by Martin Kuchczynski
Of course one of our regular winter spectacles, the annual starling murmurations are proving characteristically unpredictable! We go through this every year; thousands of starlings arrive in the autumn and roost on the reserve, often changing the exact location from one day to the next. This naturally makes it difficult to guess what they might do on any given afternoon. This week they have been flying over the reserve and going to roost in an area just to the north of Leighton Moss... however, we have faith that they will be back before too long and we anticipate that they will return to our reedbeds at some point soon.
Also, we expect as the conditions become more wintry we will see an increase in the number of starlings gathering; our mid-winter peak can often be in the region of 100,000 birds! Do keep an eye on our Facebook and Twitter feeds for updates. Starlings photo by Darren Andrews
And don't forget, if you're looking for a great way to spend some time outdoors with younger family members over the festive holidays, why not head over to Leighton Moss for fresh air, a little exercise and bags of fun. Ask about our fab Robin Robin activity bags, produced in partnership with Aardman and Netflix, at the welcome desk and start your 'sneak'!
In the meantime, from all the staff and volunteers here at RSPB Leighton Moss, we wish you a very happy and safe Christmas and New Year!