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…

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…

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…

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…

Visitors 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…

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…

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.

Regular 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…

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

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…

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…

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…

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…

It'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…

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…

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.

Otters continue to thrill, with at least…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

It’s been a scorching start to June, and there have been some sizzling sightings to match. Since our previous blog was posted, visitors in Grisedale Hide were treated to stellar views of a Squacco Heron (Wednesday 24 May)! Squacco Herons are a real rarity in these parts, with the last bird recorded in Lancashire 93 years ago, and only the second ever in the county. Visitor, Jeanie Lazenby, shared her photo and encounter…

(Image by SkyArts)

We are delighted to hear that RSPB Arne will be hosting BBC Springwatch this year, airing next week (from Tuesday 29 May) – it's been ten years since the Watches first visited RSPB Leighton Moss but our team still look back on it with fond memories. If you cannot wait to watch our southern sister site in the spotlight, then fear not! Leighton Moss has got its very own moment of glitz and glamour…

The reserve is a hive of activity at the moment; the wildlife is busy and bustling! Birds are in the throes of breeding season – some of the freshly arrived Spring migrants, like Sedge and Reed Warblers, can be heard singing throughout the day to attract a mate and stake out territory. Similarly, Grasshopper Warbler has been heard singing along the Causeway, while Lesser Whitethroat has been seen on the path beyond…