Well, what a bumper fortnight it has been at RSPB Leighton Moss! It’s been full steam ahead for our Spring arrivals.  The reserve has been filled with the song of Chiffchaffs for the past few weeks, and now the chorus has been joined by Blackcap and Willow Warbler song. The first Reed Warbler in the area was heard on the evening of Friday 7 April, closely followed on the main reserve at Leighton Moss on Saturday 8…

Has Wild Isles inspired you to get out and see a Starling murmuration for yourself? Huge Starling murmurations, and the fact that Starlings are regular chatty garden visitors, can give the impression that they’re thriving. But Starlings are one of the fastest-declining birds in the UK: their numbers fell by 53% between 1995 and 2018. They were added to the UK Red List of Conservation Concern as far back as 2002. 

The air is thick with anticipation at RSPB Leighton Moss as visitors (and the team!) await spring arrivals. Sand Martins are one of the earliest birds to return to the UK, reaching our shores in late February/early March. Despite the beginning of the week being peppered with snow showers, the temperature warmed and reached double figures as we approached the weekend, and with this came the first sighting of Sand Martins…

Despite the imminent cold weather which is due over the next few days, spring feels like it has arrived at RSPB Leighton Moss -  marked by the first avocet arrivals. The first bird was spotted down on the saltmarsh on Wednesday 22 February, and since then, it’s been joined by at least seven other individuals. The Allen and Eric Morecambe Pools are currently holding a lot of water, so keep your eyes out on the muddy edges…

At this time of year, we see an influx of visitors who are hoping to hear bittern’s boom.  As the breeding season approaches, the males begin to boom: an act to stake out their territories. Each bird’s boom has its own idiosyncrasies -  distinct enough that our warden team can distinguish individuals just by listening! This gives us a good indication of how many males we have on site. So far, the team believe…

February is off to a booming start! At least two bitterns have been heard tuning up on the reserve, warming up ahead of a staking out their territories in the coming weeks. They can often be heard in the morning, but their croaks and wheezes are becoming now more prominent throughout the day. The peak of their booming happens between March – May, so hopefully this is just the beginning of what will be a very exciting…

We may be in the depths of winter but a walk around Leighton Moss is a reminder that January isn’t always bleak! Scarlet elf cup are beginning to bejewel the damp floors of the reserve, while skeins of pink footed geese “wink wink” overhead. Our Senior Site Manager, Jarrod Sneyd, saw a single chiffchaff sat in the trees on Wednesday: while these warblers are mostly summer migrants, a warming climate…

With a slight increase in temperatures over the weekend, RSPB Leighton Moss is currently defrosting!  Last week was a winter wonderland on the reserve -  the pools were frozen over, providing visitors with fantastic views of otters out on the ice and water rails scuttling across the paths. Marsh harriers have been displaying the first signs of pairing up – one female has been rather vocal; often seen perched on a post,…

If you weren’t yet feeling festive then we are sure the frosts of the past week will be getting you into the merry mood! As December arrived, the temperature plummeted – here in Silverdale we are reaching highs of one degree throughout the day. Consequently, the pools are frozen solid and the leaves underfoot are making a satisfying crunch. Despite being a little chilly, it’s a fantastic time to be out on the reserve…

Bitterns, bearded tits, marsh harriers, starlings, otters…

The list of regular wildlife sightings at Leighton Moss this week reads like a programme of the reserve’s headlining acts! The notorious bittern reported over the past few weeks is still treating us to its starring performance; it can often be seen (no binoculars needed!) in the reed stubble in front of the Causeway Hide. As many visitors have noticed…

It’s the moment we have all been waiting for! The starlings are back roosting at RSPB Leighton Moss. Over the past couple of nights, these birds have been arriving on the main reserve in their thousands. The first two evenings, the starlings headed pretty rapidly into the reedbed upon arrival. On Friday 25, c50,000 birds performed a real showstopper, staying up in the air for about fifteen minutes, dancing over…

We spend lots of time telling visitors how elusive and secretive bitterns are, however, one particular bird on the site has been enjoying smashing stereotypes over the past week and delighting visitors by feeding right in front of Causeway Hide!  Lurking in the edges of the reeds, and sometimes walking directly in front of the hide, this has proven to be a treat for photographers – please do tag us in your social media…

After an unusually mild October, frosty mornings arrived with the beginning of November and we’ve felt a real seasonal shift on the reserve. Bearded tit sightings are becoming less frequent; after spending October guzzling up grit to aid seed digestion, they now tend to retreat back into the reedbed. However, as mentioned in Ruth Parke’s blog, last year they did make appearances on the grit trays up until…

What an exciting week on the reserve! Autumn migration is in full swing; redwings have arrived en masse in the past few days, feasting on berries to refuel after their long flight from Scandinavia. Their ‘seep seep’ calls can be heard overhead, and large groups have been seen roosting in the willows on the reserve. Starlings have also been seen flocking together in the evenings, as the wintering populations…

In this week's post, we hear from Ruth - a senior lecturer and social scientist - who began volunteering with the RSPB after the pandemic. In previous posts, we have discussed John Wilson and his immense contribution to conservation through his bearded tit studies.  When Ruth spoke to warden Nick about where her research skills could be made most useful, Nick suggested an extension of these studies. This week, she…

Misty mornings, crunchy leaves, skeins of pink-footed geese overhead - it can mean only one thing! October is upon us. Bearded tits are the stars of the show throughout the autumn. On a calm and sunny day, they visit the grit trays rather reliably, generally between 9am-11am.  The “beardies” transition their diet from insects to seeds as the seasons change, and the intake of grit aids their digestion. The grit trays also…

Long, balmy days seem to be behind us; there’s a chill in the air and the reedbed is turning golden. Visitors are beginning to catch glimpses of the elusive bearded tits on the grit trays -  a sure sign that autumn is upon us!

Marsh harriers had been notably absent in previous weeks; post breeding season sees them disperse and we all eagerly await the return of the overwintering birds. One female has been sighted regularly…

Our last blog post has been a rather hard act to follow – while we haven’t had any more reports of a merlin inside a hide, a different agile falcon has been the star of the show! Hobbies have been a favoured sighting for the past few weeks, with four individuals seen on the reserve at one time. It was unusual to see a single bird in this area only a few years ago, so watching these aerial acrobats all together…

When our Site Manager Jarrod popped into the Eric Morecambe Hide earlier this week he was thrilled to spot a merlin out on the saltmarsh. This dapper little falcon has been present for a few weeks now and can often be seen sat on the fenceposts or hunting over the marsh.

Armed with his camera, Jarrod started to photograph the rapid raptor as it went in pursuit of a meadow pipit at the back of the pools. The relentless…

Mid-summer is a busy time for waders. Many will be leaving their Arctic breeding grounds and moving south, either heading to the UK to spend the winter here or passing through on their way to the continent and beyond. Morecambe Bay is of major significance to a number of species and the area is recognised as one of the most important sites in Europe for both wintering and passage shorebirds, including curlew, oysterca…

Many of you will remember that we were lucky enough to host the four shortlisted designs for the proposed statue of Emily Williamson here on the reserve last September. For those who may not know, Emily was the founder of what was to become the RSPB and the plan is to erect a permanent statue at Fletcher Moss Park, Didsbury where she formed the fledgling society in 1889. What many people may not be aware of however is that…

It's been another few days of contrast here in the Morecambe Bay region with the predicted scorching sunshine in the early part of the week followed by bouts of overcast weather and occasional spells of drizzle. One minute we were in shorts, the next a waterproof jacket! 

With a generally prolonged dry spell and successive low tides, the water levels at the Allen and Eric Morecambe pools have been seriously diminished…

The rare Sabine's gull discovered here on the reserve early last week continued to be seen on and off before finally being tracked down to a more reliable spot at nearby Jenny Brown's Point. The attractive seabird could be seen, often at very close quarters, as it fed in a tidal channel close to the shore. A reasonably short walk from the Allen Pool car park or a rather tricky drive along a single track lane from…

Summer birdwatching is often a fairly predictable affair; many breeding birds are at the end of their nesting season and there are lots of fledged youngsters to be seen, getting to grips with life. Here at Leighton Moss we have seen this year's batch of marsh harrier chicks taking the wing and at the time of writing we have at least seven fledglings around the reserve. Bitterns have continued to show well, both in…

While it may not be entirely evident from the weather, summer is almost upon us! It’s an uplifting time to visit Leighton Moss: the reserve is full of fledglings making their first clumsy flights and the paths are lined with common-spotted orchid and yellow flag iris. Juvenile marsh harriers are beginning to be seen in the air – always a positive reminder of conservation success!  

The windy weather makes prime…