We are delighted to announce that this morning (Saturday) we opened some sections of our trails and the car park so that we can welcome visitors back to wonderful Leighton Moss!

Of course visitors will be required to follow on-site guidance which will be provided by our team. Be aware that we are limiting the number of vehicles in the car park and as a consequence, it has limited capacity. If the car park is full upon…

Despite some very slight changes in lockdown restrictions in England, Leighton Moss remains closed to the public for now. Our priority is to ensure that we only re-open when we have everything in place to keep our members, visitors, volunteers and employees safe.

We must also make sure that the wildlife that calls our site home is ready to receive attention after a couple of months completely on its own. You'll have seen…

We're so excited that for the first time since 1999, we've got three booming male bitterns here at Leighton Moss!

Bittern populations are monitored by recording the number of ‘booming’ males, so called for their rather unusual birdsong.

The bittern is Britain’s loudest bird, but the noise it makes is far from a typical bird song. Indeed, for such a shy and elusive bird, their call is not exactly…

As you can imagine, it's all a bit strange right now for those of us who ordinarily spend our days working at Leighton Moss - and we certainly share the frustrations of our visitors who love to while away the hours on our wonderful reserve!

As part of our efforts to keep nature-focused while the reserve remains closed, we'll be continuing to share the experiences of staff and volunteers as they adjust to a, hopefully…

While the reserve remains closed and most of us are staying at home, let's not forget that there is still lots of potential to enjoy nature where we live!

Personally, I've been keeping an eye on the skies above my house in Lancaster looking out for passing birds and enjoying the noisy antics of the local house sparrows in my neighbourhood. In recent days I've also spotted peacock and small tortoiseshell butterflies…

Please note that all hides will be closed from close of play on Sunday 22 March.

The visitor centre, shop and café will remain closed. This is to prioritise the health and welfare of our staff, volunteers and visitors.  

These are difficult and unsettling times for all of us but we hope that nature can provide a welcome respite in whichever form and wherever you may encounter it. We want to do everything we can to…

Following the latest government advice we have made the difficult decision to close our visitor centre, café and shop to visitors at 5pm on Friday 20 March. This is to prioritise the health and welfare of our staff, volunteers and visitors.

These are difficult and unsettling times for all of us but we hope that nature can provide a welcome respite in whichever form and wherever you may encounter it. We want to…

VisitEngland has announced the winners of its 2019 Visitor Attraction Accolades and RSPB Leighton Moss and Morecambe Bay nature reserve at Silverdale has been recognised for providing an outstanding visitor experience!

Just 73 attractions across the entire country received this annual distinction, with Leighton Moss being one of only two in Lancashire. Staff and volunteers at the popular outdoor attraction, located within…

We may have showers, but that hasn’t put a damper on the wildlife around the reserve. Our two male bitterns (photo by Andy Hay) have been making themselves known this past few weeks, the best chance of hearing them booming is either just before the sun starts to rise at dawn and as the light is fading at dusk along the Causeway. Although this is the peak of the bitterns’ booming activity, they are being heard occasionally…

Love is in the air at Leighton Moss as spring comes into full swing. If you arrive in the morning you will be greeted with a symphony of sound as birds sing to compete and court. Even one of our very special species are joining in. If you head up to the Causeway or Lower Hide just before the sun rises you might be able to hear bitterns booming. We have two booming males on-site, which is amazing since we have only had…

Signs of spring are popping up here and there. With Snowdrops (photo by Mike Malpass) blooming and the woodpeckers drumming against the trees in the morning, but along with the foreshadowing of better weather are some rather wet conditions. But fear not! Come prepared with some wellies and you can experience the reserve in a whole new way. A bit of flooding can bring wildlife closer to you than ever before.

Keep an eye out…

Birdwatching has been great on the reserve with lots to see. From occasional bittern sightings at Lillian’s and Lower hide, great white egret (pic by Martin Kuchczynski) at Lillian’s and Tim Jackson (at least 3 birds) and 7 marsh harriers showing well (there have been up to 10 in the last month)

Our unusual cinnamon teal x shoveler hybrid has also remained and there have been regular sightings in the last few weeks…

This winter has been amazing for Marsh harriers (copyright Robert Metcalfe), it seems the numbers just keep increasing. We now have 11 of them! This is over double last years number of over wintering individuals which settled at 5. This of course, means there is a great chance of seeing these amazing birds during your visit, usually seem flying around one of our pools whether that be on our main site or at our salt marsh…

At 4pm Monday evening I took a walk up the sky tower, I’d heard that the starlings (copyright David Kjaer rspb-images.com) had moved into the centre area of the reserve near Lillian’s hide, and I have to say, I was not disappointed. Small groups started swooping in a fair distance towards Grisedale. As the time reached around 4:15pm the show started to truly begin. The flock swayed back and forth, merging with arriving…

As we reach the midway point of January, we always have something to look forward to, the annual Big Garden Birdwatch!

As always, we are calling everyone to join in and tell us what they find in their gardens, yards and parks. Each year we have around half a million people take part, but the more people take part, the more information we will have. The Big Garden Birdwatch takes place on Saturday 25, Sunday 26 and Monday…

First of all, on behalf of all the staff and volunteers here at Leighton Moss I would like to wish you all a very happy 2020.

For many birders, this is the time to start a new year-list and our wonderful reserve is the place to visit if you want to add such key species as marsh harrier, bittern, bearded tit and water rail to your tally early in the season. Of course local birdwatchers will also wish to secure sightings…

One of the things we get asked about more than anything else at this time of year is, 'are the starlings murmurating yet?'. From October through to the end of December we usually give the same reply; not yet. In recent years the large numbers of starlings that roost here have been reluctant to really partake in murmurations before the end of December, preferring to appear on the reserve at dusk and going straight…

Many of our visitors are being wowed by the continued presence of the redwings and fieldfares showing brilliantly in and around the orchard and garden here at Leighton Moss. The photographers seem to have moved seamlessly from bearded tits (still present but now much more difficult to see post-grit gathering) to these dazzling northern thrushes. And who can blame them, when they make such fabulous subjects? Also to be…

In the last few days, after having seen temperatures plummet, we have returned once more to damper, milder conditions. The ice that covered the pools earlier in the week is gone and the ducks that were huddled around the small patches of open water have now spread out across the reserve. A stop in Lilian's or Causeway hides will reward you with the sight of hundreds of birds busy dabbling or diving for food. Little…

With autumn firmly giving way to winter, the wildlife at Leighton Moss is very much gearing up for the colder months ahead. Large numbers of fieldfare (pic by Mike Malpass) and redwing have recently joined the blackbirds, song and mistle thrushes in our orchard, taking full advantage of the glut of apples in our orchard. Wildfowl numbers continue to build and the mass of ducks on Lilian's and Grisedale pools are quite…

National Lottery players can enjoy a fantastic free day out at the RSPB’s Leighton Moss nature reserve in Silverdale as part of a country-wide ‘thank you’ in celebration of 25 years of the National Lottery.

Over the past 24 years, grants from the National Lottery Heritage Fund have helped to make Leighton Moss and Morecambe Bay nature reserve an even better place for wildlife and people by funding several…

The weather is getting a little chilly as we enter November, but there is still much to see.

The good news is that we have made some repairs to the Lower Hide and it is now open again - though in a somewhat reduced state! We intend to keep this slightly smaller version of the hide open for the foreseeable future as we look into how we provide a permanent solution. Thanks to everyone for their patience. 

The bearded ti…

While there are still a few bearded tits entertaining the crowds as they visit the trays, I think it's fair to say that 'gritting season' is certainly coming to an end. As we'd expect by the beginning of November fewer bearded tits are being seen gathering grit and they become increasingly, typically elusive once more. As always, if you hope to see these dazzling reedbed dwellers, morning is best (as with almost all birds…

I'm very happy to report that the water levels have almost returned to normal (whatever that is!) and there is now access to all the hides (except Lower Hide which remains closed to the public) for those visitors who may have forgotten their wellies. Obviously the pools are still holding more water than we'd expect them to at this time of year but that doesn't seem to be deterring the wildfowl - duck numbers continue…

The water has been sticking around since the last blog. It’s definitely wellie weather right now here at Leighton Moss, and if you come prepared you have the chance to see some great seasonal wildlife spectacles.

The bearded tits have been continuing to show very well on the grit trays along the Causeway and the path to Grisedale Hide in recent days. If you don't have wellies, still do feel free to come and visit…