Call of the Curlew

It’s never easy to see any kind of wildlife when you are out on a walk with two lively toddlers. As full of enthusiasm as they are, there is absolutely no containing the noise and exuberance with which they embark upon most adventures.

That is why I was so surprised to see the large, brown bird casually wandering around amongst the samphire and algae, unperturbed by our approach. A miraculous…

Are you one of those people who hates winter, with its cold, gloom and in particular its short hours of daylight?

This time of year, for me, is a time of glorious light and colours. These change rapidly as frost forms and melts, clouds and their reflections form into fantastic shapes and morph into others, while birds take on new colours as the sun sets behind the sand plant.

And I can still get home in time for my warming…

Every single one of you is unique. You have your own special set of skills and attributes that makes you, you! Sometimes you might feel that you don't really get to shine and use your talents in your everyday life or at work. and that's where volunteering can fill that void. 

As a charity, we rely on donations from the public to keep funding our work. But we also hugely appreciate your time, expertise and enthusiasm…

Let's make like a tree and leave them! 

We have had a really spectacular year for blazing, autumnal colours, branches festooned with berries and a plentiful supply of nuts and seeds. In ecological terms, this is known as a mast year. The trees have decided to maximise their potential for producing seedlings. It's a great survival strategy, and it has implications for our feathered friends too. 

All this abundance…

Marshside does it again!

As the autumnal season progresses and the trees start to drop their ever increasing orange and yellow jewels, the magnificent wetland habitat at Marshside has drawn in yet another fabulous wader.  The lesser yellowlegs observed at the beginning of the week, was giving watchers fantastic views feeding close to the fences on Crossens Inner Marsh.  Lesser yellowlegs is a North American breeder and…

Marshside in autumn

This week I undertook a wee jaunt to the "other side" of the estuary. The sky was blue, the wind was warm and the reddy/orange tones of autumn littered the marshes.  As I arrived a buzzard was perched on a fence post casually surveying its domain.  The raptor on high alert, must have heard me coming, flapping off across the marsh.  It flushed a few pink footed geese up and also a kestrel.  The…

Fairhaven Lake

It's been a busy old summer down at Fairhaven Lake.  Before the end of term we welcomed nearly 1500 pupils from across the county.  It was great to see so many local schools and also many more from further afield.  It's fabulous to be able to see so many children enjoying a visit to the seaside, especially when so many of them have never been to a beach.  The pandemic has a huge part to play in this…

Site Manager Tony Baker retires from the Ribble Reserves

Tony Baker, the long standing site manager at Marshside for nearly 30 years, has now made the bold move into retirement after throwing all his passion and commitment into what was at the time, a newly acquired land mass on the coast of Southport in 1994.  He has worked solidly and tirelessly to protect and restore important habitats both at Marshside and Hesketh Out…

This blog has been written by guest writer Sammy Taylor, who is a 16 year old volunteer for us here on the learning team.  Sammy has just completed his GCSE's and is awaiting his results at the end of August.  He is hoping to go to college to undertake A'Level courses in English, History and Media Studies, with the ultimate goal of possibly embarking on a career in journalism.  He headed up his school newspaper and…

Summer season is snowed under at Fairhaven

With an underlying uncertainty shrouding the beginning of the year we were never wholly certain as to what the uptake of school visits back to Fairhaven would be like. Having been in a position to offer a funded subsidy we knew that the uptake at Leighton Moss had been substantial and with us having had a delay to the water supply to the new centre we weren't sure what to expect…

Well it's been a fabulously busy couple of weeks all around for the Ribble Reserves team.

Over at Marshside a brand new outdoor viewing screen has been installed.  The old one, worn and rotting was taken down with surprising ease.  With help from our wonderful volunteers putting the new one up was made lighter work.  The coot nesting nearby showed remarkable resilience and patience.  Whilst not directly impacted by the…

The Arctic meets the Mediterranean at Marshside this week

The last time a black winged stilt was seen on the land at Marshside was when some of us were still in short pants, but not all of us (not to mention any names).  The bird in question was seen on Polly's Creek on 28 April 1984.  Not a million dates away from this years sighting on 18 April.  Stilts are members of the wader and avocet family and are more widely…

Spring arrivals

Earlier in March we had a little blast of spring air.  Chiffchaffs arrived, buds started to show and we had a wave of warmth.  We began to feel excited about the change of season, the arrival of wheatear and hirundines, such as sand and house martins.  Visiting schools were especially thrilled, they appeared to have brought the sunshine with them.

And then it all changed, the clouds and rain came over, and…

Midwinter maintenance at Marshside

Now is the best time to cut back your woody vegetation and our volunteers have been hard at it in the last few weeks.  Regular ‘coppicing’ is a vital part of our successful habitat management.  It promotes healthy re-growth and flowering and benefits insect life.  This in turn benefits the ecosystem in an overall holistic way.  

We have a don’t have much time before the spring…

February half term is National Nestbox Week

Putting up a nestbox is a fabulous way to watch wildlife in your garden or local park, from noticing that the nestbox is being checked out by prospective tenants to watching the parents frantically to and fro with never ending supplies of food, to finally seeing the long awaited fledglings appear all wobbly and tentative at first, taking their first short flights.  It can be…

Saltmarsh

The Ribble Estuary is one of the most important places for birds in Europe and so has been designated as a National Nature Reserve (NNR) and a Special Protection Area (SPA) offering high levels of protection. The Ribble Estuary NNR, which includes our Marshside and Hesketh Out Marsh reserves, is England’s third largest NNR and is one of the Top Ten most important wetlands in the UK for the numbers of water birds that live…

Marine Drive (Marshside) to close for 3 months

 Sefton Council are planning to resurface much of the Marine Drive coast road at Marshside, with the road set to close from Monday 24^th January for up to 3 months. The aim is to improve the surface and remove the worst of the bumps that have been increasing in recent years.  It follows similar works in the spring of 2021 when the western section of the road that passes through…

Well, it was slow start to the year with the easing of Covid restrictions.  But the wildlife was ever present, no matter who was watching, or waiting, the cycle of life continued.  These are some of the wildlife highlights from this year. 

Firstly though we must mention the re-opening of our brand new Fairhaven Lake Visitor Centre.  We are proud once again to be serving the people of the Northwest and from further afield. 

It's a real mixed bag

So after recently posting about the delay in the influx of winter thrushes, the weather really changed.  The icy snap of the last few days and the decrease in temperatures prior to that has

now sent them heading our way.  So keep your eyes out for redwing and fieldfare in the area.

We were very lucky with the weather just before storm Arwen, fabulously calm and serene high tides, with just the…

School Visits at Fairhaven Lake

Did you know that here at Fairhaven Lake we deliver hands on outdoor education on the estuary, lakes and garden to nearly 2000 children from the Northwest every year?

The £1.46 million Heritage Lottery Funded project in conjunction with Fylde Borough Council has provided a whole new suite of fantastic facilities. Where we once ran our school visits from the rather small combined retail…

We’re delighted to be partnering with Netflix and Aardman on Robin Robin, a half-hour, stop-motion, festive story for the whole family, about a young robin trying to fit in. It’s debuting on Netflix on 24 November – get the date in your diary! 

To celebrate, we’re inviting you to join exclusive Robin Robin-themed adventure trails right here at Fairhaven Lake this Christmas season. 

Over 30 RSPB nature reserves around…

Autumn days ahead

Warmer and wetter weather has been with us for some time recently, the ducks on the lake have had a whale of a time. 

Is this all part of climate change?  It's two of the key things predicted to happen as climate change advances. 

As World leaders meet at COP26 to sign up to climate change goals, we hope it's not too late.

We have already noticed one or two changes.  Autumn is a time of great migration…