Ribble Estuary

Well, in this time where we are all adjusting to working and learning from home, there are fantastic opportunities to re-engage with nature.  Whether that is in your garden, what you can see from your window or even what you see in your allotted daily exercise time. 

I have appreciated the wildlife in my garden more than ever before, taking more time to notice the pair of blackbirds in my garden that not only come for the…

Last Updated -  24/03/20

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.

Following the latest advice, we have closed our reserves. The carparks at Marshside and Hesketh Out Marsh are now closed, along with the hides and toilet.  

You can find the RSPB’s latest response to coronavirus on our website h…

Out and About 

The RSPBs work extends far beyond our reserves. Working with partners across the county and country helps us give nature a home wherever we can. This week the Marshside team and volunteers were out and about in the wider area lending a hand 'off site'. We surveyed Newton marsh, a privately owned site used as grazing pasture on the northern side of the Ribble. This site is great for waders, and is one of…

Ribble Discovery Centre

Education and Visitor Centre

The start of the school visit season has kicked off in style, with Plant Detectives proving a popular choice even in February.

The secret garden is the ideal location for this key stage 1 activity, it's quiet, safe and secluded and is the ideal backdrop for the activities.  Measuring and calculating the age of a tree is always one of the favourite activities, alongside…

Volunteer Bird Surveyors Needed 

Keeping track of the fortunes of birds on the Ribble is no easy task, its an enormous area to cover, and to make things harder its not always accessible. We run various programs, from specific species success, to full breeding species lists. This breeding season brings challenges of new areas (Crossens inner marsh) and an increased effort on target species. There is no way we can cover…

Nestbox Week at RDC

Half term nestbox building was a great success, celebrating National Nestbox Week in style.  The kits provided by Marshside and Presfield School were fabulous and it was inspiring to see the enthusiasm of the children.  It was great to see so many children able and willing to use tools such as screwdrivers and hammers and be given the opportunity to do so.  This was something I was passionate about when…

Welcome to this weeks Ribble roundup, which as the title suggests has been a wild and windy week. 

The Ribble Discovery Centre welcomed their first school visit of the new year on a very blustery day!  The Year 2 class from Strike Lane Primary School Completed the Plant Detectives session in the secret garden, it was quite a challenge in the wind, but, one I suspect many of the children will not forget.  The children were…

Welcome to this week's Ribble roundup.

We are still eagerly awaiting more followers for our new Facebook and Twitter pages.  Please share, so we can reach out to as many people in the area as we can.

Facebook: RSPBRibbleEstuary

Twitter: @RSPB_Ribble

Ribble Discovery Centre

After the success of the feeders we have had in the "Secret Garden" at Fairhaven Lake, we have placed a feeding station near the centre of the park…

Love My Marsh Event 

Clearing waste from Marshside is an ongoing battle, with waste from the sea and river collecting in the saltmarsh on falling tides, as well as litter being thrown from cars along the roads. Fly-tipping is also becoming a more frequent issue.   

Despite the inclement weather, we had a hardy gang of folk make a difference on the saltmarsh at Marshside last weekend. Togged up to the hilt and pickers in…

Welcome to this weeks Ribble Roundup

Not only do we have our new Facebook page @RSPBRibbleEstuary, we also have our own Twitter page too @RSPB_Ribble.  Please like and share our pages, we are really looking forward to engaging with as many of you as possible and providing lots of information about our work in conservation and education around the estuary. We look forward to welcoming many visitor contributions on both channels…

Welcome to this weeks Ribble Roundup 

Not only do we have our new Facebook page @RSPBRibbleEstuary, we also have our own Twitter page too @RSPB_Ribble.  Please like and share our pages, we are really looking forward to engaging with as many of you as possible and providing lots of information about our work in conservation and education around the estuary. We look forward to welcoming many visitor contributions on both…

Welcome to this weeks Ribble Roundup 13/01/20

Please like and follow our new Facebook page @RSPBRibbleEstuary.  We are really looking forward to increasing our followers and providing lots of information about our work across the estuary.  We are also looking forward to welcoming many visitor contributions, there are so many talented photographers out there, you can truly showcase our sites.

Recent sightings around Fairhaven…

Keen eyed visitors will have spotted the 'One Wing Amongst Many' sculpture that has appeared on the cross bank between Hesketh Out Marsh West and East. 

The skyline breaking wing stands to thank FCC Communities Foundation for supporting our work on the realignment of the East wing of Hesketrh Out Marsh. If the sculpture seems familiar, you may have seen the rest of the set one the Fairhaven Discovery Trail, near…

Ribble Reserves Roundup w/c 06/01/20

The Ribble reserves blog combines new from all our Ribble Estuary sites: Marshide, Hesketh out Marsh and the Ribble Discovery Centre at Fairhaven Lake.  Providing the latest news on sightings, events, shop offers and educational visits.

Fistly, welcome to 2020, we are aiming for this year to be even better than ever.  

Fresh for 2020, we will now have a specific Ribble Estuary Facebook…

Happy New Year

As we step into a new year, we reflect on what 2019 brought us, and think about what 2020 has in store.

Last years theme was a Bigger Better and more Connected Ribble, and we took some giant steps in that direction. Bringing the estuary, its remaining and new saltmarshes/coastal grassland into conservation management, maximising its potential to support wintering and breeding wildlife is at the heart of…

Ribble Reserves Round-up w/c 16/12/19

The Ribble Reserves blog combines news from all our Ribble reserve sites; Marshide, Hesketh out Marsh and the Ribble Discovery Centre. Providing the latest information on sightings, events, shop offers and educational visits.

Marshside - Christmas do 

As if by pre-arrangement, our volunteers meeting for the Christmas get together were greeted by a purple heron. The bird - discovered…

Ribble Reserves Blog w/c 09/12/19

The Ribble reserves blog combines news from all of our Ribble sites:  Marshside, Hesketh Out Marsh and the Ribble Discovery Centre.  Providing the latest information on sightings, shop offers and educational visits.

Ribble Discovery Centre

It's been a wild and windy couple of daydown here on Fairhaven Lake.  Good weather for ducks you might say!  Which is lucky as there are loads of them…

Ribble Reserves Blog w/c 02.12.19

The Ribble Reserves blog combines news from all our Ribble reserve sites; Marshide, Hesketh out Marsh and the Ribble Discovery Centre. Providing the latest information on sightings, events, shop offers and educational visits

Black Redstart - Banks Marsh 

This bonnie start has been bobbing around Banks Marsh (Ribble NNR) cattle pen over the frosty days. This is quite a scarce visitor locally…

Ribble Reserves Blog w/c 25.11.19

The Ribble Reserves blog combines news from all our Ribble reserve sites; Marshide, Hesketh out Marsh and the Ribble Discovery Centre. Providing the latest information on sightings, events, shop offers and educational visits.

Ribble Discovery Centre

With thanks to our friends at the Fylde Bird Club we note that 4 ring necked parakeets have been observed in Stanley Park in Blackpool again…

Ribble Reserves Blog w/c 18.11.19

The Ribble Reserves blog combines news from all our Ribble reserve sites; Marshide, Hesketh out Marsh and the Ribble Discovery Centre. Providing the latest information on sightings, events, shop offers and educational visits.

Ribble Wide WeBS Count

Wetland Birds Surveys (WeBS) counts are conducted nationally, once a month throughout the UK. Over 3,000 volunteers contribute to the survey…

Ribble Reserves Blog w/c 11.11.19

Our new Ribble Reserves blog combines news from all our Ribble reserve sites; Marshide, Hesketh out Marsh and the Ribble Discovery Centre, providing you with all the latest up to date information about sightings, events, shop offers and educational visits.

Ribble Discovery Centre

Success! The Fairhaven Lake kingfisher no longer eludes himself from the us at the RSPB Ribble Discovery Centre…

Ribble Reserves blog w/c 04.11.19

Our new Ribble Reserves blog combines news from all of our RSPB Ribble estuary sites; Marshside, Hesketh Out Marsh and the Ribble Discovery Centre providing you with all the latest up to date information about sightings, events, shop offers and educational visits!

Ribble Discovery Centre

The kingfisher continues to be spotted flitting over the lake, it continues to evade us in the centre…

Ribble Reserves Roundup w/c 28.10.19

Our new Ribble Reserves blog combines news from all of our RSPB Ribble estuary sites; Marshside, Hesketh Out Marsh and the Ribble Discovery Centre providing you with all the latest up to date information about sightings, events, shop offers and educational visits!

Ribble Discovery Centre

It's been a cold crisp week here at Fairhaven Lake.  Many of our regular residents and visitors…

The Ribble Estuary is vast, stretching from Lytham St Annes on the north side, down to Southport on the south side. Between the two, the great expanse of marvellous mudflats and saltmarsh are a vital home for nature. 

Mud might not sound particularly appetising to us, but it's crucial for quarter of a million birds that are drawn in by it every year. Ribble mud is a canteen - it is packed full of cockles and shrimps and l

Thanks to funding from Biffa Award, we are taking even more birds under our wing on the Ribble Estuary after recently purchasing Crossens Inner Marsh, a wet grassland area adjacent to Marshside.

The marsh, which is already home to over-wintering birds such as wigeons, pink-footed geese, black-tailed godwits and golden plovers, covers an area about the size of 38 football pitches.

Over £464,000 funding from Biffa Award…