Thank you to our hides and trails volunteer Phil for a great report on winter at Pulborough.

I drove to Pulborough in the morning for my first visit since before Christmas.  The rain was persistent all the way and I reflected how much of it, and even snow, there had been at home on the North Downs over the festive period.   Arriving with the weather starting to clear it wasn’t too surprising to notice that an awful lot…

Happy New Year!

Here at Pulborough Brooks, we’re kicking off 2018 with an exciting project. Over the past year or so, part of our Wildlife Explorer Meadow has been looking rather sorry for itself since we had the old play equipment removed in 2016. After a safety inspection, the equipment was deemed unsafe and no longer fit for purpose so it was taken away, leaving a big, muddy mess in its place!

The Wildlife…

Due to the unpleasant weather conditions, we'll be shutting the Visitor Centre at 3 pm today to allow staff & volunteers to get home before it gets dark and potentially icy on the roads.

We're planning to be open as normal on Thursday and then throughout the New Year period from 9.30 am til 5 pm.

Sorry for any disappointment

After much rain and sleet in recent weeks the Brooks are currently looking very wet and the flood pools seem to be growing almost daily.   This was very evident when I returned on a wet Monday for the monthly Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) after missing the previous week and couldn’t help noticing the difference.

All the while the count was underway there was a biting northerly wind blowing very cold rain at us causing…

So, I should probably start by clarifying that this blog isn't a reflection on our cricket team's performance in Australia!  Instead it's concerning a small but special character who we're hoping to reintroduce to our heathland in spring 2018....the field cricket.

Here he is...

This is the male who clears a small platform in front of his burrow, in which he sunbathes and from which he broadcasts his…

Thanks as always to volunteer Phil for this brilliant sightings report from Friday 01 December!

Last week’s hen harrier caused much excitement and stayed around for several days, however no-one I spoke to on Friday was able to find it.  It may have been around somewhere because there was a record on the sightings sheet in the Visitor Centre at the end of the day, but where it had been I really couldn’t tell. …

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report & photos

Recent Sightings Friday 24^th November – A very special moorland visitor

A few weeks ago I wrote an article for this webpage about the successful comeback of the marsh harrier.  Little did expect that in just a few weeks I would be writing an article about it’s close cousin the hen harrier.  However on Friday the reserve was host to one of these magnificent…

Just to let visitors know that the 'Black Wood' section of the reserve (including Hail's View) on the wooded-heathland trail will be closed on Wednesday 29 & Thursday 30 November.

This area will be closed for a few days whilst we complete some tree work in the woodland.  We'll be removing some of the invasive sycamore trees to allow more light through the canopy for the benefit of the wildflowers beneath…

Thanks to Gary for his report and photos.

Robins seemed to be everywhere and several were very tame; they have obviously conned other visitors into feeding them.

37 black-tailed godwits, one redshank on the North Brooks today prior to the work party arriving and flushing most birds present, including numerous snipe which would otherwise have remained hidden. A kingfisher posed briefly before flying down Nettleys ditch…

Please be aware that our cafe will be closed all day on Friday 24th November for essential maintenance works. 

We apologise for the inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your cooperation.

Thank you.

We’ve long since said goodbye to our summer visitors and have now started to welcome the thousands of ducks and geese that will spend the winter here. Many of you know how exciting the reserve can be for wildlife enthusiasts during this time, and this year we want to shout about it!

On Saturday 25^th and Sunday 26^th November, we are celebrating Pulborough Brooks at its wintery best by offering free entry to all…

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos.

Recent Sightings Friday 17 November – Snipe in the autumn sunshine and a beautiful sunset

Over 30 years ago by the shore of a remote Scottish loch I caught sight of a bird with a very long bill silhouetted against the water.  This was my first ever sighting of a snipe and it presented an unusually powerful image that I can still see in my mind’s eye now.…

Thanks to volunteer Phil for another brilliant report - recent sightings 03/11/17

On a moist and misty morning I set out down the Zigzag Path rueing the poor visibility and making for West Mead where I thought I would most likely have the best chance of seeing some birds.  Despite the gloom my mood was lightened by the fascinating sight of a plethora of spider webs being picked out by the heavy dew.  

Some of these webs…

Just a quick blog to mention that our shop will be closed on Thursday 2 November as a new till system is being installed.

The cafe, toilets and nature trails will be open as normal.

Thanks

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos!

Recent Sightings Friday 27^th October 

A glorious sunny autumn day was perfect for spotting late season dragonflies of varying sizes.  A large southern hawker was patrolling Black Pond and a medium size migrant hawker was patrolling the pond in front of Winpenny Hide.   Just a few feet in front of the hide a small common darter perched on a fence post, its wings glistening…

Over the coming week, you may encounter a rather unusual sighting on the reserve. Not to worry though—if you do happen to spot men in boats going up and down the ditches, rest assured they are meant to be there and are carrying out an important job for us. Back in August, Anna wrote about the work we’re doing to clear our ditches for some very special wildlife as part of the Back from the Brink project. A large part of…

Thank you to volunteer Phil for his report this week. 

Recent sightings 20/10/17

On Friday afternoon I found myself at Winpenny Hide watching two marsh harriers drifting over the brooks near the riverbank.  The rushy areas near the riverbank on the South Brooks are a favourite spot for these birds and it’s not often that they come in closer to the hides.  Winpenny, being the closest hide to the river is often the…

If you've ever visited on the first Saturday of the month you will no doubt have noticed the rather large groups of children present on the reserve - it's our Wildlife Explorer Day!

Every month, 3 groups of keen youngsters and our volunteer leaders meet up to learn about wildlife, have some fun and, in the case of our teenage RSPB Phoenix group, get on with some real conservation work too...

This year our RSPB…

Thanks to volunteer Gary for his report and photos

Walking out of the visitor centre I heard a strange sound; it took a few seconds to register what it was as I hadn’t heard it for a year – a male fallow deer grunting his rutting challenge. The day was rather dull, and a little chilly, but at least it stayed dry. Quite a few chiffchaff scattered around the trail, usually with gangs of long-tailed tits, and bullfinches…

Recent sightings 6/10/17 - thank you to volunteer Phil for his report and photos this week.

On Friday at Hanger my sharp-eyed colleague John pointed out a circling peregrine as the cause of pandemonium amongst a group of lapwings on the North Brooks.   Readers familiar with Pulborough Brooks will recognise this as a classic sight of the autumn and winter months and we can look forward to seeing this more often as the season…

Thanks to volunteer Gary for his report and photo.

It was great to hear the news that two pectoral sandpipers had turned up at Pulborough Brooks as we were only discussing their possible appearance the week before. The trouble was I was in North Wales watching choughs, but if truth be told I was not chuffed to hear the news (pun most definitely intended!).

Upon my return, I was pleasantly surprised that they were still…

Recent Sightings Friday 22^nd September – Pectoral Sandpiper Duty - thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos

On Friday I found myself spending several hours at the Hanger and then Nettley’s Hide showing visitors the 2 pectoral sandpipers that turned up a few days earlier.  Never having seen one before, this would have been quite a tricky task if I hadn’t received a masterclass in identification from…

Thank you to volunteer Phil for this brilliant report praising the importance of ivy! 

Any reader who visited on Friday will probably be expecting something entirely different about a very unusual bird sighting.  However I make no apology for giving pride of place to one of my favourite features of the reserve.  This is the ivy bush at the far end of Fattengates Courtyard to the left of the locked gate.  For me this represents…

A slightly belated report from volunteer Phil (Sorry for my tardiness Phil!)

On the first day of meteorological autumn one of our less experienced visitors asked when the bird migration would begin.  I replied that it had actually been under way for a few weeks and there were various signs of this around the reserve. 

For a few weeks now we have had a good selection of wader species on the reserve and many of these birds…

The wetland habitat at Pulborough Brooks is criss-crossed by around 14 kilometres of ditches which help us to manage the water levels on site and are home to some very special wildlife.   But not all of this wildlife likes the same conditions in the ditches.  To enable us to move water around the site, and to benefit species which prefer a variety of conditions, the ditches need to be managed annually. But some species would…