Recent Sightings Weds 16^th and Friday 18^th August – A Tale of Two Seasons

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his latest report

Mid-August is an interesting time at Pulborough Brooks.  Astronomically there is still a month of summer left, meteorologically there is only 2 weeks, but for the wildlife summer and autumn are already co-existing.

After much rain and some rather autumnal temperatures in recent weeks our wardens…

Recent Sightings Monday 14^th August – Brown Hawker Dragonfly (from volunteer Phil)

Anyone reading my article on dragonflies from a few weeks ago will recall that I’ve long regarded taking good photos of dragonflies in flight as a holy grail.  I did not reveal then that in exactly opposite way I’ve also regarded taking photos of perched brown hawker dragonflies as a holy grail.

The brown hawker is a…

Heathland is a pretty tough place to live in but it’s still a really important place for wildlife – it is home to very special creatures that have developed special skills – what I like to think of as superpowers – which help them to survive.

Now that the ling heather is in flower you'll see plenty of honeybees - as well as making honey, these bees can give directions by dancing, pollinate flowers…

Over the weekend we'll be showcasing some of our most elusive creatures - reptiles!

On Saturday we'll be running a couple of short rambles going off in search of some incredible reptiles.  We'll be taking you to areas of the reserve that are not normally open to the public and looking carefully for snakes, lizards and whatever other creatures we can find,  The walk is likely to last about 30 minutes.  Sensible…

Thanks again to volunteer Phil for sharing his butterfly sightings and photos

This is the 2^nd of a series of 3 articles about butterflies to be seen on the reserve in July.  Part 1 gives some summary information about where to see butterflies on the reserve and the types of flowers used.

White butterflies can be seen almost anywhere on the reserve.  These include large, small and green veined whites.   Large whites fly…

Recent Sightings – July Butterflies Part 1 - Oranges, Browns and a special White

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his wonderful report and photos featuring just some of our lovely butterflies.

This is the first of a series of articles to highlight the butterflies currently being seen on the reserve and to help less experienced readers to identify the various species.

The timing coincides with Butterfly Conservation…

With thanks to volunteer Phil for this brilliant report about the variety of dragonfly and damselfly species we get here at Pulborough Brooks. You should all be experts by the time you've read it!

As someone with a long-term interest in wildlife and photography I have for many years regarded taking successful photographs of dragonflies in flight as a holy grail.  However, there is just one problem.  As far as I am…

All visitors please be aware when visiting us today that our warden team are moving groups of livestock across the reserve. We would be grateful if you could keep dogs on leads at all time when in the car park or on the heathland.

Thank you for your cooperation.

July has rolled around rather quickly this year and here at Pulborough Brooks that can only mean one thing...Big Wild Sleepout is nearly upon us! This event is your chance to go on a wild adventure and spend the night under the stars surrounded by nocturnal...

Recent sightings 16/06/2017 - thanks to volunteer Phil for his photos and report

At Pulborough Brooks in the summer very often our wildlife attention turns to minibeasts such as butterflies and dragonflies while the typical wintering wildfowl is away in the north raising young.  However on this occasion I was surprised just how much birding interest there was.

For the last fortnight a group of black-tailed godwits had…

If you have a mini explorer between the ages of 2 ½ and 5 years old, our nature group Little Wild Things is perfect for you! Every other Tuesday throughout the year, you and your child will be able to meet some of the amazing creatures that we are giving a home to on our nature reserve, while learning something new, getting a bit mucky and having lots of fun! During each session, we will focus on a theme and do a range…

Recent Sightings Friday 9^th June -  thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos.

Our nightingales have given every indication that they have settled down to the serious business of rearing young.   Fattengates Couryard has been our most reliable nightingale hotspot this year, and while there in the morning I had several glimpses of them flitting between bushes and looking very much like they were in the process of…

Recent Sightings Friday 2^nd June 

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos.

On a warm sunny morning at the end of half term week I found myself at the Visitor Centre pond pointing out the wonders of our blue damselflies to some of our young visitors.  One of the eagle-eyed youngsters pointed out a large and rather fearsome looking insect on a long leaf growing out of the pond and asked me what it was.

Fortunately…

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos.

The downpours of last Friday had now given way to very warm sunshine and a complete contrast in the wildlife sightings in the course of a week.   Last week I found myself mostly looking at birds.  This week it was mostly insects and the whole reserve seemed to be particularly full of very active dragonflies and damselflies most of which were too busy to photograph.

At…

Here at Pulborough Brooks, we are always working hard to maintain and update our facilities, including the cafe, in order to improve the overall experience of our visitors. For us to complete some necessary maintenance work in our kitchen, we will be closing the cafe from Monday 5 June until Friday 9 June. There will be no service available in the cafe at all during this time and the tea terrace will also be unavailable…

Recent Sightings Friday 19^th May   Singing in the rain - Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos.

The dry spell through April and May is well and truly over.  An overcast morning gave way to heavy and sometimes torrential rain, hail and thunder in the early afternoon.  I became marooned in Nettley’s Hide eating lunch while watching the rain looking like stair rods.   This photo shows the ditch while the rain…

Thank you to volunteer Gary for the his report and photos

Very warm and muggy but still quite windy at Pulborough Brooks today. By 10:00 most bird song was diminished with only the odd burst from Whitethroats, although the other warblers did join in now and then. A nest box on an oak tree near the bottom of the zigzag has been taken over by bumble bees and a ring of sentries could be seen around the entrance hole.

…

Sightings from 09/05/2017 and 13/05/2017

Thanks to volunteer Gary for his report and photos

Nice day at Pulborough Brooks but still that nagging cold wind, the hanger viewpoint was particularly chilly, and there was very little to see except the now regular Egyptian Geese and a few hirundines.

Nightingales still a bit reticent to burst into full song, but at least the one on Adder Alley was trying its best.Adder Alley…

There’s been a flurry of activity on the reserve lately. Cuckoos have been cuckoo-ing on the heath and around Winpenny, and volunteer Neil called in a particularly close sighting of one from Hanger View on Sunday. Hearing a cuckoo for the first time each year is my favourite part of spring, particularly as it’s becoming less and less likely to hear one. I didn't even have to go outside to hear my first of 2017; I was…

At long last we've had some southerly winds!  And they have brought in some lovely birds over the bank holiday weekend.

Thankfully, our nightingales have perked up a bit and have been singing for our nightingale festival - there are now at least 2 (possibly 3) males around the Fattengates courtyard area and 2 along the adder alley section of the nature trail.

Here is a lovely photo of one of them taken by visitor…

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos

Recent Sightings Friday 14^th April     The Strange Tale of the Easter Bunnies

Returning on Good Friday after a holiday in the Scottish Highlands I was expecting some considerable downsizing in birds from golden eagles to warblers returning for the spring and summer.  Nothing prepared me however for the strange welcome from one of our gardeners who beckoned several people…

A slightly belated blog from volunteer Gary and some lovely photos from volunteer Graham.

A rather dull and unpromising start to the day at Pulborough Brooks, but at least there were Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps singing all over the place and at the bottom of the zigzag a Willow Warbler was singing its lovely liquid song (but not quite, because this may be the same bird as last year as it sometimes starts off its song with…

Over the next week or so our wardens and volunteers will be setting up the electric fence around West Mead field.  

Both the islands and the general area surrounding West Mead pool have been popular with our precious breeding waders over the past few years so, to give their nests some additional protection, we'll be putting up an electric fence to deter some of their predators.  The eggs and chicks of ground nesting…

Arrived with the mist just clearing into a fabulous sunny morning. Chiffchaffs were everywhere often involved in chiff-chaff singing contests then resulting in a fluttering duel. Not sure how they work out who is the winner. At the bottom of the zigzag a pair of Treecreepers were inspecting every nook and cranny including working horizontally underneath a fence rail. Made my way to Nettleys to see if I could see the water…

Thanks to Phil for his report and photos - recent sightings Friday 24^th March –  Waders at West Mead

Compared to the winter months this seemed like a relatively quiet day, apart from the ubiquitous chiffchaff calls and some rather loud chaffinches.

The main interest of the day were the waders at West Mead.  Lapwing display flights were continuing and when I reached the hide in the afternoon a nearby solitary female…