Thanks to volunteer Phil for his article and photos - pied wagtails in winter

In winter wildlife is often locked in a struggle to survive and this sometimes enable us to observe interesting behaviour. An afternoon visit to West Mead hide presented a rather quiet wintry scene with most of the pool still frozen over. A few lapwings could be seen on the islands and a few snipe were also probing around. What really caught…

Thanks to volunteer Graham for his report and photos.

A heavy frost gave the whole of Pulborough Brooks a silver makeover on Sunday.

The view from Upperton’s Pond.

Cold weather gear was the order of the day, as modelled by Neil, and the teasel heads also looked striking in their winter coats.

 

At Fattengates Courtyard seed sprinkled onto the logs attracted a good selection of birds, including this smart pied wagtail…

Amongst the winter highlights at the reserve are the elegant long-legged and long-beaked black-tailed godwits; wading birds who probe the mud of the pools and meadows in search of food. They will have travelled from their breeding grounds in Iceland, making a stop-off in East Anglia, before they begin to disperse to their favoured wintering spots. Some head south to the coasts and estuaries of France or down to Portugal…

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos: Recent Sightings – Friday 18 November – After the deluge a day of surprises

After very heavy rain earlier in the week it was no great surprise to arrive at Pulborough Brooks to find yet another big flood to follow the ones we had in the winter of 2019-20. While producing a spectacular scene it does have an impact on our winter waterbirds.

Wigeon for example…

Thanks to volunteer Graham for his lovely photos from the weekend.

Graham's first picture, taken in the meadow between West Mead and Redstart Corner, features some rather magnificent parasol mushrooms.  These dinner-plate-sized mushrooms pop up regularly in the pasture fields on the reserve.

At Winpenny Hide a few gadwall were just about within range to show the fine vermiculation in the plumage of the males.

Whilst…

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos

Friday 4 November was a beautifully clear and sunny day. The previous day’s heavy rain had cleared the atmosphere and the South Downs were etched sharply against the sky. However, for the first time in several months, there was a chill in the air and a breeze was blowing from the North West.

There were several signs of winter. The numbers of wildfowl and lapwings…

With thanks to volunteer John for his report from a morning's wander.

No sea eagles seen but it was an irresistible morning - mild with sunshine. My first scan of the south brooks showed a large number of Canada geese and a satisfyingly good number of lapwing. A flock was on the newly wet West Mead pool with others dotted around the meadows. On the big oak one stock dove sunbathed, two magpies observed and two fieldfare…

Both of the RSPB sites within the Arun Valley, Pulborough Brooks and Amberley Wildbrooks, are renowned for their dragonfly and damselfly species. Indeed the assemblage of dragonflies and damselflies is one of the features of their designation as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Watching, and photographing, these fantastic creatures patrol the ponds and ditches is popular during the summer months but, with…

Thanks to volunteer Graham Osborne for his report and photos from Sunday.

A brief view of the South Brooks from the Visitor Centre produced a distant red kite and a good number of Lapwings. I then met Rob at the Yurt where he showed me a merveille du jour moth that had been trapped overnight. it's name translates to 'marvel of the day'.

I caught up with Neil, and at the gate near West Mead he found a merlin…

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos.

Sitting in Nettley’s Hide eating lunch I became aware of a small group of people with scopes in the hide discussing a distant raptor perched on a post. I was overhearing comments about a back turned towards the scope but occasionally barring could be seen across the breast. Sparrowhawk and goshawk were mentioned and rejected although my first thought about a barred breast…

Volunteer Graham Osborne recounts the wildlife highlights from a visit over the weekend - thanks Graham for your report and wonderful photos!

After three Sundays off I returned to hides & trails duties at Pulborough Brooks yesterday.

The morning started nicely with views of four cattle egrets on the South Brooks from the Visitor Centre where I was joined by Neil and some visitors. Scanning Upperton’s Field revealed…

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report, photos and reflections on the new dragonfly species arriving at Pulborough Brooks...

I am currently sitting at my computer sheltering from the hot weather as the UK bakes in another heatwave and the land is feeling the effects of a drought. It is becoming easier to link the greater prevalence of events like this to a changing climate. However, while these somewhat worrying heatwaves…

With thanks to volunteer Graham for his report and photos.

It was a breezy day at Pulborough Brooks on Sunday, mostly dry, with just a few spots of very light rain for a short while. Bird-wise it was mostly fairly subdued, but there were reasonable numbers of the commoner butterflies about. However, dragonflies and damselflies were in extremely short supply, and I only saw three species all day (azure & blue-tailed damsels…

I suspect that my first encounter with the wonderful world of Lepidoptera – butterflies & moths – might well have been a childhood reading of Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Since then I have always admired butterflies; the splendidly colourful peacock nectaring on the wildflowers and the glorious silver-washed fritillary gliding powerfully through a sunshine-dappled woodland glade.

Silver…

Find out more about some of our special butterflies from Lydia's (our Visitor Experience Officer) blog...

It’s that time of the year, the sun is shining, and the butterflies are fluttering. Here at Pulborough Brooks we have recorded 33 out of the 60 butterfly species found in the UK. Our mosaic heathland, woodland, hedgerows and meadow habitats makes it a great home for some star species including 4 out of 5 species…

The wildflowers are blooming, butterflies are fluttering over the meadows and dragonflies are darting over the ditches – Big Wild Summer has started at Pulborough Brooks! Summer is a fantastic time to explore the great outdoors and we’ve got some amazing wildlife here in West Sussex.

Small copper butterfly by Graham Osborne

Wonderful wildflowers

Visitors can follow our ‘wonderful wildflowers trail’ and find…

Find out where to see some great night-time wildlife with the RSPB this summer

I'm delighted to report that the cafe refurbishment is on schedule and we'll be re-opening on Friday (8 July). Our cafe team are looking forward to welcoming you back.

Pop in for a breakfast bap, light lunch or a slice of cake. We'll also be serving cream teas - enjoy scones, jam and cream whilst sitting on the tea terrace admiring one of the loveliest views in West Sussex!

Cafe and tea terrace open 10 -…

Thanks to volunteer Graham for his sightings review and wonderful photos.

A breezy day at Pulborough Brooks did not deter either the wildlife or a reasonable number of visitors from putting in an appearance.

 I had walked no more than about 75 metres from the VC when I came across a female beautiful demoiselle perched by the side of the path.

At the the zigzag path a male kestrel provided a hovering display to a number…

Thanks to our fantastic volunteer Graham for his report and photos from Sunday's 'hides & trails':

Although there were a few showers it was mostly dry at PB yesterday. There were a good number of visitors and plenty of wildlife highlights.

At Fattengates Courtyard I met Mark, one of our regular visitors. He showed me a photo of a golden-ringed dragonfly that he had taken last Wednesday from the path near…

Over the past couple of months we’ve have been enjoying brilliant song and dazzling displays from our birds. But they’ve now moved on to the serious business of raising a family, and we are welcoming new arrivals. Eggs will have hatched and young birds will be making demands of their busy and harried parents!

We’ve had reports of nightingales, lesser whitethroat, garden warbler and blackcaps feeding young…

The café will be closed from Thursday 16 June 2022 for up to 3 weeks for a refurbishment.

Whilst the café is closed, hot & cold drinks and a small range of pre-packed snacks such as sandwiches, crisps, chocolate bars and brownies will be available to purchase from the shop.

The tea terrace will be open but there will be no indoor seating.

The refurbishment will enable us to create a safe working environment…

Our Visitor Experience Officer, Lydia, wrote this blog inspired by all of the nest-building that is happening on the reserve right now.

When walking around Pulborough Brooks and its different habitats you start to see different species favouring certain areas; whether this is the woodlark on the heathland, waders on the wetland or treecreepers in the woodland. But why is this?

Animals have adapted over thousands of years…

This is the perfect time of year to look for chaser dragonflies around our heathland pools.

Much of the four-spotted chaser’s life is spent hidden in the murky depths of the heathland pond. Around four weeks the after the female has laid her eggs the larvae hatch taking a minimum of two years in larval form to complete their development. The larvae are ambush predators; covered in numerous hair-like structures which trap…