Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos

On Tuesday 2^nd June I attended the reserve for the first time since the 10 week lockdown and duly found a pair of avocets on the North Brooks with at least 2 chicks. This was not a surprise as I’d already been told about them 3 days earlier by a friend and colleague who lives in Pulborough. That news however was a great surprise. As far as anyone knows avocets have never…

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos

Every Spring since 2015 I have been involved with a team of volunteers who regular monitor our breeding lapwings. For me this involves a weekly visit in-depth survey of the main areas of the reserve where lapwings like to nest and feed. This starts in mid-March and runs through to mid-June. Unfortunately, the strange events of 2020 have caused this activity to be largely…

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos 

On June 1st the car park and nature trails opened for the first time since March 20th and on June 2nd I was able to spend the whole day there, welcoming visitors back and seeing lots of wildlife. For anyone wishing to visit however please note that the Visitor Centre is still closed so there is no shop, café or toilets, although planning is taking place for how to open…

Our visitor centre, shop, café, toilets and hides remain closed. We have opened our trails and car park, but please be mindful that it has limited capacity and that in the first week the car park will only be open from 10 till 4. We urge our visitors to please stay local to your nearest reserves and greenspaces. Anyone choosing to visit should observe all current government advice around social distancing and hygiene…

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos

During the lockdown, I’ve been out on my daily exercise photographing these lively and colourful insects. Several people with little knowledge of butterflies have stopped and asked what I’ve seen, and this article is written with similar readers in mind.

Spring butterflies are largely ones that favour gardens and sunny areas where there are nearby shrubs, trees…

Thanks to Site Manager Julianne Evans for her report

Most of the past week has been taken up with carrying out repairs to gateways and fences so that our cattle stay in the right fields!  It is all about field management now as we move the cattle round the site following up with controlling the rush.  The hot sunny weather means that a lot of our pools are drying out but the North Brooks is still looking good and is still…

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos

Classical music devotees might recognise this title as a reference to a piece by Frederick Delius called “On Hearing the First Cuckoo in Spring”. Sadly for me locked down in Old Coulsdon there will be no such event at Pulborough this year, so I am reminding myself of this sound by writing about these unusual migrants from Africa, seen and heard on the reserve in spring…

Thanks to Site Manager Julianne Evans for her report and photos

The exciting news over the last couple of weeks has been that we can now carry out monitoring of some of our high priority species on the reserve.  Following their re-introduction last year as part of the Back from the Brink project, we were hoping that our field crickets would have bred and that we would hear them this spring.  Sure enough, on a beautiful spring…

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos

This is the time of year when at Pulborough Brooks we like to feature nightingales, those legendary songbirds. A few of these increasingly scarce summer migrants take up residence at Pulborough every year. Sadly under lockdown I live too far away to visit so it looks like I’m going to suffer a nightingale free year so instead this article is a reflection on what makes…

Thanks to Site Manager Julianne Evans for her report and photos

Even though we are closed, there is still essential work to do to save nature.  Over the past three weeks we have been focussing on repairs to infrastructure that are vital for us to be able to have cattle grazing on the reserve.  Cattle are now gradually arriving and will initially be grazing at low densities to prevent nest trampling.

We have also put up our…

Spring is one of my favourite times of year at the reserve, the welcome splash of colour from the primroses and bluebells, the buzz of queen bumblebees seeking pollen and nectar to start up their colonies and the wonderful sound of birdsong in the woodlands and hedgerows. As spring progresses, we have the excitement of new birds arriving and making themselves busy attracting a mate, building a nest and raising a family…

On the few bright sunny days we had earlier this spring, it’s been delightful to spot queen bees bumbling around searching for early flowers like the blackthorn blossom. One of my ambitions for the year was to get to grips with bee identification, but alongside many of you, I’m now working from home and my access to nature is rather restricted. But, if you do have a garden then why not take my bee challenge…how many different…

Following the latest clear instructions from the Government for us all to remain at home apart from a limited number of allowed activities, we are closing our reserve to visitors until further notice.

 This means we will close our car park, toilets, hides and playground to the public. These measures are on top of the existing closure of our visitor centre, cafe and shop.  It is with great sadness that we ask people to refrain…

The safety and well-being of our staff, volunteers and visitors are our priority, in line with the latest Government advice, RSPB has taken the decision to cancel future events until further notice and until the end of may at least.

If you have already booked and paid for an event this spring, we will be contacting you to offer a refund.

We will not be taking bookings for future events until Government advice suggests…

This year we'll be hosting a special new event over the May bank holiday weekend - our Inspired by Nature spring festival.

In addition to events celebrating our wonderful springtime wildlife we'll be playing host to local artists, photographers and writers - here's our programme below:

Inspired by Nature Spring Festival

Friday 8 May, Saturday 9 May & Sunday 10 May

 Time: 10 am – 4 pm

Cost: Nature…

On Monday 2 March, our visitor centre and cafe will be closing at 3 pm for staff training and development.

Last orders in the cafe will be at 2.30 pm.

The nature trail will remain open as normal.

Recent Sightings Friday 31^st January – Excellent birding on a grey damp day - thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos.

The forecast grey and drizzly conditions duly arrived and stayed all day. It is easy to be put of birding in this weather, so I was pleased to see that we had more visitors than expected braving the conditions.  I’ve long been of the view that birding can be rewarding in any weather and…

In preparation for our Big Garden Birdwatch on 25 - 27 January we'll be introducing you to some of the birds that you're likely to find in gardens.  

Today's bird is the robin

Photo by Chris Prince

As I wander down the nature trail I pause to scan for winter visitors – the redwings and fieldfares raiding the hedgerows in search of juicy haws, hips and berries. And then I spot movement on the branch just next…

Over the next month or so one of the main jobs that our wardens and work party will be doing is the management of our hedgerows and areas of scrub. This is the ideal time to do hedgerow & scrub work so it can be completed before our breeding birds begin to nest later in March.

Creating a management cycle

The team have been working hard to create a management plan for these habitats to ensure that we have a schedule…

In preparation for our Big Garden Birdwatch on 25 - 27 January we'll be introducing you to some of the birds that you're likely to find in gardens.  

Today's bird is the Long-tailed tit

Photo by Anne Harwood

Watching a excitable gang of long-tailed tits visiting your feeders is such a treat. These lovely birds almost always come in a gang - you'll hear their high pitched calls first of all and then one after…

In preparation for our Big Garden Birdwatch on 25 - 27 January we'll be introducing you to some of the birds that you're likely to find in gardens.  

Today's bird is the Blue tit

Photo by Chris Prince

Blue tits are inquisitive birds and are one of the first species to explore a new garden feeders and the most likely to use a nest box. We recommend using our Classic seed feeder or Easy-clean® seed feeders.…

As I live close to the seafront, birdwatching from the comfort of my home most often involves admiring the worm-charming talents of herring gulls, but watching the feeders we have set up at Pulborough Brooks offers me a different selection of ‘garden guests’. So, in preparation for January’s Big Garden Birdwatch, I’m going to celebrate the joys of sitting with a cup of tea watching the to-ings and fro-ings around the…

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos

When I first started volunteering here in Autumn 2014 the great floods of winter 2013-14 were fresh in people’s memories, and I learned that the whole of the brooks had been under water for about 2 months. The stories emphasised the fact that much of the reserve is part of the flood plain of the River Arun, but has some protection from a flood bank running by the river…

Recent Sightings Friday 13^th December – The Dashing “Pigeon Hawk” - thanks to volunteer Phil for his article and photos

This day provided one of those special wildlife moments that stay in the memory. It all started in Winpenny Hide, an excellent place to spot birds of prey which often seem to prefer to hunt around the longer grasses near the riverbank, when no less than 3 marsh harriers appeared, drifting…

Hello everyone!

If you are planning to visit us over the festive period, please note our Christmas opening hours below:

Christmas Eve - The Visitor Centre will be shut all day. The nature trails and car park remain open but the whole site will be closed at 4 pm. You must be off site by then as the car park will be locked.

Christmas Day - The Visitor Centre, nature trails and car park will be shut all day

Boxing Day -…