With thanks to volunteer Phil for his article and photos.

Five years ago I wrote an article for the blog entitled “When the water freezes”. This followed a spectacular early morning at the reserve doing the monthly Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) following a clear and very frosty January night. The article can be found at this link.

When the water freezes... - Pulborough Brooks - Pulborough Brooks - The RSPB C…

With thanks to volunteer John for his lovely report from Saturday 27 January.

It was too nice a morning to stay at home and count the garden birds, that can wait until tomorrow. With the temperature still at zero I set off for Pulborough and couldn't help noticing the large number of Woodpigeons clinging to wires and perching in trees trying to keep warm. I passed a Red Kite scavenging on the roadside and felt that it…

Thankfully, the water levels have been dropping and all of our hides are now open and can be reached without waders!

In the cold weather the small birds have been enjoying the treats that we've been putting out at our feeding stations. The Long-tailed Tits quickly found the suet balls and half a dozen Robins eyed each other up, seemingly wondering whether to quarrel with one another or adopt a feeder each.  A Marsh…

Upcoming habitat management work on the trails and on the wooded heath

The wooded heath photo by David Andrews

You may notice a few changes when you next visit us at Pulborough Brooks – here’s some information on upcoming habitat management work around the wetland trail and especially on the wooded heath.

Tree safety work

 A recent tree safety inspection, along with the recent storms, has identified a number…

Thanks to volunteer John for leading our special guests around on Tuesday and for his lovely sightings report.

Our three guests chose the right day for their guided walk - not a cloud in the sky and no cold wind. What was on their wish list? A Firecrest would be nice and perhaps a Bullfinch in the sun.  The previous day's list included a Firecrest seen at the Hanger and there was always the chance of seeing Bullfinch so…

Appearing mysteriously overnight in the dank and dark places of the earth, it’s no wonder that there are so many magical tales about fungi. In Britain we’ve always been a bit suspicious of mushrooms and toadstools (there is no real difference between the two), associating them with malevolent magic – there are Devil’s Fingers, Witches’ Eggs, Green Elfcups and Fairy Bonnets.

Green Elf Cup…

With thanks to volunteer Graham for his report and photos.

I visited PB on both days of this particular weekend. On Saturday I was with the Pulborough Brooks Dragonfly Survey Team, while on Sunday I carried out my usual Hides and Trails duties. 

 Saturday 23 Sept

The dragonfly survey started on the heathland on Saturday morning. As the team finished surveying the first pond a Kestrel flew into a nearby Pine tree to provide a…

Thanks to volunteer Graham for his sightings report and photos from Sunday 17 September

With thundery showers forecast for later I made the most of the dry start with a brief stop at Upperton’s Pond. I barely had time to spot several Swallows feeding low over the field before a Merlin came swooping in and flew down the slope, dispersing the Swallows before disappearing from view. It took several minutes before the…

Ivy, with its clambering stems, glossy leaves and clusters of black berries is a familiar sight but wander past on a sunny day in early autumn and it is the subtle yellow-green flowers that will be causing a frenzy!

Flowering later than most of our nectar-rich wildflowers, Ivy flowers are a lifeline for insects well into the autumn. Their sweet honey-scent attracts hordes of bees, hornets, hoverflies and butterflies to…

Thanks to volunteer Graham for his sightings report and photos.

The early morning mist at Pulborough Brooks on Sunday made the numerous spider's webs easy to spot around Upperton’s Pond.

Various flowers were also covered in dew droplets, including Forget-me-nots and Narrow-leaved Birdsfoot Trefoil.

The mist soon lifted and the sun came out for the whole day. By the zigzag path a Dandelion clock caught my eye…

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his article and photos.

One of my favourite sights of Pulborough Brooks in summer is the splash of magenta colour provided by the tall flower spikes of Purple Loosestrife.  These can be seen in profusion mostly fringing the ditches of the North Brooks between June and August.   This photo was taken from Nettley’s Hide in mid-July, perhaps the peak of the season.

You can enjoy this display…

Thanks to volunteer Graham for his report and photos:

It was warm with sunny spells at Pulborough Brooks on Sunday.

 I started with a quick visit to Upperton’s Pond, where I found some Common Centaury.

Along the zigzag path the Fleabane was in full bloom, the occasional flowerhead serving as a platform for an insect, such as this Ichneumon.

In contrast to to the bright yellow of the Fleabane some more subtle colour…

With thanks to volunteer Graham for his report and photos.

It was another dry but breezy day at Pulborough Brooks on Sunday. 

On the zigzag path I came across an Eristalinus sepulchralis hoverfly.

I decided on a brief visit to Fattengates Courtyard, but I ended up spending most of my time on the access path by a clump of Hemp-agrimony that was attracting a wide range of insects. Apart from the more common butterflies,…

Butterflies and moths belong to a family called ‘Lepidoptera’ which means ‘scaly wing’. Each wing is covered by thousands of tiny scales - as many as 600 scales per square millimetre of wing!

These scales are pigmented but are also different shapes and set at different angles which mean that they diffract light differently. It is these scales that give butterflies and moths their stunning colours…

Thank you to volunteer Graham for his report and photographs.

The weather forecast suggested that there would be rain showers at Pulborough Brooks on Sunday. However, I am pleased to say that my raincoat stayed unused in my rucksack as the weather remained fine all day.

Soon after setting out on the Wetland Trail I diverted for a short while to the meadow by the yurt. The colourful display provided by the Meadow Cranesbi…

Thanks to volunteer Graham for his report and photos.

Once again it was bright and breezy at Pulborough Brooks on Sunday. 

For once I bypassed West Mead Hide and I was soon in Winpenny Hide. At least eight Little Egrets were in reasonably close range, providing some nice views through my scope. After a while I spotted a White-tailed Eagle circling high in the sky to the south. After the eagle had flown off a Hobby was spotted…

Thanks to volunteer John for his entertaining report

'It’s all white…'

Well nearly. There were some other colours too. My sunny, breezy walk this morning started by the top pond. A Kestrel passed by and a few moments later I saw what I presumed was the same bird hovering over the zigzag. It looked big so I checked with the binoculars and saw that it was a Buzzard. It hovered, wings fluttering, doing…

We’ve set up our ‘Wonderful Wildflowers trail’ around the paths to introduce you to some of the fascinating flowers you can see at Pulborough Brooks. The trail will be running throughout the summer around our wetland nature trail – there’s no additional charge & no need to book a visit.

Here are a few highlights from the trail at the moment...

Close to the Visitor Centre is our Wildlife…

Dog Rose by Anna Allum

Wonderful wildlflowers

Summer is the best time to go for a walk and browse nature’s sweet shop – a wildflower meadow.  As well as seeing and smelling some beautiful flowers, you’ll be able to see some of the incredible insects who visit them to feast on their tasty nectar.

But as well as being an important source of food for our bees, beetles, butterflies, bugs, hoverflies and…

Gatekeeper butterfly by Gareth Hughes

We all know how good it feels to be immersed in nature, mentally and physically but sometimes we forget how lucky we are to be able to do this.

Over the next few weeks we’ll be hosting some wellbeing sessions here at Pulborough Brooks. The sessions are being run by the South Downs National Park Authority in conjunction with ‘Wild Gathering’ and ‘Creative waves’ and are designed to…

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos:

"Recent Sightings 26 May – the dragonfly’s nemesis"

Visitors to West Mead hide on 26 May were treated to some truly spectacular high- octane excitement as 2 Hobbies made many sorties out over the pool in front of the hide hawking for dragonflies.  This continued on and off for about 45 minutes, and it seems that in the off periods the birds may have…

Thanks to volunteer Graham for his report and photos.

It was a sunny but breezy day at Pulborough Brooks. As I left the visitor centre a Garden Warbler was singing enthusiastically from one of the trees at the side of the path. At the bottom of the zigzag path a Nightingale made its presence known.

I carried on to West Mead Hide in the hope that the second pair of Avocets to nest on one of the nearby islands had stayed…

A huge thank you to our wonderful volunteer Phil for his sightings report from Friday 12 May

Lowering clouds bring perpetual motion

On Friday 12 May I arrived at Pulborough Brooks in bright sunshine but the forecast suggested deteriorating weather in the morning with some light rain by lunchtime.  

I spent the morning gradually working my way round to a rather quiet North Brooks and by the time I left Nettley’s Hide at…

Thanks to volunteer Graham for his sightings report from the weekend together with his fabulous photos.

It was cool and damp at Pulborough Brooks on Sunday morning following the rain of the previous day and overnight. Nevertheless, the spirit of our songbirds had not been dampened, and apart from the distinctive voice of the Nightingale, it was quite a challenge to separate the notes of the numerous warblers and resident…