... and still they keep coming! Baby birds are issuing forth from every available spot at the moment with a definite splurge of Reed Warblers amongst them! All the parents are singing again so ding ding... seconds out! Round Two!

Just how cute are these baby Reed Warblers? (Les Harrison)

Two slightly older Reed Warblettes perched on one of our metal dragonflies (Sue Harvey) 

There are plenty of stripy Little G…

Sorry folks for the quiet week but every time I went o write something the system seemed to be down...

So some stories and images from the week...

Our brood of three Mute Swans is still doing well although we had not seen them for a few days. Les Harrison took these lovely intimate shots.

Since the new boardwalk went through and enhanced the northern reedbed, our Water Rails have become a lot more relaxed around us humans and now often show quite well even to the extent that we now adults with their litle fluffy black chicks. Les Harrison got some great images of an adult yesterday morning as it fed in the 'bomb crater' pool at the west end of the trail. Our pair of secrestive Bearded Tits have…

A really good day out on the reserve yesterday. Managed to get absolutely soaked on the Kids Birdwatching Club walk but we still had a great time and got really good views of a female Peregrine chasing a Hobby, singing warblers and Reed Buntings, dashing Swifts and even the Cuckoo did a fly past. I think that the kids were most entranced by watching a Seven Spot Ladybird emerging from it pupae. It squeezed out of its…

Especially approriate with the Insect Afternoon walk today, Craig Burnett sent me some great shots of some more of the critters living in the woodland area:

Centrotus cornutus - the Horned Treehopper. A groovy sapsucker with horny protrusions that are meant to resemble plant thorns.  Look more like cats ears to me!

Emperor Moth caterpillar - almost fully grown

Peacock Butterfly caterpillar.  Very spikey!

Will…

Morning all

Shall start today with a little events recap from recent weeks.  The three Dawn Chorus Walks and our first Dusk Walk went very well and we even managed to keep people largely dry for a change (not too difficult this year!). I think that Cuckoo was seen and heard on every walk which made most visitors days. The next evening walk is at 7pm on Thursday June 23 and there are still places available. Do not forget…

Morning all

As of today I will regulalrly be shining a light on our fabulous volunteers and putting one of them in the limelight.

The reserve (and the RSPB as a whole) would not be what it is without them!

We shall start with inimitable Roger Smith...

Roger has been a stalwert of the the volunteer team for six years now and started off by assisting the reserve team out on the marsh with weekly maintenance tasks and…

Just a quick heads up...

Due to some new equipment being put into the shop, it will not open until 1030 next Wednesday 15th.

Cheers

Found this dapper little hoverfly yesterday in the woodland.

Plenty more insect life to be seen in the coming weeks!

Xanthogramma pedissequum (Howard Vaughan)

Now, I know that it looks like I am always on holiday but this is not the case!  Just escaped for a short break to the glorious sunny climes of Cornwall and Devon. Anyway, back now. I have come back to a reserve filled with the sounds of baby birds with Blackcaps, Whitethroats, Sedge and Reed Warblers off the nest and begging for food while tits are starting to club together and the roving flocks now contain many young…