Good news! we will have volunteers showing the hobby nest this Thursday and Saturday, from 12 - 4 pm ( weather permitting). Info on where to go on arrival at the shop or Visitor CentreImage credit; Ray Piercy

I've been sent photo's this week of all sorts of exciting wildlife seen at The Lodge, from the breeding hobbies to the smallest and grooviest  bugs, so I'd like to share these for you to enjoy!

Thanks to all of the photographers for these great images.

 -From top left ;Ruby-tailed wasp,  Carabus problematicus beetle, Red-bandied sand wasp. Betty Cooke

Grey- damsel bug Betty Cooke

Southern hawker Katie Fulle…

We've had a lot of stoat action at The Lodge in recent weeks, and today a couple were playing around beside the hide pools, then suddenly jumping in for a quick splash about. Tim Felce was in the hide with his wife at the time and took the following amazing images...

A party of six ravens were flying over Sandy Ridge calling, the hobbies are busy keeping their young fed on the Galley Hill trail; here is the male keeping…

The Lodge Reserve can boast an impressive 4500 species but over the past few days our species list has grown even more.

At this time of the year the gardens are alive with dragonflies zooming around the old swimming pool and bees buzzing around the lavender. However today whilst having an exploration, the gardens appeared to have been taken over by some new creatures. Around the old swimming pond, I have discovered…

The hobbies have hatched! 3 chicks have been seen in the nest, which is along the Galley hill/ New heath trail, near the junction with the path down to Sandy. We have put a sign close to the tree so you should be able to see them bringing food to the nest.

Great news!

Image credit, hobby at The Lodge Justin Woolhead

A family of at least five stoats have been whirling around and chasing each other in the Gatehouse work compound and into the staff car-parking area over the last couple of days. On the last whiz around they bizarrely seemed to be chased by a rabbit!

I managed to get this shot but I couldn't get the stoats as a group while they were on the move- they are very quick!

Hi again everyone,

I'm back from my holidays in Portugal and I won't tell you about the constant sunshine and inland temperatures hovering around 38 degrees - or the colourful bee eaters, golden orioles and hoopoes seen daily!

After the rain the UK has experienced, it was a shock to come back home to a garden transformed into a jungle in a fortnight! 

I've managed to work through the 100's, of emails this morning,…

Nature Activity Sessions: Saturday 3rd July

11am - 3pm

Price: Donations on the day please. Car park and entry charges apply to non-RSPB members.

Join our volunteers to take part in monthly, hands - on seasonal activities. Previous events have included story stick making, nature art and crafts, bark rubbing and fungi spotting.

Meet the volunteers at the Visitor Information Centre but the event won't run in bad weather…

Mark is away on holiday to sunny Portugal, so Lizzie the reserve warden is writing this week’s updates.

With the bird song starting to quieten it’s the season when I start to look more at the reserve insects.

Dragonfly numbers are starting to build with a good selection flying around the reserve. Last week I was lucky enough to find a Scarce Chaser. This was only the 7^th record for the reserve; most likely…

Tomorrow (Saturday 18th June 2016) the Saturday work party will be replacing the steps between Jacks Pond and the driveway. This short section will therefore be closed. Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

After the grey skies and heavy rain of the last week, I have just looked out of the window and thought it would be nice to post a couple of pictures of the reserve and the Gatehouse flower bed looking lush and verdant in the sunshine! The Lodge gardeners, Val and Nick, planted the wild flowers when the wall was rebuilt and they do look glorious now. Volunteers and staff from headquarters come and look after the window…

Summer has arrived back at The Lodge, resulting in lots of dragonflies emerging. Many of the birds are busy feeding young with the first fledged robins, mistle thrushes and long tailed tits being seen. The hobbies have been around this week and may have had an eye on the swifts passing over very early this morning, while Lizzie was out on her breeding bird survey. A single crossbill also flew over while she was out by the…

Take some inspiration from art and nature this weekend

Annual ‘Spring and Artists Fair’ returns to The Lodge

10 am – 4.30 pm, Sunday 12 June

The RSPB is inviting people to take some inspiration from the artworks on display at The Lodge nature reserve this weekend, as the annual Spring and Artist’s Fair returns to the wildlife charity’s headquarters on Sunday.

Mark Brandon, RSPB…

I left The Lodge a month ago to do my RSPB Sabbatical in the West Country, surveying cirl buntings in South Devon and monitoring breeding choughs on the Cornish coast. I had a superb experience and enjoyed every minute.

On my return there's a vast difference in the way the reserve looks; the bluebells have been and gone, the reserve has fully sprung to life with lush greenery and I'm really pleased to see that our spotted…

I took a walk down the drive in the sunshine yesterday and the bluebells were looking- and smelling- glorious. I took a few pictures to try and show them at there best!

At least three cuckoo's are calling on the southern edges of the reserve and whitethroat, blackcap, willow warbler numbers are increasing and a red kite soared low and landed on the Sandy Ridge field.

Good news, we are putting the bird feeders back tomorrow after the recent spate of chaffinches with a virus seems to have passed. We will monitor this over coming weeks.

The first hobby was reported over the new heath today and three cuckoo's are calling at the Biggleswade end of the reserve and on the Common.

RSPB The Lodge
Birds for Beginners
Sat 23 April 10:30 am – approx 12.30 pm
We are always being asked how we identify birds and know them by their calls, so join us on this ever popular walk and start to discover how you can identify the birds that you see on your walks and in your gardens, and how to get the best out of your optics.
Booking highly recommended limited numbers....
Cost; adults £6, RSPB members £4,…

We have seen several chaffinches with signs of disease at The Lodge, so have decided that we will remove the bird feeders at the Gatehouse and the hide for a period of time to prevent the possibility of this spreading amongst other birds. There are less birds now using the feeders as the winter flocks disperse, but we wanted to let as many people as possible know before arriving.

We will put another notice on the site when we…

Great news - the first cuckoo at The Lodge has been reported calling near the hillfort this morning.

RSPB images, credit John Bridges

The male lesser - spotted woodpecker was also seen again earlier today and yesterday a male wheatear was on the Sandy Heath and quarry land, along with large numbers of sand martins zipping over late afternoon. Two red kites soared over the Gatehouse roof yesterday evening, creating a terrific…

community.rspb.org.uk/.../Lesser-pecker.mp4

Big thanks to Matt Bruce.

Still a few bramblings and siskins around The Gatehouse, blackcaps, willow warblers, chiffchaffs, sand martins and swallows are the first of the spring arrivals.

Spring is here..... and this Sunday (10 April) we are very pleased to welcome back local wildlife artist Steve Kershaw to begin this season's nature art days at The Lodge.

Providing the weather is spring like!- Steve will be set up at the Visitor Information Centre between 11 am and 3 pm and the subject of this month's painting session will be Birds, Bugs and Blossom.

Free event with Steve's paintings and cards…