Would you like to be a Time Explorer and discover how ancient people shaped the natural world through their crafts.?

 Sunday is our Wild History event day at The Lodge- from 11 am to 5am.

We will be running a series of great activities and demonstrations which you can take part in and enjoy. Watch as a Bronze dagger is smelted; get mucky hands making pottery, paint some rock art and grind some grain just as the ancient…

You may have been captivated by the amazing films on Springwatch, of a family of stoats springing around and keeping everyone entertained as they go about raising their young at Minsmere? Well, we have just found out that we have our very own stoat family at The Lodge and over the weekend they were being seen by the lucky visitors in the hide!

I'll try to get some images of the stoats on this page- I know there were some photographers…

A few weeks ago a family came into the Visitor Centre and dad Tim explained that his twelve year old daughter Asha was organizing a stand at Clophill fete, to fundraise for the RSPB. We gave Tim a box of info leaflets and goodies to sell and an RSPB banner to go on the stand. Afterwards, Asha wrote a lovely letter and told us about the fete and why she had chosen the RSPB as her favoured conservation charity. I then received…

From Stornoway to Spring Fair.

Phew- it was an eventful weekend at The Lodge. Saturday night saw the indie folk band Stornoway play here to over 180 visitors and fans. Stornoway are keen bird watchers and wildlife fans and huge supporters of the RSPB, so played three acoustic 'gig's at RSPB Minsmere, Rainham Marshes and here at The Lodge to raise funds for the charity. Big thanks to Stornoway for being so supportive…

I started out early this morning and popped into nearby Broom gravel Pits to see the two Temminck's stints that had been here since Saturday. Local birders on site had seen possibly three birds before I arrived, but only two were showing while I was there. It was confirmed later that the other bird was a little stint, so It's a pity I didn't see it!

At The Lodge, the spotted flycatchers hadn't been seen over…

Two of the most popular summer birds  at The Lodge are here and performing well. A pair of spotted flycatchers have been busy in the section of woodland along the trail leading to the hide and yesterday, possibly another pair were investigating likely nesting spots around the back of the Gatehouse, including one bird taking a liking to the light box next to the gent's loo entrance! Hobbies are very active and in their …

Gary Prescott, the Biking Birder has been to The Lodge on his RSPB fundraising tour of every RSPB reserve. The sun was shining as we went from the Gatehouse to HQ and a great reception was waiting to greet him ! Best of luck to Gary and many thanks from us all at The Lodge! Gary is now at Rye Meads and then heading to Minsmere, where he will be on one of the BBC Springwatch shows.

Image;   Mark Brandon

After writing the previous blog, I've just heard that spotted flycatchers were seen today, at the start of the bridleway as it drops away from the drive. Great news!

Looking back on last year, the first spotted flycatcher was seen at The Lodge on 17 May, so only a few days to go if they are on schedule this year!

We'll be hoping that they use the nest box in the back garden at the Gatehouse again, as this gives visitors a great close up view of the birds in action. Last year they nested on an old birch near the hide, but as long as they return and nest anywhere on the reserve…

May is starting like April is expected to be, lovely sunny periods then big blustery showers! At least the very strong winds have died down today, and for most of the day the reserve has looked on top form in the sunshine, with full leafed trees, bluebells, wisteria and rhododendron bushes in full flower. Four hobbies flying and displaying together was the bird highlight of the day, at least one cuckoo was calling from several…

The alarm went off at 4 am this morning and it was straight down to the reserve to greet the 30+ other 'early birds' who arrived for this year's Dawn Chorus. The forecast was for heavy rain, so were relieved that it was just dull and a little drizzly when we set off, although it started to rain during the walk. The conditions weren't ideal for the atmosphere that you imagine for the Dawn Chorus, but the woodland…

I had a lucky few minutes over at the Visitor Centre yesterday. Just as I arrived and looked out over the new heath, a hobby flew across and landed in the large pines on the road side of the heath. Although I saw one at  another site at the weekend, it's always good to know they have arrived back at The Lodge.

The lesser spotted woodpecker is still being seen, daily but irregularly! It's favoured spot is still along…

One of the spring highlights at The Lodge is the wonderful display of bluebells on the path to the gardens. It seems that it's becoming more and more popular to come and enjoy these sweet scented flowers and last week a Canadian lady, who was staying in Cambridge on holiday, called me as she'd heard this was a great place to see bluebells and she was desperate to see them before her flight home at the weekend! I'm glad…

I'm have recently been sent a lot of images that have been taken of birds here at The Lodge this month, so I thought I'd add a selection here to share with you.

On the reserve, most of the migrants are here now, with cuckoo, whitethroat and garden warbler the most recent arrivals- and two common terns flying over at the weekend added to the list!

Enjoy a tour of the wildlife of The Lodge below and thanks to all of…

I've been waiting for a good picture of our lesser spotted- woodpecker, and now I've got one! Ray Valpier took this brilliant shot, so a very big thanks to him. The first cuckoo of the year was calling here this morning - exactly the same date as last year!

Spring migrants are certainly on the move now. We've seen two male ring ouzels on the slopes over at Sandy Heath Quarry today along with a cracking male wheatear, and as soon as you get out of your car at the reserve you'll hear willow warblers, chiffchaff and blackcaps in the scrubby areas surrounding the car-park. A few swallows have skimmed over in the blue sunny skies. Last year, the first cuckoo of the year at…

Although it can be a frustrating search for many - the lesser spotted woodpecker is still around and the lucky few ( including me this morning! ) have had views of it working through the birches, mainly in the area to the W of the pylons at the bottom  of the Sandy Ridge trail. It seems to be best seen in the morning before 10am, although their have been reports at other times, but yesterday, after the early reports, no…

Its been a while since we posted on here about The Lodge wind turbine as we have been waiting to get a better idea of the construction timetable.  A clearer picture is starting to emerge and it looks like the turbine will be erected around November this year.  There will be a couple of months of testing before it begins to supply our headquarters with electricity.  In the meantime, there is a minor additional planning application…

Although this spectacular plant has had something of a bad press in recent years, it still looks stunning and now is the best time to see it flowering around The Lodge gardens. Nick Aikman, one of The Lodge gardeners took these pictures during the week and they'll be looking even more stunning in the sunshine this week.

Happily,the lesser spotted woodpecker has been around  over the last few days with some birders seeing it well, others hearing it and some not having any luck at all! The most reliable location is at the bottom of the Sandy Ridge trail, in the birch woodland after you cross the path under the pylons.

We also had a good report of a marsh tit at the top of Sandy Ridge trail yesterday, a scarce bird here now, a male blackcap…

After several reports recently of one, and sometimes even two lesser spotted woodpeckers, mainly around the Sandy Ridge trail, I finally saw a cracking male this morning while checking the trails in the high winds.

A welcome Lodge tick for me and let's hope these scarce woodpeckers stay and breed here again- after an absence of almost 10 years!

Please do not disturb them in any way if you come to have a look for them…

A father and young son popped into the shop late this afternoon for some ID advice. The lad had shots on his camera of a pair of bramblings, several lesser redpolls and a female linnet that he'd taken around the pond at the hide! They'd also seen nuthatch, great spotted woodpecker, stock dove and mallard while sitting in there, so what a great birding afternoon they've both had!

We had a reliable report on Friday…

Just checking on the Bird News forums and there is plenty of activity around the country, with wheatears, garganey, osprey, swallow and sand martins all arriving over the last week. No reports of any early migrants at The Lodge yet, but  we should get the first chiffchaff or maybe a wheatear on Sandy Ridge any day now!

I'm heading down to the West Country for a week, so I'm hoping that I see some of these birds, along…

On Sunday, two ravens were seen flying together and later in the day, I noticed a raven mobbing a buzzard over the Galley Hill end of the new heath. As we haven't had any signs that they are nesting on the reserve, this is interesting behaviour at this time. Are they starting to nest later this year?

Also yesterday, the lone brambling was seen briefly at the hide, along with a male siskin and three lesser redpolls, and…