With thanks to volunteer Graham for his wildlife sightings report and photos.

I made an extra visit to Pulborough Brooks on Saturday with the main aim of getting some better photos of the newts in Uppertons Pond using my macro lens and polarising filter. Unfortunately, the morning was quite cool and overcast, and no newts were on show early on. We decided to look for Nightingales and to visit West Mead as an alternative…

Spring at last! Thanks to volunteer Graham for his report and photos from the weekend.

As I made my way down the zigzag path a Nuthatch provided my first photographic subject.

When I got to West Mead Hide some visitors pointed out our now-regular White Tailed Eagles at some distance. On the scrape I located a Little Ringed Plover and I showed this (and the eagles) in my scope to several visitors. It soon got even busier…

Nightingale by Chris & Juliet Moore

A watch of nightingales

You arrive at Pulborough Brooks and it is pitch black.  All you can see are the stars and all you can hear is the sound of the Nightingale. And the sound is incredible, for both its variety and its volume. You can hear clear piping notes, musical phrases, frog-like croaks and a section that sounds reminiscent of gunfire – all coming from a brown bird about…

Recent Sightings Friday 17 March 'The stage is set for breeding lapwings'

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his article and photos.

In autumn and winter Pulborough Brooks plays host to thousands of lapwings from the near continent seeking milder weather and good feeding conditions. During the course of the last week the last of these birds seem to have departed.

The last month has seen a period of what I think of as…

At Pulborough Brooks we’re working to restore and maintain heathland habitat for rare species like Woodlark, Nightjar and Adders.

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his wildlife sightings report and photos.

On Friday 24 February a necessary clearance of scrub by the working party on North Brooks forced me to pay an unusual second visit in the afternoon to West Mead hide

A good morning session there revealed that the snipe had been bumped of their usual island by 2 pairs of teal but had relocated to the near bank and were still quite visible. Lapwings…

Thanks to volunteer Graham for his report and photos.

After a cool start things warmed up nicely in the sun at Pulborough Brooks yesterday (Sunday). At Fattengates Courtyard a blue tit provided a welcome splash of colour

and a bank vole made a number of appearances. 

 

From the gate at the bottom of Upperton’s Field a stonechat provided a fairly distant target.

In West Mead Hide at least three snipe were on the…

Thanks to volunteer Graham for his report and photos.

At West Mead Hide there was some long range raptor action with appearances by a marsh harrier and a peregrine, and eventually Neil spotted one of the white-tailed eagles in a distant tree, enabling a number of visitors to get views through our scopes. There were a number of red kites around, and one of them came close enough for a photo.

At closer range there was…

Thanks to volunteer John for his report from a busy weekend at the reserve.

After the Winterwatch mention of the white-tailed eagles at Pulborough Brooks an emergency appeal was issued asking for we volunteers to help out at the weekend in anticipation of an increase in visitors. News of the (fairly) regular visits from the eagles was already having a beneficial effect on visitor numbers and the publicity certainly added…

Our birding year got off to a great start over the first couple of days of January.  On New Year's Day we had to wait a while before the white-tailed eagles put in an appearance, but we were kept entertained by marsh harriers and red kites in the meantime. Snipe continue to delight, showing well from West Mead hide.

If you're heading out onto the wooded heathland, keep a look out for roving mixed flocks and search through…

Happy New Year!

Update to parking charges at RSPB Pulborough Brooks – introduction of lower charge for short-stay parking.

We’ve reviewed our parking charges and for those visitors who are simply popping in for a short visit the parking charge will be £1 for up to an hours parking (rather than the current flat charge of £3). The parking charge can be paid using the ‘PaybyPhone’ app or at our welcome hut.…

Thanks to volunteer Graham for braving the rain and for his report and photos.

The weather forecast for Sunday was heavy rain, and it turned out to be accurate. As I set out on the wetland trail it had started to spit. On the zig-zag path we met former reserve warden Pete and his partner, and they advised us that the regular white-tailed eagles were on the North Brooks. We therefore headed to Hanger View and quickly spotted…

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his article and photos - pied wagtails in winter

In winter wildlife is often locked in a struggle to survive and this sometimes enable us to observe interesting behaviour. An afternoon visit to West Mead hide presented a rather quiet wintry scene with most of the pool still frozen over. A few lapwings could be seen on the islands and a few snipe were also probing around. What really caught…

Thanks to volunteer Graham for his report and photos.

A heavy frost gave the whole of Pulborough Brooks a silver makeover on Sunday.

The view from Upperton’s Pond.

Cold weather gear was the order of the day, as modelled by Neil, and the teasel heads also looked striking in their winter coats.

 

At Fattengates Courtyard seed sprinkled onto the logs attracted a good selection of birds, including this smart pied wagtail…

Amongst the winter highlights at the reserve are the elegant long-legged and long-beaked black-tailed godwits; wading birds who probe the mud of the pools and meadows in search of food. They will have travelled from their breeding grounds in Iceland, making a stop-off in East Anglia, before they begin to disperse to their favoured wintering spots. Some head south to the coasts and estuaries of France or down to Portugal…

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos: Recent Sightings – Friday 18 November – After the deluge a day of surprises

After very heavy rain earlier in the week it was no great surprise to arrive at Pulborough Brooks to find yet another big flood to follow the ones we had in the winter of 2019-20. While producing a spectacular scene it does have an impact on our winter waterbirds.

Wigeon for example…

Thanks to volunteer Graham for his lovely photos from the weekend.

Graham's first picture, taken in the meadow between West Mead and Redstart Corner, features some rather magnificent parasol mushrooms.  These dinner-plate-sized mushrooms pop up regularly in the pasture fields on the reserve.

At Winpenny Hide a few gadwall were just about within range to show the fine vermiculation in the plumage of the males.

Whilst…

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos

Friday 4 November was a beautifully clear and sunny day. The previous day’s heavy rain had cleared the atmosphere and the South Downs were etched sharply against the sky. However, for the first time in several months, there was a chill in the air and a breeze was blowing from the North West.

There were several signs of winter. The numbers of wildfowl and lapwings…

With thanks to volunteer John for his report from a morning's wander.

No sea eagles seen but it was an irresistible morning - mild with sunshine. My first scan of the south brooks showed a large number of Canada geese and a satisfyingly good number of lapwing. A flock was on the newly wet West Mead pool with others dotted around the meadows. On the big oak one stock dove sunbathed, two magpies observed and two fieldfare…

Both of the RSPB sites within the Arun Valley, Pulborough Brooks and Amberley Wildbrooks, are renowned for their dragonfly and damselfly species. Indeed the assemblage of dragonflies and damselflies is one of the features of their designation as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Watching, and photographing, these fantastic creatures patrol the ponds and ditches is popular during the summer months but, with…

Thanks to volunteer Graham Osborne for his report and photos from Sunday.

A brief view of the South Brooks from the Visitor Centre produced a distant red kite and a good number of Lapwings. I then met Rob at the Yurt where he showed me a merveille du jour moth that had been trapped overnight. it's name translates to 'marvel of the day'.

I caught up with Neil, and at the gate near West Mead he found a merlin…

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report and photos.

Sitting in Nettley’s Hide eating lunch I became aware of a small group of people with scopes in the hide discussing a distant raptor perched on a post. I was overhearing comments about a back turned towards the scope but occasionally barring could be seen across the breast. Sparrowhawk and goshawk were mentioned and rejected although my first thought about a barred breast…

Volunteer Graham Osborne recounts the wildlife highlights from a visit over the weekend - thanks Graham for your report and wonderful photos!

After three Sundays off I returned to hides & trails duties at Pulborough Brooks yesterday.

The morning started nicely with views of four cattle egrets on the South Brooks from the Visitor Centre where I was joined by Neil and some visitors. Scanning Upperton’s Field revealed…

Thanks to volunteer Phil for his report, photos and reflections on the new dragonfly species arriving at Pulborough Brooks...

I am currently sitting at my computer sheltering from the hot weather as the UK bakes in another heatwave and the land is feeling the effects of a drought. It is becoming easier to link the greater prevalence of events like this to a changing climate. However, while these somewhat worrying heatwaves…