Blogs

Apologies for the lack of a recent sightings update. It's not that there hasn't been much happening. Far from it. We've actually had a really busy couple of weeks for birds. I'll try to summarise the highlights for you. Skuas have featured heavily for those keen enough to try a bit...

Skein of Pinks at sunset 1st October Weather is still warm and sunny. Speckled Woods seen mating today and a flock of about 80 Pinks flew in from the across the saltmarsh and headed off in a south-easterly direction. Speckled Woods mating. Female (the larger one) seems to have laid an egg...

I'm sure many of you will be aware of the sandhill crane that has visited Suffolk this week. The fourth UK record, it's visited three RSPB reserves on the Suffolk coast. It made a brief stop at RSPB North Warren , then took up residence at RSPB Boyton Marshes and nearby farmland, with a visit...

September 2011 Photo Diary The evocative 'pink pink' was first heard on the 15th, over the Reserve ... returning skeins of Pinkfeet were subsequently seen during the following days. 1st September Rained early but became very warm as sun came out in the afternoon. The saltmarsh...

It is officially autumn now and the mornings certainly feel cooler, but we have been blessed with some lovely sunny days this week. Plenty of folk have been out enjoying the sunshine at Strumpshaw Fen and had some great wildlife encounters. My favourite is the family of five hobbies, still busy munching...

Autumn is definitely underway here at Nagshead . The leaves are changing colour and the recent gales have brought a lot of them down already. A few migrant birds are still with us, Spotted Flycatchers , Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs have been the most noticeable. Other migrants are just starting to arrive...

Hi I would be grateful if somebody could please confirm if following identifications are correct as I know nothing about dragonflies and the pictures in my book look a bit similar (I know that both Common Darter and Common Hawkers had been seen on the reserve by other folk so that is probably what...

18th - 31st AUGUST Looking inland across the 'sands' towards Campfield Marsh 18th August Cold wind from the west today. Wader numbers are starting to build up: predominently Oystercatcher with small numbers of Grey Plover, Black-tailed Godwit and Dunlin. Whimbrel could be heard calling...

From 4pm on Saturday 6 th August to 4pm on Sunday 7 th August 2011 we had a BioBlitz at RSPB Ynys-hir. Experts and novices joined forces to count as many different species as they could on the reserve. It was an exciting 24 hours of events looking for birds, mammals, fungi, moths, insects, plants and...

Oh dear! it’s got round to August again. The birds down the Lonning have generally fallen silent, busy raising and feeding their young - but if one walks along quickly and quietly, you can run across small parties of young in the hedges waiting to be fed by their industrious parents: Willow Warblers...

A beautiful summer morning and an early start allowed me to witness a mass emergence of these fantastic insects. This one has just emerged from the exuvia and is drying out in the sun.

4-spot chaser dragonfly taken in Spain 2010 using the Fuji S200EXR

Dragonfly taken in Spain 2010 with the Fuji S200EXR

Small, quite common dragonfly on the reserve. Most frequent in late summer often found along the main ride close to the bogs.

This is a female common darter on fern. It blends in so well with the background. Taken on the Sandy Heath trail.

Male BT Skimmer on one of the paths at Radipole.

I explored a small section of the Avon Valley Path in Hampshire yesterday. It is a 34 mile walking route through three counties and follows the course of the river Avon, though much of the path is well away from any water! The part that I explored took in scenery by the river, through farmland and...

Hi Pete Here's a few suggestions for early August: At Minsmere: look for migrant waders on the Scrape - esp E Scrape look for terns and little gulls on S Scrape marsh harriers and hobbies should still be visible at Bittern Hide, but bittern may be more tricky unless still a few...

Sitting transfixed for hours by our pond as dragonfly nymphs climbed up our pond vegetation and transformed into perfect insects of shimmering beauty. Just miraculous.

At Tophill Low our path crossed a clearing where dragonflies enjoyed the warmth of the sun. The rare red-footed falcon suddenly appeared and we enjoyed a wonderful private display of it's skills, catching and devouring the dragonflies. Breathtaking!