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This typifies Campfield Marsh on a late April afternoon - sun coming in at a low angle under storm clouds. A wonderful colour combination: dark grey April skies and blazing gorse. Male Great Spotted Woodpecker seems to be hording a small delicacy in hole in the tree trunk. He is already in pristine...

Campfield Marsh is quite a spectacle in May with its covering of Sea Pinks - not to mention the Gorse and May blossom along the fringes. Back to farm and estuary - we continue along the coastal road round the Cardurnock Peninsula. Within a few hundred yards of North Plain farm we arrive at the lay...

Campfield Marsh. Now we come to the 3rd part of the Blog, having dealt with accommodation issues. We can start to describe the main features of the area which is after all what you will be coming to enjoy, be it Spring, Summer or Winter. In the case of birders, winter in the Solway area is of particular...

Campfield Marsh - early April. 6th April 2013 Sunny all day with a light SW wind. Early morning there were 14 Shelduck with two Mallard pairs out on the mudflats. A small group of Redshank came in with the tide. On the Meadow Pools, Wigeon and Teal were gathering and seemingly pairing up. The two...

Pinkfeet against distant snow-clad Skiddaw. Wall to wall sunshine from dawn, with fluffy Constable-style clouds – completely windless. What a day! We had to go to Kirkbride so set off along the saltmarsh and within a couple of minutes ran into two Little Egrets near Biglands lay-by. They...

'Conversation piece' Oh dear! An early hospital appointment, first thing Monday morning! The weather was dull, raining and bitterly cold. Things could only get better . . . and so they did! Coming through Drumburgh at 8 o'clock, a flock of about 1500 Barnacles were just coming in...

Mixed flock of Barnacles and Pinkfeet spread out along the channel of the R. Wampool at Anthorn. Today started off with hazy sunshine after a night of frost – no wind at all! We had to go to Kirkbride, so decided to make a virtue of a necessity, namely searching for swans and geese. In this...

Tantalising view of geese across the flooded meadows. We had been aware for a few days that there was goose activity back over on the Reserve and local prominent birders, after much hard work, had estimated that there were in excess of 10.000 Pinkfeet on the Solway. So, in the middle of the afternoon...

Barnacles flocks in snow at Cardurnock The weathermen had been quite precise with their forecast with snow at low level followed by sleet turning to rain. So on awakening to a world of white, I said to Judith, “I'll get the van ready while you get your camera stuff together. We can look...

Today was the last day of the high tide series here on the Solway and we seem to have escaped any serious flooding. The weather people had been forecasting high winds, rain and lots of floods coupled with the high Spring tides. All in all, we had the perfect storm in the making - but it just didn't...

Maryland farm on the very edge of the saltmarsh, overlooking the Pool - after a night of snow. The hamlet of Cardurnock - a small farming community that makes its living from grazing sheep and cattle on the wide estuary pastures. These are the little black and white Barnacle Geese that return...

Barnacles with snow-clad Criffel in the background. The day started really well. Judith appeared in the bedroom with a fully loaded breakfast tray. “Strange,” I thought, 'It's not my birthday and it's only the beginning of Lent.” So, not wanting to look a gift-horse in...

Snow on the Scottish Hills viewed from Campfield Marsh - 22 1 13 The depth of winter this year at Campfield has been decidedly undramatic, whilst the rest of the country, if TV is to be believed, has suffered under continents of snow and ice, blocked roads, closed schools and more sledging than you...

Whoopers on Meadow Pools at dawn - 12th January 2013 The gentle pulsing of the alarm broke into my slumbers, although I have to say, we seldom use an alarm these days – but today would be special! We had pre-planned a very early morning foray onto the Reserve here at North Plain, as we knew...

Great! The New Year had arrived . . . but I had hit the ground stumbling. Not, I have to say, from the after effects of 'bacchus' or some extreme Hogmany roistering! My only claim to fame in that respect had been watching Jools Holland's 'Hootenanny' and listening to that splendid...

New Year's Day was crisp and sunny. Here are a few of the birds which put in an appearance today. Early morning now frequent visitors to the saltmarsh. Oystercatchers had been giving aerial displays as the tide came in at noon. The small Barnacle flock had stayed to graze. A pair...

A Christmas scene 25 th December 2012 A wonderful gift at Christmas! On opening the curtains on Christmas morning, somewhat belatedly I might add, as I had been playing with my new 'toys', namely a new publication about Talbot Kelly – the bird artist. I was greeted with the fantastic...

" Flighting by Moonlight - the Solway Estuary" oil painting by John Rogers A Happy Christmas to you all! We hadn't put our noses outside for days – with constant rain, a bitter easterly wind and the difficult task of sending Christmas cards. This year we had illustrated and...

Signs of Winter on the Solway. Having been to Carlisle in the morning, arrived back at Campfield in good time. The weather was perfect: sunshine with little wind, On arrival at Saltmarsh Pool the Great White Egret and three Little Egret , all very visible, watched by several other birders who...

Main business of the day was going to be a trip to the surgery for jabs and Judith to do a little shopping – after that the world was our oyster! So Judith said, “ let's take the motorhome, we'll have a picnic lunch and take the cameras and scopes and go on a 'wild goose chase'...

PHOTOGRAPHIC REVIEW OF EARLY NOVEMBER 1st November 2012 Massed flock of Whooper Swans at Seaville. Close-up of Whoopers at Seaville with Crifell in the background. Whoopers bathing and preening. Looking very relaxed. Further groups were coming in all the time. Fieldfares...

It might be that in some cases young people may have difficulty in finding a cause or espousing an intent in life that will give them direction for the year's ahead. In my own case, I was spared the quandary. Having just entered secondary school, I was laid low with septic tonsillitis, which involved...

Barnacles on Campfield Marsh at Scargavel Point - 26 10 12 Barnacles appear to have arrived in force on the Solway this year - total numbers will emerge later - but the noteable feature for us at Campfield is the arrival, 4 days running, of a small flock prospecting the saltmarsh. We are starting...

Today was a little unusual for the Campfield Marsh Reserve: we had a substantial visitation on the estuary sands and saltmarsh, from a flock (in excess of 120) of Barnacles . In past years they have appeared beyond the Saltmarsh Pool and beyond the boundary fence, in quite good numbers but here on...

Saltmarsh and pool. We had been down onto the North Plain wetlands and the hide and had just returned to the lonning entrance - I was casually scanning with the bins towards the scrape and the boundary fence, when we beheld a great sight: a goodly flock of Barnacles were scattered over the marsh....