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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...

Beginning of the Reserve in Bowness-n-Solway. Now that spring has arrived and the Summer holiday season will soon be looming, not to mention the opening of the new Campfield Marsh RSPB Visitor Centre later in the year – people are going to start arriving here wanting to know what facilities...

Black-tailed Godwit. After lunch, Judith said to me,”I'll have to get into the garden. These last two days of sunshine and rain have brought everything on. “OK,” I said, “I need a walk. I'll go down the Lonning and see what's there.” Unusually there was very...

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...

Newly arrived male Siskin - 30 3 13 We have to admit that over the past several weeks we have been near to hibernating. Those awful Siberian winds have been battering across the Pennines, sweeping the snowfields of the western slopes and withering the benign Solway Basin. Even the two tides per day...

Badger routings in the orchard - 24 3 13 Our house, garden and orchard lie slap in the middle of the Campfield Marsh Reserve and we take great joy in all the birds and animals that flow across us in their various pursuits. We gaze out across the meadows and moss at the back, and the saltmarsh and...

Across the Meadow Pools towards the snow clad Lakeland Fells - 20 3 13 10th March. Small flocks of Curlew are regularly appearing on the tideline. Watched this Kestrel hunting along the wetlands in front of the hide. It kept dropping down amongst the rushes but rapidly re-emerged...

Barnacles beating against the blizzard early morning, here at Campfield. Unusually, we are getting our fair share of winter. Snow has been blizzarding since early this morning and has continued unabated as we write at 3.45 pm. Wind chill factor feels like the Arctic. Even Sellafield, just round...

Crow on the lookout from the garden. Our house, as you may have gathered, is within the precincts of the Reserve, so we always consider that a bird seen in the garden is automatically a bird for the reserve – and we view it accordingly. We also feed the birds in the garden intensively, as indeed...

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 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...

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...

Campfield Workparty Christmas Barbecue 13 12 12 Judith and I both set out for the annual workparty Christmas barbecue at North Plain. The weather was dry and a thin southerly wind was blowing but with an arctic bite to it. Criffell and the distant Lakeland fells were a pastel blue grey; their bases...

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...

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....

There was an air of hush in the front lounge. Judith was at the window table, as that week she had taken delivery of two new sets of glasses, thus new horizons for her had been opened up! She can now read the small print in her Canon camera manual and was factoring some new tricks into her camera –...

Anvil Cloud over the Solway estuary. We've definitely passed the Equinox: 12 hours of 'sunlight', 12hours of dark – the jury's still out on the sunlight bit! The equinoctial gales started right on time in the form of the tail-end of Hurricane Nadine which definitely stirred the...

We knew that there had been regular Marsh Harrier sightings over the wetlands in front of the hide, during the past week or so - so we thought we would like some! It’s a sport that can involve many hours of patient and fruitless watching but that can sometimes present the persistent birder with...

For some time now we had been able to detect a slight air of despondency, amongst the Staff on the Reserve, mixed with hope and anticipation - brought about by this monsoon-like summer that I’m sure most of us in the British Isles will have experienced. Our situation here on the Reserve is...

Raised Moss and Boardwalk, Bowness Common - looking towards Criffel. Strange thing to have to say … there was definitely a feeling of Spring in the air in spite of the fact we were well into the middle of June. Some of the Ash trees in the area hadn’t even attained their leaves! But there...

Across first Meadow Pool. The Lonning towards the hide. Second Meadow Pool. Nosy guest cattle. Pied Wagtail with Cranefly. Reed Bunting on Lonning hedgerow. Sandhills towards the Solway. Sedge Warbler - Black and White sketch. Sedge Warbler in colour. ...