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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 - 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...

Typical senario here over the last few weeks: sunshine and snow clouds! Shelduck are starting to put in an appearance on the mudflats - 22nd February SongThrush and Great Spotted Woodpecker are becoming regular visitors to the Hamlet gardens - 22nd February. Song Thrush with a liking...

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...

" 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...

Winter has already come to the Solway. The nights have now drawn in; the weather has a distinct chill feel to it; we have had a few arctic gusts already. There have been several night frosts - so the tree colours have been very good this year. The Scandanavian winter Thrushes have arrived in force...

Great! It was a fine morning: sunshine and plenty of wind blowing - all commodities that have been in short supply round here in recent months. My delicate hearing picked up the sound of at least three separate tractors working at the ‘back’ - as we call it! The heavy thud of low gear work...

Female Marsh Harrier hunting over hide wetland. The high tide series were starting to fall back - but with the gale, today‘s high tide had a really good push on it: white horses - the lot! We decided to tackle the wetlands first. Battling down the Lonning, the willow trees and ashes were...

"Summer Solway Estuary and Gulls flying" - a pastel sketch from my studio window. Campfield Marsh Reserve, here on the Solway, is a really nice place to visit at the end of Summer, especially its estuary element. As you may know, inland reserves can be a little quiet at this time of the...

We had been to town in the morning - not my idea of a fun day out! But during the drive back along the Solway marshes towards Campfield, our spirits started to lift. The weather was wonderful: sun beating down from a Summer Constable sky - you know the one with the little fluffy clouds; the marshes looked...

The following images suggest some of the additional things your sharp eyes could see on a visit to the Campfield Marsh Reserve - from mid July to late August. BIRDS House Sparrow in a crevice of the barn wall near the car park . A juvenile Woodpecker possibly using the farm bird feeders...

. Not much fear of that. We’re back into winter gear: Wellington boots; padded jackets … the whole kahuna! A fine warm March: temperatures up in the 20’s; water levels falling by the minute; talk of hosepipe bans and compulsory metering! I remember a severe drought a few years...

Not in excess thereof, but merely a sufficiency thereunto! Therefore, let us all join together in gratitude for the celebrities we have received of late: Great White Egret; Little Egret; three Glossy Ibis and ultimately, a wonderful Spoonbill! But as with all celebrity comes the uncertain fickle element...

Impression of the Spoonbill with three of the Mute Swan family Yes, we have been doing rather well lately: a Great White and a Little Egret here for Easter. Birders came from far and wide to see them and get their ticks - and some simply came to see them!. These, of course, were specials, over and above...

The short answer to that is, “Yes” - so don’t expect any more bardic utterances from me! Evening view across the wetlands from the raised bower. Although it is still Spring, here on the Campfield wetlands, today it felt like the middle of June: the wind had dropped and the...

Campfield Marsh at high tide. 11 4 12 Spring is a restless time: weather pulling all kinds of tricks; counting the cost of last winter; assessing the possibilities of the coming Summer; old visitors still lingering on; new arrivals coming unexpectedly - and that’s just the birds … you...

Everything is heading north with the vernal equinox and the warm weather too. 12 Black-tailed Godwits, Redshank and a Ruff have descended on the Reserve and can be seen feeding and preening regularly on the now drying-up floodwater on the lefthand -side of North Plain lonning. On the Meadow Pools there...

'Doing the Campfield walk, Hey!' The Great White Egret arrived at Campfield on 1 st November 2011, just in time for the Guy Fawkes celebrations. We began to wonder how long this rare vagrant would stay - and lo and behold, miracle of miracles, it spent Christmas with us. People travelled from...

Spring has definitely come at Campfield: the March sunlight today glowing on the ‘sands’ of the Solway … and here in front of North Plain on the new outfall creek that has formed this last winter, there was a party of pre-breeding Shelduck, cavorting and disporting themselves - their...

Wetted meadows - North Plain Farm … is the best way to describe what’s going on here on the farm at North Plain. Several large meadows, all in line along the Lonning, traditionally had been used for cattle grazing and hay meadows - common to all the farms on the Cardurnock Peninsula surrounding...

Out along the boardwalk onto the Moss We had been vaguely aware for the previous week or so that there was serious digger activity out on the Moss and Dave had given us some basic information regarding this work. So, having picked our day: no wind, sunshine and some free time (you get the drift!)...

Having had a few dull and damp days recently, today dawned bright and sunny. However the incoming tide before lunch brought with it its usual shower. Not deterred, we set off down the Lonning and were gratified to see the sun struggling through. We had a quick look through the screen overlooking the...

Early snowdrops at the Lonning entrance. Splendid day: clear frosty sunshine with very little wind - only a slight breeze from the east. The Solway was flat calm at high tide. We walked down the lonning onto Campfield Marsh Reserve early afternoon. The Meadow Pools held 21 Whoopers with plenty...

Today was overcast with a brisk wind blowing - however, it was much milder than of late. We had been hearing ‘whooping’ from the Reserve wetlands all night and throughout the morning. A walk down the Lonning mid-afternoon revealed, in total, some 70 Whooper Swans on the Meadow Pools and wetlands...

3 rd January, 2012 - Barnacles at Campfield ‘Hide Fever’ by John Rogers “I must go down to the hide again, to the lonely hide and the sky. For I’ve left my gloves and Collins there, and I only hope they’re dry.” No, seriously folks, I’d decided...