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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...

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...

Huge excitement at Campfield! We believe that we have a return visitor to the marsh and wetland. The Great White Egret seems to have remembered us and was first reported on the saltmarsh on 10th October by Norman Holton, our Cumbria Coastal Reserves Manager - at which point the bush telegraph went into...

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...

"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...

This Spring and early Summer have been a real mixed bag - especially this last week! One minute, glorious sunshine and the next torrential rain and bitter winds. One hardly knows what to do! Have turned into a softie really - should have taken it easier on the cupcakes, blue icing and party sized Eton...

Whoopers taking off from the hide wetlands. Since Christmas here on the Solway, and by implication, our very own Campfield Marsh, the weather has been very wet and windy. But, surprisingly, in the last few days it has been calm and windless - really rather pleasant. There has been a high tide...

15th - 23rd November 2011 15th November Cold light easterly wind with misty sunshine. As the tide came in a group of 13 Shoveler crossed the channel in front of the hamlet. A flock of Dunlin landed on the sandbar on the other side. A Reed Bunting showed up on the marsh edge hawthorn bushes and...

A photo diary - 25th October to 31st October 2011 25th October At 11.30 am, about high tide, there was a movement of Barnacles going east in small flocks. One flock came over the hamlet and seemed to be heading towards the Reserve wetlands. The high tide line held Wigeon, Mallard and Curlew. There...

Criffel and the Solway after the Storm, 17th October. 15th October A very warm misty morning with a rosy dawn. Small parties Barnacles could be seen and heard flying west most of the morning. Lots of Gulls out on the channel with a single Whooper on the tideline. Small party of Barnacles...

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...

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...

Haymaking has started - end of July 18th July After early rain the sun came out making it very warm and humid, Sunshine and showers continued for the rest of the day. Insects and butterflies were in abundance which was great as it was the start of the 'Big Butterfly Count' for Butterfly...

Photo Diary 15th to 30th June 2011 Bird Seed crop - Phacelia , Oats and Sunflowers 15th June Barn Owl busily hunting along saltmarsh. This is the second Barn Owl of a pair who are hunting along the marsh each evening now. Herons, possibly a family, scouring the shoreline...

Barnacles flighting at dusk, Campfield Marsh Reserve - a digital oil-style painting by John Rogers This winter, as we will all know, started very early with the big freeze-up, snow and ice - the whole deal! The country was in crisis. We thought, "here we are in the middle of an Artic winter,...

Thursday, 23rd September 2010 Of course, today was a typical day when everything happens birdwise and you are not in a position to do anything about it. We were going down to the municipal recycling facility with a whole accumulation of stuff - there was no escaping it! As we motored along the front...

Here we are: August; well past the Solstice; the days are detectably shorter; there’s a distinct crispness in the air in the morning; the robin is singing its winter song; the dog-days of Summer are passing; no warblers are singing. Birds are silent, busily feeding their young – bulking up...

…sort of a day. It was warm, when the sun came out it was really hot – but across the estuary big black clouds were looming. No wind. So we set out for the Reserve, ready for anything! The Common Hawker was our first encounter as we walked down the track passed the farm. We were buzzed...

This last few days the estuary seems to be livening up a bit after the Summer Solstice. A good many Bar-tailed Godwits, in a variety of plumage are around now and Oystercatchers are amassing. Have seen an immature, quite large, Shelduck with a parent bird. A few Black-tailed Godwits seem to have been...

Week ending 28th May 2010 I think we can say that this week heralds the start of Summer. The temperatures were soaring, even here - foliage and flowers virtually exploding by the minute. Everything had just been waiting for this moment. The excitement of the Spring passage was slowing down and...