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Needless to say, Rhian's excited proclamation - upon the arrival of our first avocet of the year in mid-February - that spring was here, was a little premature. Since then we've had plenty more snow flurries, frozen pools and lots of gratitude for the stove in our reception hide. However, we've...

"The problem with gulls is that they all look the same", is a sentence that I commonly hear. Many different gulls look similar, and experienced birders learn to look for the subtle differences between species for proper gull identification. With the high degree of hybridization among gulls...

Yesterday we had a lesser scaup grace our meres, this great American duck is a very common sight across North America and gets its name from the its size difference from its cousin the scaup, or greater scaup. As the lesser is a tad smaller but in the UK when theses rare birds turn up this make them...

If you have a few days at home with the kids or grandchildren, then make a beeline for Dee! There is plenty of fun to be had this half term at RSPB Burton Mere Wetlands with loads of activities and events for children. Kids will be delighted to take part in the events that will teach them all about...

Thank you to all those who have attended our trail Monday evening dusk walks ... I hope you'll agree that the site of our resident great white egrets coming into roost right over your heads was worth it! Other sightings from Monday include green woodpecker, male hen harrier, peregrine, siskin...

A ghostly grey figure has been haunting Burton Mere Wetlands on a regular basis and many visitors have seen it, in fact some have even photographed it ... But no need to worry if you're afraid of the dark this stunning male hen harrier is the culprit! He has been showing on and off throughout...

This autumn has seen the start of the ‘ war against willow’ sizable areas have been cleared behind the scrape on "IMF2" and also within the reedbed area. No need to panic though as this essential management work prevents the wetland areas from "scrubbing" over and keeps...

Up to three hen harriers are back on the Dee Estuary already so get yourself down to Parkgate this weekend from 12 noon to see them. Look for the green "Love Nature" marquee on the promenade at Parkgate and you could get views like this .... Female Hen Harrier by A. Davis

It has not just been the visitors here at Burton Mere Wetlands enjoying today’s sun there has also been a number of Common Lizards sunbathing near our open top bunker hide. These dragons of the undergrowth are not so common as their name would suggest they have declined due mainly to habitat...

Last night a regular visitor found a pectoral sandpiper feeding in front of the Marsh Covert hide which means that we are just one away from the magical 30 wading birds barrier . To put this in context the "RSPB Handbook of British Birds" only lists 34 wading birds in its main section with...

If you believe the wading birds then perhaps it is ... or is it? Not many people know this but long distance migrating waders actually start returning to their wintering grounds in June! The evidence is clear here at Burton Mere Wetlands too as several spotted redshanks are present in full summer...

Have you got what it takes to become RSPB’s Dee Estuary’s first ever intern? The new RSPB visitor centre at Burton Mere Wetlands has welcomed thousands of visitors through its doors since it opened in September and now the visitor demand is so high that they need your help. A special...

Babies are a plenty down here at Burton Mere Woodlands despite the poor weather. All this rain may have been disastrous for some parts of the country but our ground nesting birds seemed to have fared well so far .... no doubt thanks to our quick thinking reserve staff who set the sluice gates to wide...

Like Springwatch? Want to know how to turn your garden into your own little nature reserve? Then get down to Burton Mere Wetlands this weekend for free, friendly advice on how you can help the creatures in your garden thrive. We will have lots of wildlife friendly plants for you to pick up and...

"Congratulations on the birth of your baby avocets" do greetings card companies make such a card? Sometime on Sunday, Burton Mere Wetlands' first ever avocet chicks hatched and instantly begun to steal the show. Three tiny grey, fluffy, long-legged, up-turned-billed chicks are unbelievably...

As many of you will be aware the project down at Burton Mere is steadily edging closer and closer to completion....however, we must stress that it is not yet open to the public. We are urging people to curb their enthusiasm and just hold on for a bit longer to allow us to put the finishing touches...

Water vole’s odd hairdo puzzles experts... A water vole with a distinctive difference has been caught on a hidden camera at RSPB Dee Estuary nature reserve on the Wirral. This curious cutie has a Mohawk-style white stripe on the top of its head, leaving experts scratching their own heads...

Hello This time of year is very busy as early morning breediig bird surveys begin as early as 7am! Redshank surveys have started out on the marsh with skylarks, reed bunting, oystercatcher and meadow pipits all recorded displaying over our plots. A volunteer and I had amazing views...

Spring has more than sprung and the stars of the show are the warblers, in the words of our visitors "Its amazing down there at the moment!" A picture can say a thousand words so here goes ... (some better than others!) Chiffchaff Sedge warbler Grasshopper Warbler Blackcap...

The Big Year for IMF is going strong as mid-late March saw us smash through the 100 species mark for the year. Thank You. The usual suspects - avocet (11th), sand martin (13th), wheatear (13th), chiffchaff (25th), house martin (25th), swallow (25th) - were joined by an early fall of blackcaps (14th...