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Well with April fast approaching it's end our wildlife is just getting started! This has to be my favourite time of year, with the sound of bird song, the croak of frogs and the rustling in the reeds all adding to the wonder of spring. One of the undoubted highlights of this season is the emergence...

We are very excited that the avocet count on the saltmarsh pools has risen to 54! Given the success we had last season with 48 young ones fledged from 19 pairs of adults, we look set for similar this year. Pop down to the Eric Morecambe and Allen hides to get close up views of this iconic emblem of the...

I suppose you’re getting tired of hearing about my spectacular wildlife experiences at Leighton… This one is pretty exciting though. My blog last week revealed that we have, at last, a really strong booming bittern. I was over the moon. However, the news just gets better and better: A...

The changing of the clocks last week made a 4.30am start all the more difficult this morning as I set off for the weekly bittern watch with the stars still out! But my efforts were certainly rewarded with some fantastic bittern behaviour at Barrow Scout fields! On my arrival at the usual listening...

Well despite the rest of the country suffering with weather likened to the high arctic, we have managed to remain snow free! The weather is actually quite nice,(cold but dry) and the surrounding roads have managed to evade the troubles the remainder of the country have had to endure. So how has our...

Well first of all I would like to apologise for the lack of sightings updates. We have had a few technical problems, so hopefully they are now sorted. One of the undoubted highlights at the moment has been our bittern activity. Sightings have been fairly frequent and quite wide ranging, with reports...

The fantastic weather of the past couple of weeks has meant the whole reserve is looking brilliant! Spring is starting to gain momentum now, most of our resident birds are singing and we're awaiting the arrival of our migrants with baited breath (apparently ospreys have already been reported in the...

It's all getting busier here at Leighton Moss and it's high time we posted some more sightings - sorry for the pause since the last one. I am going to start with the Saltmarsh hides because we've had some very nice news from there: three early avocets have been seen over the last couple...

It’s coming up to my very favourite time of the year – spring, when everything wakes up and gears up for the breeding and growing season. In these brighter pre-spring days, the early birds are starting to tune up, claim their territories and their mates. It’s a particularly good time...

I know I promised that I’d start blogging about our work regularly with added photos, but sure enough, my fancy phone didn’t last too long – it went swimming last week! Anyway… Spring is springing. The birds are singing. And it’s getting to the time when bitterns should...

We've not heard any sound of our smitten bittern making his loved ones' hearts' boom yet (profuse apologies for another terrible double pun). However, there have been lots of bittern sightings reported over the last few days. Public and Lilian's hides seem to be the hot spots at the moment...

There is nothing quite like a walk in this mixed weather to blow away the cobwebs, and every walk is made all the better by a nice helping of fantastic British wildlife. This morning was no exception, as I set off from my home in Carnforth just as it was getting light and made my way to the reserve....

Sorry for yet another shameless otter pun, but otter sightings have been excellent over the past few days. For those of you who have been getting up at silly o'clock in the morning to come and catch a glimpse of one of our most charismatic residents, what I'm about to say will no doubt make you...

The ice has completely defrosted and we now have open water back on the reserve! This has brought the numbers of birds back up again with teal and wigeon very much in evidence in large numbers. They have been sharing the pools with species such as pintail and goldeneye , with the latter of the two...

Well the water has subsided and a canoe is no longer required to make your way down to Lower hide! Not that the wildlife has minded too much with the high water levels, but this brief respite in rainfall has allowed the colder temperatures to creep back in. After a quick wander around this morning the...

Well the cold frosty weather is now a distant memory and we have been reunited with our old summer friend.....rain! And there has been plenty of it too, it is definitely welly weather, with most of the paths on the reserve needing at least waterproof boots as a minimum and maybe even a canoe in certain...

This morning, as I drove back up from East Lancashire where my parents live, there were black clouds looming over the reserve and my heart sank. 'Please don't rain' I thought to myself, knowing I was due to take out our guided walk at 10.30 am. Well it seems a bit of Christmas luck was on...

Let's face it, it's been pretty grim for the last few days, but our wonderful wildlife has not failed to disappoint us. The few people that have braved the weather over the past couple of days have been treated to some great otter sightings. One was seen yesterday from Public hide, and then again...

My New Year's resolution is to make sure that I get out on to the reserve every day - I've been missing out on so much in the last couple of weeks. But in the meantime I still get vicarious pleasure from reading the sightings book which visitors and staff have been adding to daily. One particular...

I haven’t been out much lately, what with preparing for and travelling to interviews so I am even more reliant than usual on other people’s sightings as I write the next couple of blogs. First I am going to start with some fairly recent sightings. Stand by for the up to the minute sightings...

Frozen water, frosty paths and a little bit of chill in the air. Aside from the stunning winter weather the wonderful wildlife has continued to warm visitors.(How's that for alliteration)? Recent sightings have included some excellent bittern appearances from both Lilian's and Public hides...

Hello as it's raining again I thought I would cheer you all up with some recent sightings from around the reserve! I headed out this morning for a look around in the rain and found most of my time was taken up by patiently scanning for particular species. There are two species this time of year...

We've been hearing all these reports of waxwings up and down the country and in the local area and I was starting to get a little jealous as I haven't seen one since the mass influx in 2010! However, today was worth getting out of bed for, as one solitary waxwing appeared in our main car park...

There are certainly compensations for being a residential volunteer on an RSPB reserve – non-financial but high value nonetheless. Top of the list has to be the location - surrounded by stunning land- or seascapes and wildlife to match. Here at Leighton Moss, there’s often something to entertain...

This morning’s guided walk group was treated to some splendid views of Leighton Moss’s bearded tits , with a bittern thrown in for good measure. We were a very select gathering; no doubt the weather forecast may have put some people off. All I can say is, the weather was good, the wildlife...