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The sun has been shining (well in between the odd shower, but it's certainly a start). Apologies for the lack of recent sightings updates in the past week, we've been having some technical difficulties, that are hopefully resolved now. Down at the Eric Morecmabe and Allen hides, a little gull...

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 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...

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 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...

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...

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...

On Monday, 17 September, a black swan was stood right in front of Lilian’s hide for most of the day. This Australian species is all black with a bright red bill and has unusual looking wavy wing feathers. It is likely that this bird has absconded from captivity rather than come from a wild population...

They say persistence pays off don't they? Well I can vouch for that, over the last couple of days I have persisted in my pursuit of that much coveted Cetti's warbler photo and I got one!! Granted it's not the best photo in the world but I'm quite pleased after they have taunted me for...

Hello again! Well what better way to start a Sunday morning than a 5am alarm and a stroll down to the salt marsh pools. After initially cloudy weather with some light drizzle it brightened up quite nicely. Down on the salt marsh pools the long staying and sometimes elusive spoonbill was showing...

Well the past couple of days have certainly been better weather than we've had of late. Some showers, but nothing like the epic rain we've been having lately. The sun in the sky has brought with it visitors who have seen all manner of wonderful wildlife over the past few days. The spoonbill...

Hello! Well the weekend has flown by so I thought I would update the sightings from the last three days. Our red deer are still out in force and there have been up to four calves around now, which is great to see. Stags have put in an appearance too, one in particular with a very impressive head of...

There’s more marsh harriers every day! On Saturday, 3 fledglings were seen from Lilian’s hide and someone reported seeing one of the parents performing an aerial food pass to one of the fledglings, plus a female marsh harrier was seen taking food to her nest in the reeds, also from Lilian’s...

By mid July most chicks have fledged. This year has been the first time that a pair of Cetti’s warblers have bred on the reserve. Inexperienced fledglings are vulnerable to predators, hunger and the weather but for the first week or two broods stay close together and parent birds continue to feed...

It is hard to believe that June is nearly over, and with July fast approaching our red deer on the reserve should be producing more and more offspring. The one calf that has been seen is performing well, leaping and bounding around full of the joys of err summer I suppose you could call it. The...

A great white egret and 80 little egrets were down at the Lower hide early this morning. We had two sightings of a water rail today, one at the Lower hide at 7.45 am and then another from the Public hide at 8.30 am, which was nice for the visitors that got a glimpse as they are usually very shy birds...

Yesterday there were some large flocks of fieldfares and redwings - over 40 fieldfares over the car park, and later, a mixed group of about 100. A first year gannet was also seen flying inland from the Lilian's hide. We were blessed with a beautiful day for our bearded tit walk this morning, with...

The Public hide produced some good sightings today. Five otters, five greenshanks, six goldeneye and two marsh harriers were reported by one visitor here. Three otters were also seen at the Lower hide at 1.30 pm along with a marsh harrier. On the path from the Causeway to the Lower hide there were...

Today the Lilian's hide seems to have been a good one for sightings. We had two marsh harriers (a female and a juvenile) displaying well here and a Cetti's warbler was heard calling from the willow scrub behind the hide. There were also eight snipe and two goldcrests reported. The bearded...