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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...

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...

Well I have found my gloves so I am now back to my full complement of outdoor wear (and due to current conditions I have certainly needed them!) I apologise for the lack of sightings updates but I have been down at The Lodge in Sandy, enjoying a look around the RSPB headquarters and getting a closer...

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...

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...

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...

The fabulous great white egret has been putting in regular appearances at Griesdale hide. It tends to roost with the little egrets at Island Mere (tree in the middle of the Public/Lower hide pools), so if you are around at dusk, watch for them coming in. They look like hankies in the trees when they...

Every season there is something different and special to be seen here. For me spring brings the avocets , summer means marsh harriers and butterflies, autumn is your chance to see elusive bearded tits and rutting red deer stags and winter often means the bitterns and water rails are out on the ice. This...

With all the rain we've had over the past couple of days, it's quite soggy here at Leighton Moss. You are able to get to Lilian's hide with normal shoes, but beyond that you will need wellies to get about the rest of the reserve as there are a couple of inches of water on many parts of the...

Well, a lot of water has been dumped on the reserve this week, but it hasn't affected the wildlife. Our otters have been out and about almost daily, particularly at Griesdale and Lower hides, but cropping up all over the reserve including Lilian's hide. They've been seen at all times of the...

It’s a beautiful sunny day at Leighton Moss and there’s a definite autumn chill in the air. Autumn is the time of year when the red deer get ready to rumble as their annual rut takes place in October. Visitor Paul Yates was out on the reserve early this morning and shared his wildlife experiences...

It has certainly felt like autumn these past couple of days, and the birds seem to think so too. The sighting of siskins on the reserve is certainly a sign of colder weather. These lovely streaky yellow birds are resident in the UK, but we mainly see them here in the winter. Individuals have been seen...

The RSPB call them 'moments', an experience of witnessing a wildlife spectacle that as a result leaves you in awe. Admittedly I have had a fair few of these amazing experiences, but on Monday 27th August 2012 I was the fortunate recipient of another, and wow was it special. A morning stroll...

This morning our warden David and one of our Assistant Wardens Al were down at Lower hide with their brushcutters trimming back some of the reed in front of the hide to help with the views. Brushcutters are fairly noisy and so the wardens were working as quickly as possible to reduce the disturbance...

There's a spoonbill back on the scene down at the shore hides. It has been seen several times over the last few days and was reported still there today, 8 June. Also down at the shore pools there have been regular sightings of little egrets, grey herons, black-tailed godwits and not forgetting the...

Can't I write this blog outside? It's a beautiful day here at Leighton Moss! The sun's out and the air feels warm. Walking along the Griesdale trail I hear warblers on fine form and see the insect life is coming out in force. Willow trees are releasing their tiny seeds on fluffy parachutes...

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...

A great white egret was about over the weekend and was seen at 8 am today at the Lower hide along with an otter. At the Public hide someone caught a rare sight of a water rail and we also had a kingfisher sighting. The remaining marsh harriers, some greenshanks and snipe were displaying well today...

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...

Three otters were seen today at the Public hide at 9.40 am, on top of the two seen here and the group of three at the Lower hide yesterday. A Cetti's warbler was seen and heard at the top of the Causeway and near the Public hide both today and yesterday too. In the drier sunnier spells over the...

In spite of the damp start to the day we managed to get good views of four bearded tits at the grit trays again this morning on our walk. As it brightened up a bit later, they were also showing well into the afternoon with a group of 10 to 14 seen at one point. On the walk we made a quick stop at the...