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It’s been a fairly nice couple of weeks with a good deal of sunshine and some really warm days. The warm spell has made a real difference to the appearance of the reserve – it’s getting very green and there are lots of wildflowers in bloom. If you look closely, you may notice that the...

What an exciting time at Lochwinnoch! It looks like spring has finally arrived and the whole reserve is getting greener and greener with every day. Birds are singing aloud all over the trails and you may see them displaying and collecting nest material. There’s an increasing number of butterflies...

After a seemingly endless winter we all long for a proper spring to finally come. Unfortunately, the weather can’t make up its mind and keeps alternating spells of bright sunshine with the wintry showers. However, there is a little light of hope as the spring migrants start to arrive and the reserve...

It’s been a while since our last blog update and a lot has happened in the meantime. The works on the Aird Meadow are now completed and three new channels are slowly being colonised by wildlife. Mallards , greylag geese and mute swans were all seen in the area, as well as a lapwing , a moorhen...

It’s nearly the end of March but winter doesn’t seem to be giving up. We all miss these long, warm and sunny spring days, but it looks like we will have to wait for a little longer. In the meantime, visiting Lochwinnoch brings some new wildlife surprises each day and we are never bored! We’ve...

After a short spell of wintry weather the spring is back on track, with beautiful sunshine and pleasant temperatures. New channels at the Aird Meadow are now taking shape as the works are due to be finished in a couple of weeks. And there is plenty of wildlife of course! Highlights of the week include...

After a long, cold and gloomy winter we can finally say – spring is in the air! Some parts of the reserve are carpeted in snowdrops and first daffodils have started to come out. Other sure signs of spring are the catkins on willows, first green buds on dog rose bushes and, off course, a beautiful...

It’s been another fantastic week at the reserve with beautiful weather, loads of visitors and some “first of the year” bird sightings. The number of species seen this year is now up to 85. The highlights of the week include a drake smew , which finally arrived on 21 February and is...

Hello from snow-covered Lochwinnoch! It’s beautiful today – everything is covered in a white layer and there’s a lot of birds on the feeders. Despite the snow, our brave contractors are working hard to finish habitat project on time. The rest of the week was very exciting too, with...

What a beautiful day at Lochwinnoch! After a miserable week, the sun is finally shining and it’s nice and warm. Even though it was a rainy and windy week, wildlife didn’t disappoint us and we had several “first of the year” sightings, bringing the number of species seen this year...

It’s been raining a lot recently and water level at the Aird Meadow is very high, giving us a taste of what it is going to look like when the habitat work is completed. If you haven’t been to the reserve recently you might be very surprised how quickly the works are progressing! It was also...

It was another very exciting week at Lochwinnoch, with sparkling new shop re-opened on Sunday, a lot of work done on the Aird Meadow and a temporary crossing (which will be used to move spoil to improve the bund) completed. Cold weather has forced birds to seek food provided by humans, which means that...

It is a beautiful, crisp and frosty day here at Lochwinnoch, one of the days that are perfect for wildlife watching. There has been a lot of movement around the reserve, with diggers working on our new pond and contractors sprucing up the shop. We also had some amazing bird sightings in the past week...

After an amazing 2012, with 124 bird species recorded, it looks like we are set off for another record breaking year! Between 1 and 8 January 2012 we have recorded 52 species, this year it’s already 63! Barr Loch is still teeming with waterfowl – several hundred of wigeons were seen most...

At this time of the year, all magazines, mewspapers and TV shows run “Best of 2012” stories (spoilers: this year it’s all about the Olympics). We decided to do our own retrospective and look back at all the things that happened at Lochwinnoch in 2012. I have to say, it’s been...

What a beautiful, frosty and crisp weather! Sun is shining brightly and all vegetation is covered in a layer of sparkling frost, turning the reserve into a really magical place. There is a lot of action on the lochs and at our feeding stations. Even though the weather was not always that good this week...

The first snow of this winter has fallen this week and the lochs are now frozen. Our Young Volunteers have decorated the visitor centre with the Christmas tree and colourful garlands, getting us all into a festive mood. On top of this the wildlife is not disappointing us. What else would we need to start...

What a cracking week at Lochwinnoch! Sun is shining brightly, lochs are deep blue and very calm, and the morning frost paints grasses and reeds white. Lochs and feeders at the reserve are absolutely bursting with birds – the big and the small. A place that at the moment is particularly good for...

Last week of November starts tomorrow and we can feel the winter drawing nearer and nearer with every day. Mornings and evenings are dark and gloomy, and the rest of the day is not much brighter, especially when low clouds are shrouding the entire area. But if you think it’s not worth to visit...

What an exciting time for RSPB Lochwinnoch! Our long-awaited and ambitious habitat redevelopment work is finally underway! Some of you might remember that, last summer, we asked you to support this project by responding to the planning application consultation. The response was amazing: We received...

It’s been raining almost constantly since Monday – not a perfect time for both people and wildlife. Heavy rainfall, fog and high winds may affect migrating birds, causing death of individuals, exhausted by the journey and struggle with the elements. At this time of year, it’s particularly...

Another week of the autumn has gone past, but what a week that was! A male hen harrier was visiting the reserve nearly every day, to the delight of our visitors – for many of them it was a first ever opportunity to observe this extraordinary bird. On 6 November it has flushed over 20 snipe from...

What a grey and gloomy day today! Even birds seem to dislike it. However, the rest of the week was rather nice and we had some very interesting bird sightings. The highlight of the week was certainly a male hen harrier , hunting above the reeds on the Aird Meadow on 28 and 29 October. This beautiful...

Trees around the reserve are loosing more and more leaves and days are getting shorter but we are nowhere near being depressed because of that. Quite the contrary – it’s a really exciting time, with all the winter migrants arriving to the reserve in large numbers. Tufted ducks , wigeons ...

What an amazing week at Lochwinnoch! Despite changeable weather we had loads of exciting sightings, including a male hen harrier searching for voles and other small animals on the Aird Meadow on 9, 12, 14 October, and on Barr Loch on 16 October. Large amounts of wildfowl were observed on the lochs over...