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Water rail still appearing regularly about 4m in front of the visitor centre window to the delight of many. Firecrests still being seen around Fattengates courtyard. Crossbills (up to 20) using conifers on heath though seem fairly mobile. All the usual waterfowl present in good numbers and a few black...

12 white-fronted geese on the north brooks today - the first of the autumn, found by regular volunteer Clive Hope at about midday. A few black-tailed godwits, ruff and golden plover amongst the lapwings. Crossbills, redpolls and siskins on the heath. Sadly, no one has reported the yellow-browed warbler...

A yellow-browed warbler still in the scrub/trees at the top of the zig-zag path today (ie about 100m from the visitor centre) - elusive but a few folk have managed to catch up with it. It was found on Monday by a couple of regular visitors and by the sounds of it, has been roaming between west mead hide...

2 juvenile marsh harriers spent some of the morning hunting over the north brooks today, putting the wind up ca.200 wigeon and ca.150 teal and occasionally annoying each other. 4 ruff and single golden plover amongst ca.200 lapwings. First fieldfares and redwings of the autumn arriving - small parties...

One or two barn owls continue to put on a good show hunting along the riverbank of the north brooks at various times of the day - mostly during the afternoon but one was out and about at 10.30 this morning. The female peregrine was sitting in her usual tree at the hanger at the same time. The male hen...

Very murky over the last few days - when visibility allows up to 50 golden plover and up to about 80 black-tailed godwits can be seen on the brooks. A few dunlin and 1 or 2 ruff are still to be found amongst flocks of lapwing. On saturday afternoon (about 14.30 - 15.30) 2 barn owls were hunting nr the...

The dawn chorus doesn’t reach its peak ‘til May but our resident birds are getting in plenty of practice. Despite the cold I enjoyed over twenty species singing today. Now is a great time to get to grip with our resident songsters before the choir is swelled with summer migrants. It’s...

Water levels have dropped back to something like our normal winter levels after last week's flood, revealing lots of grassland again. About 100 black-tailed godwits, 55 golden plover and a few ruff and dunlin have made use of it yesterday and today, along with thousands of ducks (mostly wigeon, teal...