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Some of you may know that when we're out on the reserve, we tend to carry radio handsets around, in part so we can share news of any exciting wildlife flying (or scurrying/fluttering/beetling) around. Around lunch time today we heard our warden Pete announce over the radio that there was a hen harrier...

Its looking properly wintry on the brooks now - lots of wigeon, teal, shoveler, lapwing, greylag geese, Canada geese all over the brooks. A few pintail, single black-tailed godwit and up to 3 ruff have been present over the last few days and the female peregrine has been using her usual perch at the...

As we promised to those of you who came along to our festival of fungi guided walks, I've attached the list of everything that we found... A few other species have put in an appearance since the walks so we're always adding to our reserve list and putting up our little signs. If any of you...

Guess who won? I know hornets are pretty efficient predators of all sorts of insects (last week I saw one killing a honey bee), but never thought that they were able to take on such large things as migrant hawkers! I saw this yesterday morning - the hornet was in the process of bringing down the dragonfly...

Although absolutely freezing today, generally the reserve has had a springlike feel at times over the last 2 weeks. Chaffinches, great tits, song thrushes, goldcrests and treecreepers, amongst others, have all been singing, and great spotted woodpeckers are drumming from the big oaks all over the site...

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...

Great spotted woodpeckers (at least two) drumming on the heath yesterday in the mild conditions, and around the beech trees on the clump were lots of small birds feeding on the fallen mast. Mostly chaffinches, great tits, coal tits and blue tits, plus a couple of nuthatches. Hundreds of lapwings spread...

...wait half an hour. Was something of a changeable day today, but at least we had the first significant rain since late August. This brought about 40 pintail to the north brooks, the largest flock so far this autumn. 2 peregrines also noted ( 1 adult female and 1 juvenile). 2 ruff were amongst the lapwing...

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...

A barn owl has been roosting in the box in the visitor centre roof for the last couple of weeks. The tea room roof is clearly a favoured perch. On the north brooks yesterday a little stint, 4 or 5 ruff, at least 1 green sandpiper. A peregrine caught a teal at about 07.45. A few small parties of swallows...

Still a selection of passage waders on the north brooks - greenshank, green sandpiper, common sandpiper and little ringed plover present this morning. Several lesser whitethroat, whitethroat, willow warblers and chiffchaffs in the scrub around the trail. Yesterday an adult male and juvenile female...

It was cool and felt like autumn this morning and the birds rather reinforced this - 5 black-tailed godwits and at least 8 green sandpipers on the north brooks were no doubt heading south. Plenty lapwings, ca. 130 greylags geese, a few teal, shelduck, mallard and mandarin also present. Large numbers...

The last week has seen a range of passage waders coming through - green sandpipers and little ringed plovers inevitably the most common (at least 6 of each on any given day), plus greenshanks (2), black-tailed godwits (2), dunlin and common sandpiper (2 or 3 each). Hobby, peregrine, sparrowhawk and buzzard...

A golden oriole was singing from the woodland (the 'black wood') next to the bridleway yesterday afternoon. Found by one of our volunteers, Russ Tofts, it was infuriatingly elusive (as golden orioles tend to be). I went to look/listen for it early this morning without any luck, although I did...

I visited the reserve three times over the weekend. Friday at the Hanger the Peregrine went off to roost. Chattering Magpies and Blackbirds and whistling Wigeon and Teal ushered in the evening as the lights from Pulborough village reflected in the still waters of the North Brooks and bats came out to...

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...

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...

4 white-fronted geese amongst large numbers of canada geese on south brooks late this afternoon - seen at about 16.00 from West mead. Lets hope they stick around... Earlier in the day, 2 red kites west of river arun, peregrine in usual tree at hanger viewpoint, several snipe feeding in the open between...

3 brent geese were seen heading inland/north (!?) along the river Arun today by one of our visitors. Marsh harrier, buzzard and peregrine noted around the site. The visitor centre will be open this weekend, but please be aware that the access track, car park and trails are likely to be treacherous...

Yikes - wasn't expecting quite so much snow overnight (about a foot), more than I've seen in Sussex in my lifetime. The visitor centre is open (just), though very limited in what we can provide - just about a hot drink. The access track and some of the car park has been cleared of snow this morning...

Female peregrine in her usual spot nr. the hanger viewpoint at 14.00 today. A small flock (9 or 10) dunlin on the north brooks, plus ca.80 black-tailed godwits (the numbers continue to climb). Needless to say, plenty wigeon, teal, pintal and shoveler present too. Earlier this week, a female merlin and...

Around the trail, after the strong winds and torrential rain this morning, plenty small birds were active - (lesser) redpolls in the birches nr the visitor centre, redwings and fieldfares all over the place, blue and great tits in the hedgerows, 2 or 3 green woodpeckers and a few small parties of goldfinches...

First frosts of the autumn over the last two nights has given the site a much more wintry feel. There are few redpolls to be found feeding the birches around the trail, a few siskins in the pines on the heath and small groups of fieldfares and redwings have been seen passing overhead. Yesterday morning...

4 Bewick's swans, all adults, on the north brooks today - possibly the earliest ever Sussex arrivals (late November to early December is more normal). What do they know we don't?! They apparently arrived about 10.30-11am and promptly went to sleep, as you would if you've just flown in from...

About 12 pintail on the north brooks yesterday - plus the usual wigeon, shoveler, teal and lapwing. Earlier in the week (tuesday) a greenshank and a dunlin were in the same area. Peregrine seen regularly this week over the site, a hobby was still around yesterday (weds). A few goldcrests, 2 chiffchaffs...