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Campfield Marsh is quite a spectacle in May with its covering of Sea Pinks - not to mention the Gorse and May blossom along the fringes. Back to farm and estuary - we continue along the coastal road round the Cardurnock Peninsula. Within a few hundred yards of North Plain farm we arrive at the lay...

Campfield Marsh. Now we come to the 3rd part of the Blog, having dealt with accommodation issues. We can start to describe the main features of the area which is after all what you will be coming to enjoy, be it Spring, Summer or Winter. In the case of birders, winter in the Solway area is of particular...

Black-tailed Godwit. After lunch, Judith said to me,”I'll have to get into the garden. These last two days of sunshine and rain have brought everything on. “OK,” I said, “I need a walk. I'll go down the Lonning and see what's there.” Unusually there was very...

Campfield Marsh - early April. 6th April 2013 Sunny all day with a light SW wind. Early morning there were 14 Shelduck with two Mallard pairs out on the mudflats. A small group of Redshank came in with the tide. On the Meadow Pools, Wigeon and Teal were gathering and seemingly pairing up. The two...

Pinkfeet against distant snow-clad Skiddaw. Wall to wall sunshine from dawn, with fluffy Constable-style clouds – completely windless. What a day! We had to go to Kirkbride so set off along the saltmarsh and within a couple of minutes ran into two Little Egrets near Biglands lay-by. They...

Badger routings in the orchard - 24 3 13 Our house, garden and orchard lie slap in the middle of the Campfield Marsh Reserve and we take great joy in all the birds and animals that flow across us in their various pursuits. We gaze out across the meadows and moss at the back, and the saltmarsh and...

Across the Meadow Pools towards the snow clad Lakeland Fells - 20 3 13 10th March. Small flocks of Curlew are regularly appearing on the tideline. Watched this Kestrel hunting along the wetlands in front of the hide. It kept dropping down amongst the rushes but rapidly re-emerged...

Barnacles beating against the blizzard early morning, here at Campfield. Unusually, we are getting our fair share of winter. Snow has been blizzarding since early this morning and has continued unabated as we write at 3.45 pm. Wind chill factor feels like the Arctic. Even Sellafield, just round...

Today, I was in pensive mood after yesterday's events. It was a day for garden birds. Yesterday, I'd speculated about the identity of parties of small birds moving along the saltmarsh. But, whilst into my third cup of coffee, I had a minor triumph: a small party came swanning down the saltmarsh...

Robin on Campfield Lonning.

Estimated about 200 geese in the flock

These two became restless due the the activity of nearby Merlin and Hen Harrier and took off for a fly around. They were part of the mixed flock of Pinkfeet and Barnacles grazing on the wetland pastures at North Plain Farm.

Hi Steve, Nice sighting, that one! You’ve been really lucky. We have never actually seen one on the Farm, in all the time it has been a Reserve - although I don’t know if Norman(RSPB Cumbria Coastal Reserves Manager) or Dave(RSPB Campfield Marsh Reserve Manager) have ever seen any? ...

A digital oil-style painting of Barnacles coming in at dusk over the Meadow Pools, with Skiddaw in the distance - by John Rogers

Art sketch showing the Solway as it is today. Get yourselves up here. Its quiet, the air is clean, its a haven for tired overworked people. You know you have always wanted to start birdwatching. Its really easy. Stacks of good books on the subject. You can either dabble or you can give meaning to the...

This view is from Campfield Marsh Reserve looking north across the Solway towards Criffel