Here's a shot of the cracking male brambling around the Gatehouse and shop, taken yesterday by one of our volunteers, James Clark. There were two more at the hide as well.
Some visitors are having difficulty negotiating the diversions currently affecting The Lodge. If you arrive from the A1 and Sandy and find road closed signs , tell the traffic staff that you are visiting The Lodge and they will let you through. If coming from the Potton direction, ask staff again but you may need to take the diversion through Everton.
Apologies for any inconvenience this is causing, the roadworks should be completed by Friday.
Two splendid, well plumaged male bramblings appeared at the hides today and we had another one at the back of the gatehouse, coming down to the small pool to drink. A flock of around 20 waxwings were sallying for insects on bare birches over on the new heath and several hundred fieldfares fed on the Sandy Ridge field, with a few redwing and starlings amongst them.These birds are all feeding up ready for their migration back to north and east Europe and Scandinavia.An unexpected sighting today was a common snipe, flushed up from the new heath, the first seen on the reserve since the early 1970's!
High up in the sky this morning an Osprey passed over, maybe on its way to it's breeding grounds at Rutland water or up in Scotland.This bird has probably flown all the way from western Africa, which is an incredible journey. At the time, three buzzards, a kestrel and sparrowhawk soared in the air as well.
Back down on the ground, still plenty of redpolls down at the hide and the female brambling is still popping up under the feeders at times.Our two popular tawny owls are seen in a pine tree near the hide, although sometimes they go missing, probably hidden in a nearby tree watching us looking for them!
On the journey in on the RSPB bus this morning, over 60 waxwings flew out of a hedge along St Neots road in Sandy, a nice start to the morning!
The week has started well at The Lodge, with nice views of two tawny owls perched together in the top of a pine tree near the hide and four ravens flying over the Gatehouse.Over the weekend female bramblings were seen at the hide and under the shop feeders and there are lots of siskins and lesser and mealy redpolls drinking from the hide pools and using the feeders.On the heath behind the shop, a large flock of almost 400 fieldfares are fueling up before the long migration home. If you search through them, a few redwings and starlings can be found and it's worth checking for wheatears,as they like this field!