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We are all looking forward to this weekend; not to watch the Euro finals and Wimbledon, but because we'll be staying out late in the dark while our Moth Night is held on Saturday evening! The county moth recorders, Andy and Melissa Banthorpe, will be coming along to set up traps and we'll discover...

Despite the weather not being kind to us so far this season, the wildlife is carrying on with summer regardless! Our nesting spotted flycatchers have young chicks and are seen regularly near the Gatehouse bringing in tasty insects for the young birds. The insects have also decided it is summer! The...

The ever popular, quirky and fun touring theatre group, The Pantaloons, return to The Lodge for the 4th successive year in August. This year they will perform two seperate plays, both the Brothers Grimm and The Importance of Being Ernest! As we know from previous years,The Pantaloon's shows are great...

We've had a great day today; the rain held off until late aftenoon and lots of families turned up to help us build the bug-hotel for the Jubilee- which we christened Bug-ingham Palace in celebration! Here's a few pics to show you what we were up to! Peter Maxwell,our volunteer's painting...

We've had a great day today; the rain held off until late aftenoon and lots of families turned up to help us build the bug-hotel for the Jubilee- which we christened Bug-ingham Palace in celebration! Here's a few pics to show you what we were up to! Peter Maxwell,our volunteer's painting...

After the depressing wash-out yesterday, the reserve is looking a lot brighter today and the car -park is full again with visitors getting out and about. Spotted flycatcher's, young ravens, cuckoo and treecreeper have all been sighted today, but most people just seem pleased to be walking around...

A lovely surprise for the Tuesday walking group this morning,; they came across this lovely family of freshly fledged and hungry chiffchaffs, being fed by the parent(s). Jan Murphy, our walk leader,even carefully managed to get a great shot of the birds tucked safely in a bush!

With all the fun of the Spring Fair now over, my binoculars are back in hand and I've even managed a couple of walks out on the reserve this week. Summer really began yesterday and the reserve looked glorious with trees and flowers in full bloom and the whole place looked radiant in the warm sunshine...

The Lodge Spring Fair is being held this weekend and we will be making changes to the car parking arrangements.The stalls will be laid out on the gatehouse lawn and in the car park and we are expecting a very busy weekend.The Gatehouse (reserve entrance) car park will have limited spaces for visitors...

It's a big week here at The Lodge; our Spring fair is on this weekend and we'll be getting ready for over 30 stallholders to arrive, our biggest fair yet! The Lodge Spring Fair is on this Saturday and Sunday and starts at 10am until 5pm. You can enjoy a bite to eat and a coffee from the local...

Just recovering after a 4:30 am start from home for today's Dawn Chorus! We had a good, calm and settled morning, although a bit nippy in the N/NE wind. We were greeted in the near dark by a calling tawny owl, then the very vocal cuckoo's seemed to follow us around as we headed along the trails...

Spring migrant birds arriving The Lodge. The birds seem to be arriving here quickly after the slow migration over the last few weeks.The cuckoo's have been calling all day on the new heath and I heard my first garden warbler today. A few whitethroats have turned up on the reserve and a couple of...

It was certainly a day to stay indoors in the dry yesterday wasn't it? Although it was understandably very quiet at The Lodge, one brave birder did report seeing seven wheatears on Sandy Ridge. It's a world away from the wet and windy conditions today and the birds have been notching up. We started...

It was a good weekend for bird sightings at The Lodge, we had a brilliant male brambling drinking down at the hide pools ( one seen today at the shop feeders as well), a male merlin dashed quick and low across the new heath, near the drive, and a cuckoo was seen and heard on several occasions.The ravens...

We've been waiting expectantly for the first cuckoo to be heard here on the reserve. We planned our 'First cuckoo of spring walk' on Friday 13th, but none were heard. However, our volunteer work party were out in the heavy rain yesterday and came back to report hearing one, so well done to...

I've been away for a few days on some unplanned time off, so it's great to be back to see the reserve looking fresh, vibrant and green, with the first bluebells now appearing as well. The birds are slowly arriving as well, blackcaps, willow warblers, wheatears, swallows, sand martins and house...

With unseasonably warm weather this past week we have seen spring-time changes all across the reserve. Chiffchaffs are singing their hearts out, daffodils are popping up all over the reserve and nuthatches and woodpeckers are searching out holes to make their nests in. Blue tits have again nested...

After a cold journey to work in thick, grey fog , spring suddenly appeared without warning today! The sun popped out, temperatures rose to nearly 20%, the car park is full and people are out wearing just their tee- shirts .The wildlife is responding with brimstone butterflies, burrowing bees and plenty...

We made up for the dry February and March with a full day of heavy rain deluging us yesterday,with some sleet and snow mixed in. Fortunately Saturday was a much nicer day and we had some good bird sightings; 2 red kites, at least 3 buzzards in the air being mobbed by ravens,crossbills drinking at the...

This week has seen the temperature change from -14 degrees on Saturday 11 to + 13 yesterday, quite a big change in just a few days. it seems to have had little effect on the birds however, with no new arrivals reported over the week. On Sandy Ridge, the flock of fieldfares, redwings and starlings moved...

It was around -11 degrees on the way in this morning but the walk was stunning, with trees and shrubs covered in a hoar frost. I took plenty of photos on the way to the Gatehouse, every scene was fantastic!

The reserve looks a lot different now then when I last posted a blog , as the winter weather finally arrived in force. We had over 6 inches of snow at the weekend and there is still a lot of laying snow that has frozen, making the paths very icy and slippery. We have put up signs advising against walking...

Did you take part in the RSPB's BIg Garden Birdwatch ove the weekend? Did you record the numbers of birds you would normally expect to see? This is a section of the press release that the RSPB issued,in response to the many people asking us where the garden birds have gone this year; Big Garden...

I took a walk around the reserve yesterday and it was hard to think we are still in January. Great tits, robins, goldcrests and even a mistle thrush were singing, the snowdrops are coming up and it felt just too mild for a winters day. I noticed that the temperature at 8pm last night was around 10 degrees...

We have seen some stunning sunsets over the last week or two. I took these pictures from the drive opposite the shop last night.We should have a few more nights of these amazing skies, as the weather is staying cold and mainly bright, so bring your camera and come up and finish your walk at dusk to enjoy...