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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...

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...

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...

A red kite soared over the New heath, late morning, flying off towards Sandy. There has been a few red kite sightings over the last week, so eyes up for an impressive raptor when you take a walk around.

Do you think we will have any snow and ice in this part of the world this year? Walking around in mild, if fairly grey conditions today, a red admiral fluttered around the Gatehouse gardens, blue and great tits were singing and a great spotted woodpecker was drumming away on a nearby tree- so it certainly...

The reserve was exceptionally busy yesterday; bright blue skies and sunshine all the way, although it was blustery and colder than of late. Our bird sightings have been fairly consistent over the Christmas and New Year period. The large flock of around 500 Fieldfares are still feeding on the meadow on...

The number of birds in the mixed flock on Sandy Ridge meadow is building up nicely. I estimated over 500 fieldfares, 200 starlings, 150 redwings, 20 meadow pipits, several mistle thrush and a few goldfinches, all feeding in a large group on the grass this morning. Although it was fairly quiet on the...

After a really busy day at The Lodge yesterday, we are lighting the bonfire and preparing for this afternoon's Winter Wonderland walk. It's very mild and quite bright today, so not quite the perfect setting for the winter walk, but I'm sure it will be great;it's already fully booked and...

It felt a bit more like Christmas today didn't it ? A good dusting of snow fell this morning, although most of it has disapeared now. I walked around to feed the birds and many of the feeders were completely empty, so the cold weather has attracted lots of birds to feed on them. A large flock of...

It was a very different weekend for us, we all donned our Father Christmas hats and reindeer horns and headed up to Marks and Sparks in St Neots, where we packed bags for the busy shoppers and collected funds for The L odge. It was a great team effort with lots of support from both volunteers and staff...

There's a trill in the air...the first waxwings this side of the winter have been seen today. They were found by our warden Andy, amongst a large flock of over 400 fieldfares, many redwings and a couple of mistle thrushes.They were attracted to the rowan trees bursting with berries in the glade along...

The long staying and very late osprey was seen near the hillfort again yesterday, perched in trees looking down the valley towards Biggleswade. A green sandpiper has being spending some time feeding around the edges of the hide pools and a flock of over 200 fieldfares, with a few redwings, have been...

Phew...it was a a really busy weekend at The Lodge and we are just getting our breath back! Over 2,800 visitors came to the reserve to visit the Christmas Fayre, enjoy the trails and spot some good birds in mostly sunny conditions. The osprey was seen on both days, on one occcasion directly over the...