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After an incredible holiday in Arizona, adding plenty of colourful new birds to my life list, I'm fighting the jet lag and noticing through hazy eyes that spring has erupted while I've been away. It seemed quite strange coming home to see our gloves and winter clothes laying around from the cold...

With the winds turning to the south and a warmer feel to proceedings, the first spring migrants have slowly been appearing. After last weeks chiffchaff, several swallows were over the reserve at the weekend and sand martins have been in the local area as well.We are just waiting for our first willow...

Just a whisper....I think spring is in the air at last! We've had two days of almost unbroken sunshine and its arrived just in time for the children and youngsters to come up and enjoy being outdoors in their school holidays. After the success of the weekends Easter Trail, I decided to leave the...

Having just returned from a week in the West Country, where torrential rain and gale force winds battered the area, I returned on the train on Sunday and watched as the fields turned from miles of flooded land to a landscape of frozen winter white countryside. The first sight I had at The Lodge this...

Great to see at least five bramblings, with the siskins and redpolls around the gatehouse feeders this morning. Yesterday we didn't see one at all, so it seems that the flock is fairly transient with new birds joining all the time and others leaving. I'm away next week, so it's unlikely they'll...

With winter still in the air the mixed flock of finches is still keeping us and our visitors and photographers well entertained. The cacophany of finch song greeted me this morning and good numbers of siskins and redpolls were still around and feeding on and under the feeders. The weather looks pretty...

With winter still in the air the mixed flock of finches is still keeping us and our visitors and photographers well entertained. The cacophany of finch song greeted me this morning and good numbers of siskins and redpolls were still around and feeding on and under the feeders. The weather looks pretty...

We get lots of fantastic bird images taken on the reserve, but It's always nice to get a picture of something we don't see so often. This picture of a cute bank vole, craftily taking advantage of the extra food we have been suppling the finch flock at the Gatehouse feeders ,was photographed by...

The BBC have been here today setting up cameras ready to film the birds using the feeders at The hide at the Lodge. This will be shown live on the BBC web site over the weekend - you can take a look at all the action on www.bbc.c.uk/nature/21059915 Don't forget to spend an hour doing your own...

The BBC have been here today setting up cameras ready to film the birds using the feeders at The hide at The Lodge. This will be shown live on their web site over the weekend - you can take a look at all the action on www.bbc.c.uk/nature/21059915 Don't forget to spend an hour doing your own Big...

The BBC have been here today setting up cameras ready to film the birds using the feeders at The hide at The Lodge. This will be shown live on their web site over the weekend - you can take a look at all the action on www.bbc.c.uk/nature/21059915 Don't forget to spend an hour doing your own Big...

The BBC have been here today setting up cameras ready to film the birds using the feeders at The hide at The Lodge. This will be shown live on their web site over the weekend - you can take a look at all the action on www.bbc.c.uk/nature/21059915 Don't forget to spend an hour doing your own Big...

With all the snow and harsh conditions that are around, I've heard lots of comments on how many birds are visiting our gardens in search of food at the moment, so keep putting the feed out and it should be a great weekend for the Big Garden Birdwatch! Here at The Lodge there is a bundle of...

The woodlark was sighted on the old heath this morning, so it's still on the reserve, which is great news. I heard a tawny owl hooting almost spot on mid-day, between the HQ car park and the Quarry Trail and there's good numbers of siskins flying overhead. A grey heron was disturbed by a jogger...

One of the heathland birds that we feel should be a regular at The Lodge turned up today, for a rare visit! The bird was seen on the old heath this morning, and for a lot of the RSPB staff here, was the first time they have been able to add this species to their Lodge reserve lists. Our Tuesday volunteer...

They've been our friends and close neighbours for the last six years, but it's the end of an era today as we say a sad farewell to our 52 Manx loghtan sheep! They came here to get our new heath and grassland into shape, but with the heather doing so well now we feel the time is right for them...

Although there is a touch of autumn in the air now,our family of hobbies are still around and visitors this week have had brilliant sightings of the two juveniles being fed by their parents.Photographer Keith Clarke Lambourne captured this superb shot of one of the juveniles -thanks Keith!

Our Tuesday morning walkers group came back excited today as they had spotted a wheatear on Sandy Ridge. I popped over with one of our volunteers, James Clark and we managed to see this smart migrant. James even managed to get this excellent shot on his camera. Wheatears are now returning to their wintering...

We have a group from the Beds,Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust on a visit to The Lodge today. I took them for a wander over the new heath to show off our heather, which is looking amazing this year. After leaving them to complete the trail, they came back happy after seeing hobbies, ravens and buzzards...

It seemed over the last few days that we only had one adult feeding the young flycatchers in the nest box! A single bird had been very busy, taking in insects to three young, feeding itself,and fending off an aggressive local robin.The other parent had disapeared completely.....what had happened to it...

Visitors come from many parts of the UK to see The Lodge, but not normally for a day visit from Scotland! Yesterday, RSPB members Violet and Nicky caught the plane from Edingburgh to Luton, hired a car to drive to Sandy and spent the day enjoying the reserve- and the lovely sunshine- for Violet's...

The weather is set fair for our 'All Nature Bio Blitz Day' tomorrow, it sounds like it will be sunny, warm and dry...a rare thing this summer! We've got experts from various fields coming along to show us what's around on the reserve, last year The Lodge was the third highest species...

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...

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...

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...