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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...

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...

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...

It's hard to believe we are already in February, but its great to know the days are getting a little longer and the birds are starting to sing again.It's a nice, bright calm day here today-even the wind seems to have dropped. The bird feeders near the shop are attracting siskins and redpolls...

Some good sightings at The Lodge today in the sunshine; 15 crossbills around the Gatehouse car-park,a report of a waxwing along the drive past the hide, red kite over the old heath and several siskin and lesser redpoll on the feeders. If you can't get along yourself, check http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature...

Some good sightings at The Lodge today in the sunshine; 15 crossbills around the Gatehouse car-park,a report of a waxwing along the drive past the hide, red kite over the old heath and several siskin and lesser redpoll on the feeders. If you can't get along yourself, check http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature...

Some good sightings at The Lodge today in the sunshine; 15 crossbills around the Gatehouse car-park,a report of a waxwing along the drive past the hide, red kite over the old heath and several siskin and lesser redpoll on the feeders. If you can't get along yourself, check http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature...

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...

After a perfect, sunny, golden autumnal day yesterday, it's foggy, gloomy dank and still at The Lodge today. I had a walk along the trail from HQ and there was a lot of bird activity; tits, finches and goldcrests were foraging through the woodland,while great spotted woodpeckers and nuthatches were...

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...

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...

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...

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...

It's a rainy day here at The Lodge but our volunteers are still working away outside.We have put up a marquee to keep them and their equipment dry while they start cutting wood ready for our 'Make a nest box 'event, on February 12th.We have given our regular Wednesday volunteer,David, a day...

The reserve is shrouded in a grey gloom on the last day of 2010 and is very quiet and still.I heard a great spotted woodpecker drumming in the car park however, a sign that even in the depths of winter life is moving forward for our birds. On yesterdays Winter Wonderland walk, we had several sightings...