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Following on from my last slightly cautious blog about the arrival of spring I can now safely say that things have definitely picked up at Radipole and Lodmoor. My walk to work yesterday morning was greeted with the sound of recently arrived Reed Warblers which were obviously keen to advertise their...

Is this weekend the end of the cold weather? I’d rather not risk saying it is but at least the Weymouth reserves feel a little more spring like. There’s been some real spring highlights over the last few weeks, perhaps best of all being up to six Garganey which have been seen well from the...

This is my fourth winter at the Weymouth Wetlands and I’ve come to realise that snow in Weymouth isn’t as common as it is back in my homeland of South Wales. However, when it does snow in Weymouth the place comes alive with birds. You would have almost certainly noticed that we had snow last...

I had a slightly bizarre encounter with one of our wintering Bitterns yesterday afternoon. One of the great things about working at Radipole is having to walk through the reserve every time I need to get to the office. This enables me to sneak in a bit of extra birdwatching and in the past its lead to...

If there’s one species of bird which Radipole is famous for it must be the Bearded Tit. Not a day goes by that a visitor doesn’t come into the Discovery Centre and ask us about them. Back last winter you may remember us mentioning some reed cutting in preparation for thatching the roof...

Recent visitors to either Lodmoor or Radipole may have been wowed with some wonderful wildlife in the past few weeks. There was a spectacular purple heron at Radipole a few weeks ago, looking a bit wacky and alternative. These relatives of the grey heron are ever so slowly moving up into the UK and have...

As the nights draw in and become colder, going out in the evenings might not be top of your agenda but if I was to tell you that an evening visit to Lodmoor could produce one of nature's most spectacular shows... a Starling murmuration... you might think twice! It's been several decades...

Radipole is alive with wildlife at them moment. After spending 2 days down in the centre on the weekend I couldn't stop myself 'disappearing' out onto the reserve a few times a day to see what was around. The first thing that will strike you when you arrive is that the water infront of...

It's been a few weeks since the reserve and new Discovery Centre dissappeared under water. But against all the odds we have not only managed to clear the initial mess, reopen most of the trails, but also give the centre a deep clean completly clear the space and dry the space out. In short we will...

Invertebrate life must have taken a bit of pounding during the recent rains and flooding – anything that couldn’t fly or crawl to a dry refuge quickly enough would presumably have met a premature and soggy end. With this in mind it was heart-warming to see the evidence of one uninterrupted...

Another colourful point of interest for those who peer into the lower tiers of greenery, as well as scan the skies and trees for the slightest movement, has been the emergence of some spectacular moths along the start of the hide path at Radipole. Over the last couple of weeks, the translucent papery...

It's half term in Dorset so in celebration of the counties children;s freedom our very own Amber Phoenix has come up with some rather exciting looking week day activities. Head down to the new Wild Weymouth Discovery Centre at Radipole Lake any time of day monday to friday this week and bring the...

Exotic wildlife has abounded on The Weymouth Wetlands this week, befitting the welcome sunshine in which we contentedly bask. The Great Reed Warbler has understandably generated plenty of interest and - as Rob mentioned - he has been merrily singing in close-ish proximity to the new viewing facilities...

Well I've been lucky enough to have spent the last two days touring various groups round both Arne and Radipole in glorius sunshine and what a mad mix of species there was on show! I have to start off with the big brown noisy bird in the Radipole reeds - the Great Reed Warbler. For those of you...

We made a quick trip over to Lodmoor after work yesterday to check for, among other things, the presence of a cattle egret that had ben reported earlier. Disappointingly, it wasn't on view but it was a fine afternoon for scanning the marsh for anything of interest. Whimbrel and common terns put in...

Regular visitors to the reserve cannot fail to have noticed that the Visitor Centre has been closed for some time now, and you may be starting to wonder when it will be opening again. Just to give you some background, the RSPB decided sometime ago that the centre needed a refurbishment, to make the building...

Naomi - our most esteemed and knowledgeable plant recorder, (AKA Angelica in blog-land), was treated to amazing views of one of our most common mammals whilst out botanizing last week. The wood mouse is largely nocturnal and not normally so cocksure as to provide fellow mammalians with such prime photo...

North Hide on Radipole has provided some pretty amazing birds over the past few weeks and there is virtually always something of note to hold one's attention. The much publicised glossy ibises seem settled into Radipole life and North Pool is a favoured haunt allowing the capture of images such as...

... Well first cuckoo flower anyway! Returning from the North Hide this evening, the eagle-eyed Emblem-English, (or Chris to his many friends) made a welcome botanical discovery in the delicate shape of our very first cuckoo flower. I am sure that we all have certain things, particular to ourselves...

One of the signature birds of the Weymouth Wetlands is the Cetti’s warbler – a ‘little brown job’ with an ‘often heard seldom seen’ reputation for leading birders on a merry song and dance. Frequenting dense undergrowth into which their subtle plumage cannily blends...

With all the exotic and rare birds we have had knocking about of late it struck me that we have neglected to acknowledge the common - but often no less attractive or appealing - fare that are the reserve's bread and butter. The humble moorhen is just one such example. Since my early days as a...

Hot on the heels of Radipole's ibises, Lodmoor is now playing host to a scarce exotic of its own, (from the same Threskiornithidea family) in the unmistakably cartoonish shape of a spoonbill. We are accustomed to having one or two spoonbills drop in from time to time and on one occasion we had five...

A certain sign that spring is in the offing is the return of great crested grebes to the lake, having spent the deepest winter as coast dwellers. A quick stroll around Buddleia in this evening's dying light revealed no fewer than eight individuals - each bedecked in their striking summer finery....

The past couple of years has seen breeding bearded tit numbers fall quite markedly on Radipole in particular. Last year we could only confirm one pair for certain on the reserve although Lodmoor fared slightly better. The reasons for these declines are likely to be meteorological with the atypically...

There has been much avian interest to savour of late on the Weymouth reserves with most attention understandably directed towards our unusual and exotic glossy ibis, which has now – we can gladly report - been joined by a second individual. Luke caught up with the dazzling duo in one of the recently...