Print pageSeasonal highlights
Each season brings a different experience at our nature reserves. In spring, the air is filled with birdsong as they compete to establish territories and attract a mate. In summer, look out for young birds making their first venture into the outside world. Autumn brings large movements of migrating birds - some heading south to a warmer climate, others seeking refuge in the UK from the cold Arctic winter. In winter, look out for large flocks of birds gathering to feed, or flying at dusk to form large roosts to keep warm.
Spring
The over-wintering wigeons, teals and waders start to return to their breeding grounds in March, although a few stragglers hang on until April in some years. This is the time for migrant waders moving through the reserve, including oystercatchers, ringed plovers, sanderlings, dunlins, black-tailed and bar-tailed godwits, whimbrels, curlews, greenshanks and redshanks.
Black-headed, Mediterranean, lesser black-backed, herring and great black-backed gulls are still present until late April but by May, only the local breeding herring gulls remain. It is always worth looking at Porth Kidney Sands nearby for migrant terns roosting on the beach.
Summer
The start of the summer is always a quiet time on the reserve as, in common with all British estuaries, our wildfowl and waders are away breeding in the Arctic. In recent years, a pair of oystercatchers has taken up residence and have bred on one of the islands at Ryan's Field.
Towards the end of June, waders and terns start moving south again and often stop off on the estuary or in the muddy corner of Carnsew Pool. In recent years, ospreys have been regular visitors to the reserve later on in the summer but you would have to be very lucky to see one.
Autumn
Autumn sees the main wader passage through the reserve with some birds staying for just a few minutes whereas others may stay for days. Vagrants often turn up here seeking refuge following gales around the coast.
Oystercatchers, ringed, golden and grey plovers, lapwings, knots, sanderlings, little stints, curlew sandpipers, dunlins, ruffs, snipe, black-tailed and bar-tailed godwits, whimbrels, curlews, common sandpipers, greenshanks, redshanks and turnstones are regular visitors at this time of the year. Do not forget to look through the gull roost for Mediterranean gulls or perhaps even a vagrant gull species from North America.
Winter
This is the season when there are the most birds on the estuary. Enjoy the spectacle of the thousand or so teals and wigeons feeding on the algae-covered mudflats and flying back to the river. Waders include oystercatchers, ringed, grey and golden plovers (coming down off the surrounding farmland to roost and bathe), lapwings, sanderlings, dunlins, black-tailed and bar-tailed godwits, curlews, greenshanks and redshanks.
Look through the roosting gulls for the odd glaucous gull and Iceland gull among the regular great black-backed, lesser black-backed, herring, common, Mediterranean and black-headed gulls. Hayle is one of the top British estuaries for the vagrant ring-billed gull from North America, although they are not seen every winter.