Print pageStar species
Our star species are some of the most interesting birds you may see on your visit to the reserve.
Bitterns are perfectly adapted for life in the reedbeds at Radipole. The male's 'booming' song sounds like someone blowing gently over the top of a milk bottle, but they are quite hard to see as they are very well camouflaged. | ) |
You will often hear bearded tits before you see them. Listen for their bell-like 'pinging' calls, then watch them whizzing across the tops of the reeds. They perch up on the stems in calm weather and feed on fallen seeds on the mud at the base of the reeds. | ) |
These dainty little white herons can be seen throughout the year at Radipole Lake. You can see them fishing, stirring up fish fry from the muddy bottom with their feet. | ) |
Large numbers of pochards congregate on the water at Radipole during autumn and winter. They often spend the days asleep as they do most of their feeding at night. | ) |
A warbler that returns from Africa in spring, the sedge warbler is easy to see because it 'pirouettes' up into the air from the tops of the bushes, singing its scratchy song as it goes. | ) |