News

Friday's birding

Friday's birding

We sound like a broken record, but the Tack Piece is looking amazing at present with tens of thousands of wintering birds to be seen - we can't encourage you enough to come and see it!

6 January 2023

Wild Winter at its best

Wild Winter at its best

Winter bird numbers are hitting their peaks now, with tens of thousands of birds enjoying the wetter conditions

4 January 2023

2023 off to a good start, roundup of sightings

2023 off to a good start, roundup of sightings

The New Year began with some great winter weather, the recent rains and winds dropped for the 1st and 2nd of January which allowed for some very calm birding

3 January 2023

Wet and windy

Wet and windy

The weather might be wet and windy, but the conditions are ideal for counting some of our flightier species

28 December 2022

Come and see the winter spectacle

Come and see the winter spectacle

Our winter bird numbers are continuing to build as we approach the peak next month

27 December 2022

Boxing Day birding

Boxing Day birding

It's now a glorious sunny day on the reserve which started off with a chilly night and a light frost

26 December 2022

Tack Piece getting busy again

Tack Piece getting busy again

The Tack Piece is starting to look more like it's winter-self this week as water levels rise and birds flood into the field

21 December 2022

106 Bewick's Swans

106 Bewick's Swans

A dawn count of Bewick's Swan produced 106 birds

20 December 2022

Rapid thaw and peak Bewick's Swan count

Rapid thaw and peak Bewick's Swan count

The cold spell has broken, a rapid thaw has opened the door to waders and wildfowl around the reserve

19 December 2022

Locked in ice, but Hen Harrier seen today

Locked in ice, but Hen Harrier seen today

With another cold night of temperatures down to at least -8oC, the reserve remains locked in ice except for small areas of open water on the South Lake and Rushy. An unexpected treat today was a female Hen Harrier flying across the Dumbles

16 December 2022

Coldest night of the year

Coldest night of the year

Wednesday night saw temperatures drop to at least -10oC, leaving most of the reserve locked in ice this morning

15 December 2022

Still largely frozen but helping birds through it

Still largely frozen but helping birds through it

The cold spell continues with night temperatures set to drop lower before the week is out. A thaw begins this weekend.As we've reported on our Twitter news feed https://twitter.com/slimbridge_wild the majority of the birds are to be found on South Lake, R

14 December 2022

Snow and ice disperses wildfowl and waders plus WeBS count for yesterday

Snow and ice disperses wildfowl and waders plus WeBS count for yesterday

It snowed all day yesterday, a slight thaw followed by a re-freeze led to some path closures and diversions today, we scraped and gritted to open access to Discovery Hide and Estuary Tower. The cold weather has meant that 75% of our freshwater is frozen w

12 December 2022

Sub-zero birding, and the Scaup remains

Sub-zero birding, and the Scaup remains

The temperatures have plunged to end the week, down as low as -5oC overnight leaving much of the reserve's shallower water bodies frozen.

9 December 2022

Greater Scaup with the diving ducks

Greater Scaup with the diving ducks

Late yesterday afternoon at the Wild Bird feed a juvenile-first winter drake Greater Scaup was spotted on the Rushy

5 December 2022