Sightings - Arundel
Peregrines, sparrowhawk and kestrel onsite
Birds of prey sightings this week include our regular kestrel visiting a few times and sightings of a peregrine and a sparrow hawk. A great spotted woodpecker is showing frequently in the Wood Loop now and this week we had a green woodpecker at the far en
12 January 2023
Teal numbers increase
Thirty-four teal were on the water between the Ramsar and Sand martin hides on Tues 3 Jan, with 17 teal at the Lapwing hide on Mon 2 and 17 teal on the Scrape hide Sat 31 Dec. On Fri 30 Dec our Grounds team counted five pochards on the Arun Riverlife lago
2 January 2023
Lapwing flock to Ramsar islands
Lapwing numbers are up with c250 in on Wednesday morning on the islands between the Sand Martin and Ramsar hides. Our outdoor teams flushed up 72 snipe while working on the wet grassland Wednesday as well. Thurs 29 Dec Arun Riverlife: 10 pochard, 1 co
29 December 2022
Black-tailed godwits & red kites
On Monday two red kites were playing over our front reedbed, car park and Mill road, enjoying the warmer air and updrafts off the Offfham hangar. Then the pair would drop low, around twenty feet above the visitor centre. A buzzard was doing similar only n
20 December 2022
Increasing lapwing numbers
Last weekend we had about 70 lapwing in each day. On Monday our Reserve staff counted 163 lapwing between Ramsar and Sand Martin hide and more in the air. At 3.30 pm there was still about 70 lapwing on the third islands there along with a very annoyed cor
5 December 2022
Lapwings, bullfinches & grebes
The juvenile great crested grebe was still on site this morning between the Ramsar hide and the Sand martins. Our usual little grebe (dabchick) was there as well although going after much smaller fish! The new gravel islands are proving popular with cormo
21 November 2022
Sea eagle, great crested grebe & teal
Its been a week of wild, rainy and windy weather! We sighted one of the white tailed eagles again on Mon 7 Nov, flying over the reserve from the Offham Hangar. On Saturday and Monday a juvenile great crested grebe was onsite seen from the Ramsar hide. A l
9 November 2022
White Tailed eagle sightings
Two white-tailed eagles, also known as sea eagles have been spotted over our site since daily last Sun 30 Oct. Red kites have also been spotted near the eagles, and sometimes it is just a solo eagle. We have been seeing the eagles off and on all month.
1 November 2022
Great egret around all week
A great egret has been onsite all week, moving between the lagoon at Ramsar and Sand martin hides and the water at Scrape hide. We are getting up to 14 little egrets in to roost at the end of the day. Visitor Martin Watson took this photo of the great egr
19 October 2022
Visit the Scrape hide to look for snipe
The number of snipe onsite have increased. The Scrape hide seems to be the hot spot for picking them out on the edges of the main island. The stripey markings of the snipe's feathers help them blend into the reeds and grasses. A family of Egyptian gees
12 October 2022
Kestrel, egyptian geese and kingfishers
On Tuesday a staff member on a lunchtime walk came across a cluster of visitors on the long path. They were watching a kestrel perching on the Wetland Secrets building. The kesterel then moved onto the Reedbed hide roof between spots of hovering for prey.
6 October 2022
Snipe, kingfishers and cormorants
Regular snipe sightings especially from the Scrape hide now. There's at least one cormorant and one grey heron between Sand Martin & Ramsar hides. Regular kingfisher sightings continue including at the Lapwing hide. We have been seeing a good array of dra
25 September 2022
Herons, bullfinches and house martins
Reports of kingfishers sightings daily and visitors are still sending in their shots so chances are you'll spot one at the Scrape hide, Arun Riverlife lagoon or on the large lagoon between the Ramsar & Sand martin hides.Looks like the oystercatcher pair n
28 August 2022
Kingfishers fledge & martins move through
The juvenile kingfishers seem to have fledged this week – as a result we have been seeing a lot of kingfisher air traffic at the Sand martin hide and on the Arun Riverlife lagoon. Visitors are reporting 3-4 sightings during their stops in at Sand Marti
18 August 2022
Kingfishers & cattle egrets
The Sand martin hide kingfisher pair are still feeding young, although judging by the size of fish being taken into the nest hole, this second brood should be nearly fledged. The nesting sand martins have all but disappeared, but it was only last month th
11 August 2022