Apologies for the lack of updates this week, not much has changed though. Still very mild and quite wet, but nice weather for ducks, as they say. Drake Green-winged Teal still on the Folly Pond, and the drake Ring-necked Duck is on the Whooper Pond havin
27 November 2015
A bit overcast this morning, but the birds are all here. Drake Green-winged Teal still on the Folly Pond, and the drake Ring-necked Duck is on the Whooper Pond having been on the Back Pond first thing. Also on the Whooper Pond is the Greater Scaup. Keep a
24 November 2015
A fantastic sunny and cold morning with puddles frozen over. Yesterday saw the arrival of a second American duck on the reserve. To go with the regular Green-winged Teal, we now have a drake Ring-necked Duck amongst the Tufted Ducks on the Whooper Pond.
21 November 2015
Finally, some cold, clear weather. A lovely morning on the reserve, more like winter weather for us. More Whooper Swans are in now, thanks to the colder weather, 62 on the Whooper Pond this morning; and maybe more to come over the next few days. An unusua
20 November 2015
Highlights at the moment are a male Hen Harrier around the reserve most days, also a Short-eared Owl has been hunting over the merse from the Avenue Tower the past few weeks. A Water Rail has now been seen most days in the Peter Scott Trail. The tracks ar
19 November 2015
There was a roost of six Little Egrets last night, in a Scots Pine within the Peter Scott Trail behind the picnic area. These can be found dotted around the fields and merses during the day. Barnacle Goose numbers remain good, with 7000-8000 daily. The Sn
17 November 2015
The colder weather yesterday and today has done it's job and brought in the first Yellowhammers of the winter. A small flock of 5 in the hedge running down to the Peter Scott Observatory. A fantastic flock of 13 Tree Sparrows has joined them this morning,
14 November 2015
The BBC are off site now and things are returning to normal. If you would like a free pumpkin from the Autumnwatch set, pick one up from the main entrance! The tracks are very wet at the moment, so if you are coming down, please be prepared and wellies wo
13 November 2015
The wind has dropped for the time being but a lot of water forming temporary flashes lies in the fields, giving a good spread of duck, with over 3000 Teal and about 800 Wigeon plus a few Pintail. Flocks of Golden Plover are making brief appearances, espe
11 November 2015
The site feels rather quiet now that BBC Autumnwatch has gone and things are settling back into the usual routines. A good number of duck, principally Teal and Wigeon, are broadcast across the fields, enjoying the many temporary wet flashes resulting from
10 November 2015
The BBC are packing up and most of their equipment has already left the site. The reserve is starting to get back to 'normal' now. The tracks are very wet at the moment, so if you are coming down, please be prepared and wellies would be recommended. Today
7 November 2015
We are now on day 3 of the live Autumnwatch shows, having seen the Barnacle Geese on Monday and Whooper Swans yesterday, what can we expect tonight? You'll have to tune in at 8pm on BBC2 to find out! Michaela had a go at feeding our wild Whooper Swans on
4 November 2015
Last night was the first of the Autumnwatch live shows broadcast from the reserve and there is now continuous coverage on the 'red button' and online. Tonight's second live show is on at 8pm so tune in and see what's been happening on the reserve this Aut
3 November 2015
Autumnwatch is now go, with stuff available on the red button through the day and the first live broadcast proper going out tonight at the revised time of 9pm to 10pm with a half-hour Unsprung following, again on the red button Still a bit misty as I writ
2 November 2015
It's very busy around the site now, with huge broadcasting trucks in the yard, miles of cabling being laid and a studio to dress. The BBC Autumnwatch presenters were on site yesterday filming some short pieces in advance of the live shows starting on Mond
30 October 2015