Latest sightings

Cattle Egret on South Lake

South Lake A Cattle Egret was present mid afternoon, it may be feeding with the Longhorn cattle that are in the roadside fields. A Little Egret was also noted. On the deep lake a party of 10 or so Pochard were accompanied by Tufted Ducks. The Great Creste

11 November 2018

Rising floods and waterfowl numbers.

Rushy Good build up of numbers here, just need a few Swans. Tufted Duck 135 Pochard 65 Pintail 36 Redshank 3 Bewick Swan is with captive birds on Swan Lake. Holden and Walkway Canada Goose 240 Greylag 190 Barnacle 220 Whitefront flock to south near Kingfi

10 November 2018

Friday's sightings

Kingfisher Hide The flock of 29 White-fronted Geese were again on the Bottom New Piece along with 730+ Lapwing, 10 Curlew, 2 Golden Plover and 73 Dunlin. Five Gadwall were on the water along the South Finger Extension, beyond the Kingfisher nesting bank

9 November 2018

It's a wet one

South Lake Hides A small flock of Knot were on the wader scrape briefly this morning but flew off leaving behind a flock of 135 Black-tailed Godwit huddled up against the driving rain. Also present were 125 Lapwing, 5 Redshank and 40+ Shoveler. The de

7 November 2018

Busy Top New Piece

Zeiss Hide/Top New Piece The cut rides that were created by reserve staff last week worked has wonders once again, a Bittern showed for a few hours here yesterday. No sightings by 0930 today but that is quite typical, this species often shows later in the

6 November 2018

Goshawk and Bittern

Holden Tower/Dumbles A male Peregrine was actively hunting the area this morning, female Marsh Harrier seen late morning and a female Merlin at Middle Point early afternoon. At least 14 E White-fronted Geese fed among Greylag Geese, the Barnacle Goose flo

4 November 2018

Saturday's sightings

Don't forget to find all our latest sightings on Twitter, and you don't need an account yourself. Find us here. Bewick's Swan Indri still on Big Pen outside Visitor Centre Holden Tower - 26 White-fronted Geese on Dumbles, also 224 Barnacle Geese and 131

3 November 2018

Frozen again

Another cold night leaving most of the shallower water bodies frozen again this morning. New arrivals included a pair of Whooper Swan, one carrying a red darvic ring. The bird was caught at WWT Caerlaverock in March 2014, sexed as a male and has been

31 October 2018

Frozen scrapes

Rushy Hide A few bird less than yesterday as the lower pond was frozen. Pochard, Pintail and Shelducks all mingling with the Tufted Ducks and Mallards. A single Redshank present. Tack Piece The 15 Eurasian White-fronted Geese among the Greylags, 360 Wige

30 October 2018

First Bewick's Swan returns

Indri- this bird favours the Big Pen, look out for it among the flock of resident pre injured/rehab Bewick's Swans. Rushy Hide 31 Pochard and 40 Pintail among the Mallards, Teal and Tufted Ducks. A single Little Grebe and Redshank also on the pond. Tack

29 October 2018

A few more White-fronts

Rushy Hide Further increases in the duck numbers as we begin to feed the lake to settle the birds in for the winter. 38 Pintail, 11 Pochard (5 drakes), c45 Tufted Duck and 45 Shelduck on the lake. A flock of 16 Ruff were roosting on the lower ponds island

28 October 2018

Saturday 27th Octobers Sightings

Rushy Pintail 25 Teal 70 Snipe 1 Redshank 1 Grey Wagtail 1 Holden and Walkway Whitefronted Goose 1 ad 2 juvs Wigeon 70 Teal 250 Curlew 46 Snipe 1 Peregrine 2 Chiffchaff 1 (withy bed) Fieldfare 12 passing over South Lake Pochard 14 Tufted Duck 63 Shoveler

27 October 2018

Lapwing numbers building

Rushy Pintail 27, Lapwing 23, Teal 109, Redshank 1 Martin Smith Crane 2, Snipe 1, Water Rail 1, No sing of Jack Snipe yet Holden Tower Peregrine 2, Buzzard 1 South Lake Black Tailed Godwit 21, Redshank 9 Ruff 1, Grey Heron 1, Lapwing 80, Snipe 2, Teal 367

26 October 2018

Getting colder

A distinct chill in the air this morning but the fog soon cleared at dawn. A few summer species still remain, including the Garganey on the Top New Piece and a Blackcap and Chiffchaff near the Decoy, although these latter two may be wintering birds repl

25 October 2018

Rolling fog

The thick fog over the river rolled back and forth across the reserve first thing this morning making counting a bit more tricky. High tide has pushed a nice selection of waders on to the Top New Piece. Zeiss Hide The roosting wader flock included 156 G

24 October 2018