Latest sightings
Happy New Year!
Swans and ducks took last week's spring-like weather to heart and engaged in territory battles and mating behaviours. The cold weather this week has cooled things down a bit with birds back focused on feeding and staying warm. Listed here are recent sight
5 January 2022
Great egret & cattle egrets around
Lots of sighting of the great egret this week and some were cattle egret seen at the Scrape hide as well. This photo of a great egret perched in a tree was taken by Debra Flynn Ducks are pairing up with more teal around over the past week. Works continue
29 December 2021
Bewick's swans in the valley
On our WeBS (Wetland Bird Survey) this week on Mon 20 Dec volunteer Andrew saw two Bewick's swan on the Burpham loop. Shelducks were showing on Arun Riverlife, Scrape and Ramsar hides. Andrew also record 6 snipe at the Scrape hide. Tufties, gadwall and po
22 December 2021
Redwings, fieldfare and woodpeckers
There is a good mix of small birds on site currently in the hedgerows of the Tranquil trail with handfuls of field fare, redwings and some siskin spotted this week. The feeders at the Wood loop are also busy with chaffinch, nuthatches tits and more redwin
16 December 2021
Goosander, stonechats and barn owls
The Arun lagoon project will be completed in the coming weeks and the Reserve team are cutting the Wet Grassland at the same time, with the aim of completing all works at that end of the reserve together. Coordinating these works should allow wintering wi
6 December 2021
Kestrel and Great white egret still around
Our favourite peregrine was posing nicely today one of our car park light poles today. Also still around site is the great white egret who has been popping up around different hides through the day. A black swan is still hanging around the site as well.
27 November 2021
Egrets & herons enjoying project mud
The water on the Arundel lagoon project has been drained down slowly, much to the delight of little, cattle and great white egrets who have been helping to de-fish the lake remnants!
8 November 2021
Great egret still onsite this week
A great egret has been onsite for the past week. The low water levels of the Arundel Lagoon project have lured the great egret to the Ramsar and sand martin hides during the day and it has been dropping into Arun Riverlife lagoon in the late afternoons. T
2 November 2021
Clouded yellows & migrant hawkers
With daytime temps still in the high teens, on sunny breaks we are seeing migrant hawker dragonflies and common darter dragonflies come out. Checking our Black Rabbit triangle area we spotted a pair of clouded yellow butterflies on Monday!The digger and p
20 October 2021
Bat surveys finishing soon as weather turns colder
Paul Stevens, our former Reserve Manager and licenced Batman, was on site last week to check all of our site bat boxes. In total we found 17 Soprano pipistrelles and one Brown long-eared bat - all roosting and producing a build up of droppings! Two ba
13 October 2021
Green woodpecker & house martins
Today’s sun brought another 50+ house martins through the site on their southward migration. A green woodpecker has been onsite this week as well, usually around Wetland Discovery and the old Tundra pen. A kingfisher has been showing best a Scrape hide
6 October 2021
Water rail, teal & gadwall sightings increase
Teal numbers are increasing with 22 spotted in the morning from the Scrape hide on Saturday. Water rail sightings are increasing this week with sightings on n Arun Riverlife, Wetlands Discovery and at the Scrape hide. (photo above by Romney Turner). Handf
29 September 2021
Kestrel is back, with black caps & warblers
A young male kestrel has been hanging around for the past couple of weeks. He has been spotted on the owl box on Wetlands Discovery, on the roofs of our thatched Outlook In building by the boat jetty and in the Woodland Loop, likely hunting small birds.
23 September 2021
Calm kestrel on Wetlands Discovery
Our Reserve team have been hammering away at the annual autumn cut on the Wetland Discovery area. This means they haven’t had much time for counting many birds this week. Last Wednesday during the mini-heatwave they got help from a great crew of volunte
15 September 2021
Martins moving through & sunny dragonflies
Teal numbers increasing along with the number of house martins (c200 Wednesday!) and sand martins moving through the site. On Monday 30 lapwing were flushed up staff checking the cattle. Our mooing mowers will be moved off the main wet grassland next wee
8 September 2021