Latest sightings
Damsels & dragons emerging
Damselflies are starting to emerge in earnest, with large red (pictured), common blue and blue-tailed damselflies flitting about. Hairy dragonflies are also emerging now. Warblers are singing all over the place, including sedge, reed, willow and Cett
12 May 2022
Singing and nesting around the reserve
Sand martins and kingfishers continue to show at the Sand martin hide. A pair of oystercatchers have been frequenting the fresh cobble islands out front (photo).Between Ramsar and Sand martin hides look out for lapwing and chicks, common gulls, Med gulls,
5 May 2022
Lapwing chicks near Ramsar hide
At least three lapwing chicks have hatched out opposite the Ramsar hide – now the adult lapwing's mission is protection. They are mobbing predatory crows or any greylag geese families that wander too close. An adult kingfisher was seen taking a faecal
27 April 2022
Sand martins arriving
Sand martins started filtering through this week. Last Tuesday we saw eight in the late afternoon, four on Thursday and 10 on Good Friday. There are likely more than this moving through –this is just what our wardens counted while working. Warblers si
16 April 2022
Second kingfisher pair nesting onsite
A second pair of kingfishers seem to be nesting in artificial bank of the Sand martin hide. They have beat the sand martins to the space this year but there is plenty of room on the other side of the bank. We should be seeing sand martins moving through s
7 April 2022
Oystercatcher pair about
A pair of oystercatchers are appearing regularly at the Sand martin hide and the old Tundra pen on the corner. They have nested at both sites in previous years so this may be that same pair. Kingfishers have been using the perch in front of the Sand marti
31 March 2022
Great egret & a crowd of cattle egrets
A great egret was back onsite last week making appearances at the Scrap hide through Sunday. Six cattle egrets spent the afternoon on the cobbled island opposite the Ramsar hide on Tuesday afternoon, photographed by volunteer Andy Burns.Kingfishers are s
24 March 2022
Busy Woodloop feeders a sign of spring
The bird feeders in the Woodland Loop have been getting busier as more songbirds arrive. The pair of kingfishers are still on the nesting bank on the Arun Riverlife lagoon. Lapwing sightings are increasing on the wet grassland -this photo from volunteer A
16 March 2022
Kingfishers on Arun Riverlife delight visitors
The kingfisher pair continue to show well on the perches near their nesting bank on Arun Riverlife. At least one has been showing on the perch each day. Last Thursday both kingfishers were visible and a pair of oyster catchers were on the lagoon as well.
10 March 2022
Kingfisher pair back at the nesting bank
Pick up our Wildlife Observation cards to help us keep an eye on the kingfisher pair who have made the Arun Riverlife lagoon their territory. The pair were sitting on the far right perch in front on the nesting bank on Wednesday morning around 11 for q
3 March 2022
Jack snipe at Ramsar & kingfishers courting
A pair of kingfishers have been very active on Arun Riverlife lagoon this week. They have been investigating holes on the nesting bank, perching in front of it and in the trees around the lagoon and on the roof of the visitor centre. The pair have been ca
17 February 2022
Teal & lapwing back on Arun lagoon as project finishes
The Arun Lagoon Project is almost complete. Water has been allowed to slowly flow back into the lagoon since Fri 4 Feb and already birds are moving in. Good numbers of Lapwing have returned (110), eight Mediterranean Gulls are also present amongst other g
10 February 2022
Flock of lapwing & a flush of snipe
Our wardens spotted the glossy ibis back at the Scrape hide on Monday morning at 8 am. That was the last recorded sighting of it here onsite. Monday’s warm sun also brought a red admiral butterfly out of hibernation along the reedbed boardwalk among the
3 February 2022
Glossy ibis drops in for a long visit
A glossy ibis dropped into the fen at the left hand side of the Scrape hide last Sunday morning and has been spotted there off and on this week. We are seeing the ibis in the mornings and late afternoons to roost and it seems to be ranging about during th
26 January 2022
Shelduck and teal numbers up
There is still an abundance of stonechats on and around the wet grassland, redwing and goldfinch amongst the hedgerows and egrets (both little and cattle) roosting in trees from dusk onwards. The odd wigeon is making an appearance from the Scrape Hide
19 January 2022