News
Lapwings and oystercatcher pairs
Lapwing males have been nest scraping and at least two females appear to be on nests opposite the Ramsar hide. One pair of oystercatchers have been flitting between Pelican Cove and Arun Riverlife lagoon - this is likely the pair that has been nestinhg
28 March 2023
Arundel spring bird ID guide
New to bird spotting or just want a handy reference guide? Download this free guide to Arundel's most common spring birds. Get the Bird ID guide
20 March 2023
Toads on the move, Kingfishers & oystercatchers active
Toad migration to breeding ponds picked up again last week on the days when the overnight temps were warmer and the weather was showery. On Monday Senior Reserve Warden Emma Jacob was on ‘Toad Patrol’ doing 'catch and release' of toads that were broug
16 March 2023
Cold weather slows down spring
The cold weather seems to have put spring on hold for the moment. Birds are singing and displaying, but not much else is going on. Lapwing are still onsite in good numbers and are starting to investigate usual territories, but have yet to starting mating
9 March 2023
Lots of lapwing still on site
Flock of 100+ lapwing still onsite most days, not broken up yet for spring. You will hear the occasional slide-whistle display calls when individual males taking to the air. Mixed groups of tits in the Woodland Loop (including a coal tit) with chaffinc
4 March 2023
Oystercatchers return
A pair of oyster catchers were spotted feeding in the grass around Pelican Cove yesterday. The pair moved over to the rocky island on Arun Riverlife lagoon in Tuesday afternoon. We think this is one of our regular nesting pairs - likely the pair who have
22 February 2023
Common, black-headed & Mediterranean gulls
Large numbers of common gulls have been onsite this week - they have arrived a bit late this winter. There are fewer Mediterranean gulls in the mix than usual -but with high gull numbers and the Med. gulls not all fully coloured up and often sitting wit
16 February 2023
Pintails, wigeon, pochards & teal
There was a pair of pintail at the Sand martin hide this morning along with 8 pochard and 4 wigeon. Good numbers of teal around and snipe back in front of Ramsar hide, Scrape hide and even one on the Arun Riverlife lagoon. Lots of lapwing still between Ra
8 February 2023
Lapwing, teal & gadwall numbers back up after the thaw
Now that our waterways have thawed lapwing numbers are back up with the highest count 120 last Saturday. We’ve pochards onsite too – on Arun Riverlife, Pelican Cove and Wetland Discovery. A pair of pochard nested on Pelican Cove last year so we are ke
31 January 2023
Bullfinches along Tranquil Trail
Bullfinches have been showing in the hedgerows along the Long path and Tranquil Trail. Sightings of these bright birds (the males) in the trees of the Reedswamp exhibit as well. Visitors reported spotting firecrests last weekend as well. They usually s
24 January 2023
Displaying teal on the icy scrape
Teal, gadwall and shoveler are present in good numbers from Ramsar, Sand Martin and Scrape hides, with shelduck dotted amongst them. Pair bonds are forming and the array of display between species is an often comical sight. Teal were calling and the males
17 January 2023
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