Latest sightings

Bittern, kingfishers, lapwings & oystercatchers

Bittern, kingfishers, lapwings & oystercatchers

Reserve Supervisor Rosie flushed up a bittern about 5m away from the front of the Scrape hide this morning (Thurs 21 March) while working in the area. Kingfishers have been using the nest hole 5 in the Arun Riverlife nest bank again this year. There has b

21 March 2024

White tailed eagles and kingfishers

White tailed eagles and kingfishers

Two white tailed eagles have been back over the Reserve a few times this month. The pair were flying up and down the Offham hangar and over the car park and visitor centre on both March 2 and March 4. A kingfisher male has been very active on the nesting

11 March 2024

Oystercatchers are back and kingfisher nest hunting

Oystercatchers are back and kingfisher nest hunting

A male kingfisher has been inspecting nest holes at the Kingfisher bank. Regular visitor Mike Jerome took these lovely photos. We recently removed some trees near the kingfisher nesting bank. Our Reserve team manage this wet grassland habitat at Arun Rive

28 February 2024

Camouflaged Snipe, Scraping Lapwings and arriving Oystercatchers

Camouflaged Snipe, Scraping Lapwings and arriving Oystercatchers

It has been great to see so many snipe back in the fen cut in front of the Ramsar hide this past week! A male kingfisher has been investigating the nesting holes on Kingfisher bank on Arun Riverlife, a pair were spotted feeding at Scrape hide Tuesday.

21 February 2024

Bittern was back on World Wetlands Day

Bittern was back on World Wetlands Day

A bittern flew across the reedbed channel in front of a boat safari trip on Fri 2 Feb - World Wetlands day - giving some of our visitors a real treat! We had our first oystercatcher of the season, spotted between Ramsar and Sand martin hides on Tues 6

7 February 2024

Lapwing, bitterns and a sea eagle

Lapwing, bitterns and a sea eagle

Our onsite bittern sightings from the Scrape hide peaked on Friday 19 January when a Reserve Warden spotted two bitterns, within just minutes of each other on opposite side of the reedbed there.A sea eagle (also known as a white tailed eagle) was spotted

24 January 2024

Bittern onsite

Bittern onsite

A bittern has been spotted regularly from the Scrape hide over the past week!The bittern was first spotted by reserve staff and a regular visitor last Fri 12 Jan. It has been seen at least once a day. It took to the air on Sat 13 Jan and was snapped by v

17 January 2024

Hen harriers in the late afternoon roost

Hen harriers in the late afternoon roost

We had visitors tell us they had seen hen harriers from the Scrape hide during the afternoon roost on the weekend. Our Reserve team knows there are three female hen harriers in the Arun Valley this winter but had no staff confirmed sightings of the birds

11 January 2024

Bewick's swans and Snipe

Bewick's swans and Snipe

Five Bewick's swans were spotted on the Burpham loop, across the Arun River from the reserve, on Saturday 30 Dec. It great to have some swans in the Arun Valley again this winter. If we see any low temperatures that freezes ponds the swans could come into

2 January 2024

Snipe upswing, plus a kestrel

Snipe upswing, plus a kestrel

Lots of snipe about – our count showed 27 on Tuesday morning between the Ramsar and Sand Martin hide. On Sunday we spotted a kestrel hunting in front of Reedbed hide. Kingfisher has been showing at the Scrape hide and between Ramsar and Sand Martin hide

20 December 2023

Barn owl & little grebes

Barn owl & little grebes

Lovely little grebes are been spotted on Arun Riverlife lagoon and on Pelican cove. From the Discovery hide on Arun Riverlife look for them down and to the left, along the shrubs at the water's edge. We are seeing a barn owl occasionally when we walk a

13 December 2023

Firecrests, gold crests and redwings

Firecrests, gold crests and redwings

Current wildlife highlights include Lapwing numbers now exceeding 100 on the lagoon between the Ramsar and Sand martin hides most mornings. We are seeing shelduck re-appearing in double figures. Up to 10 marsh harriers and small flock of pied wagtails roo

6 December 2023

Kingfisher and winter thrushes

Kingfisher and winter thrushes

A kingfisher was showing well from the Scrape this past week. It can be spotted around the site. (photos above by visitor Alec Pelling on Sat 25 Nov).Sightings of redwings, mistle thrush, song thrush, goldcrest, firecrest and black caps as well as mixed t

29 November 2023

Teal and lapwing numbers up

Teal and lapwing numbers up

We are seeing 20+ teal and 10+ lapwing each morning between the Ramsar hide and the Sand martin hide this past week. The highest count for teal was 27 on Monday; for lapwing, it was 31 last Sunday. There were 2 wigeon onsite on last Friday as well. A

19 November 2023

Seven great egrets!

Seven great egrets!

We counted 7 great egrets from the Ramsar hide this morning! Senior Reserve Manager Rosie Ellis managed to snap five of the great egrets crowding a grey heron. Rosie also spotted two snipe to the left of the Scrape hide. Wed 18 OctRamsar hide: 7 great

18 October 2023