Sightings - Slimbridge
Cuckoo, Cranes and Avocets!
Rushy Avocet 12 with three young feeding on the lower pool. Several tufted ducks and a couple of gadwall. Lapwing 2 on the causeway. Little gull 1 in front of InFocus No sign of the med gulls by 10:30. Tack Piece Cattle egret 1 with the cows. Lapwing pa
20 May 2017
Avocet Heaven
Rushy Some great birding here this morning, five 1st summer Med Gulls and one adult. The Little Gull was also present here along with a redshank also being present. 12 Avocets were here, with 4 little chicks also running around. Robbie Garnett This morni
18 May 2017
A downpour
As you may have noticed, its been a very wet day with near constant rainfall at least in this part of the world. We're watching water levels on several pools to make sure we keep enough water for the birds, but not enough to flood out some of our ground
17 May 2017
Sightings update
South Lake A few Swifts and c30 House Martin feeding over the alder trees, the Black-headed Gull colony (mostly on deep lake islands) has 60-80 occupied nests. The wader scrape held a male Ruff in breeding plumage and 100+ Black-tailed Godwit as well as
15 May 2017
Today's sightings
Rushy Pen Up to five different Mediterranean Gulls, the nesting Avocets including a brood of 4 chicks and a few Lapwing. No reports of the Lapwing chicks but we hope they are hiding out there somewhere. Tack Piece A pair of Lapwing with a brood of three c
14 May 2017
A really nice birdwatch morning
A group of 15 enjoyed a morning walk event around the site today Rushy Avocets were great here with 5 incubating pairs and a family of 3 young still doing ok. A fine 2nd Summer Med Gull was a first for many of the group. A Little Ringed Plover was in here
13 May 2017
Three Cuckoos and a Spotted Flycatcher
Some of today's sightings from the early morning hide round: Rushy Hide Mediterranean Gull - 2, Avocet - 12, Oystercatcher - 3 Holden Tower - On hide tide Grey Plover - 2, Sanderling - 4, Ringed Plover - 15+, Dunlin - 10+, Whimbrel - 1, Oystercatcher - 8,
12 May 2017
Sandpiper trio
Rushy Pen A sure sign that it's May with the arrival of our first three Wood Sandpiper on the lower pond late morning. Other good news is that the Lapwing family still have young and the first Avocet chicks (x2) have hatched here. Four Cattle Egret chos
8 May 2017
Black Tern
South lake Some pretty special bird watching here this morning. The Black Tern was very active on the lake often very close to the hide, there was a group of 8 Ruff many males with full ruffs of various colour all interacting and displaying. The Black tai
6 May 2017
Northerly wind
Its a bit blustery out there but birds are braving the wind across the reserve, not least the 8 Swifts that were battling north over the Dumbles this morning. South Lake Hides The Black-tailed Godwit flock numbered 166 this morning, with the bulk of the b
4 May 2017
Today's sightings- Black Tern
South Lake A Black Tern (see image above) spent the day feeding and resting on the lake. The ten Ruff including the 6 breeding plumaged males were present during the morning at least, up to 175 Black-tailed Godwit fed on the scrape but also moved to Top
1 May 2017
Lots of visible migration and Harbour Porpoise!
Visible migration Along the foreshore and from the 'Severn view' at Middle Point there was lots of action over the high tide period. Waders seen in flight due to Peregrine attack included a Common Sandpiper, c15 Grey Plover, c20 Sanderling plus c12 Ringe
30 April 2017
Today's sightings
A productive morning for visitors on our Bird Watch Morning event with 50 species seen on a leisurely walk around the reserve. Find out dates of upcoming Bird Watch Mornings and our Advanced Birder events on our website here. Summer Walkway Access from
29 April 2017
Today's sightings
Rushy Hide & Peng Observatory The redhead Smew was back on the Rushy this morning after its brief excursion out to other parts of the reserve. There was no sign of any Common Sandpipers but a single Redshank, 10 Avocet and a pair of Oystercatcher we
28 April 2017
Thursday birding
Its been a busy day for the Reserve Team with an Advanced Birders workshop and a visit from a group of students to talk about reserve management and surveys that take place at Slimbridge. The Little Gull and a Mediterranean Gull were on the Rushy this m
27 April 2017