31st October 2025
Mostly overcast, south-westerly.
The two Otters were again present at dawn on the Reedbed, whilst early morning passage until about 09.30 yielded 236 Wood Pigeon, 68 Starlings, 21 Redwings, five Skylark and a single Goldfinch. The smart drake Pintail was present on Car Park Pool this morning. This bird first appeared on the 28th, replacing the eclipse drake birds that had been present before. The female Pintail was still present on Railway Pool where there was a Grey Wagtail and hunting Sparrowhawk. Four Siskins and six Chaffinches were present along the Central Stream, an area always worth checking as the confluence of the Stream and the Causeway seem to attract migrants to the dense vegetation there.
As the morning progressed, the female Stonechat was around the Dragonfly Pond, a further 48 Redwings and five Siskins flew south, there were eight Meadow Pipits on the Flood Plain, a female Stonechat at the Dragonfly Pond, and the lingering Willow Emerald by the edge of the Reedbed.
30th October 2025
No records.
29th October 2025
Overcast, rain, light south-westerly.
The first returning Shelduck, a pair, were present this morning, as was the pair of Pintails. A Red Kite went over, and a new arrival was a juvenile Great Crested Grebe. Twenty-eight Snipe were counted, as were three Water Rails.
28th October 2025
Sunny spells, fresh north-westerly.
A single Otter showed on the Central Stream, then on the Reedbed during the morning and there were four Ring-necked Parakeets in Siden Hill Wood. Four Water Rails included three heard in the Reedbed and one in the North Causeway Bay.
A pair of Pintail were recorded, with a new male, along with 19 Mute Swans, nine Little Egrets, three Common Gulls and the adult Greater Black-back.
A Mistle Thrush was perched in the trees on the far side of Car Park Pool before slipping away, there was a Kingfisher along the Central Stream, five Meadow Pipits on the HS2 Flood Plain fences, and a female Stonechat at the Dragonfly Pond. A Peregrine had caught a Moorhen in the early morning and was feeding on it in a tree on the front of Siden Hill Wood.
27th October 2025
Sunny spells, breezy north-westerly.
A very early morning visit in the half-light yielded two Otters on the Reedbed Pool between 06.40 – 07.30. There was a female Pintail on Railway Pool, but the sunny weather produced a male Willow Emerald, two Migrant Hawkers and two Common Darters.
Otters – Photograph by Mark Waring
26th October 2025
Showery, west/north-westerly.
There was only the female Pintail on site today with a pair of Pochard on Car Park Pool. Raptors included a Sparrowhawk high over the Reserve and a male Kestrel hunting towards Patricks Bridge. There were also 20 Meadow Pipits there and at least 20 Redwings feeding on the berries on the Railway Embankment. A single Redpoll went over.
25th October 2025
Sunny spells, showers, blustery north-westerly.
A record 10 Collared Doves were enjoying the spillings from the Car Park feeders this morning. A late Chiffchaff was present on the Causeway, whilst a full count of other birds, care of Graham and Dave were as follows: 14 Mute Swans, 41 Canadas, 37 Greylags, 173 Wigeon, 10 Gadwall, 96 Mallard, 44 Shoveler, male and female Pintail, 322 Teal, six Tufteds, 39 Cormorants, eight Little Grebes, three Herons, two Little Egrets, a Great White Egret, seven Moorhen, 26 Coot, 83 Lapwing, three Snipe, 98 Black-headed Gulls, two Common Gulls, two Herring Gulls, two Lesser Black-backed Gulls, the adult Black-backed Gull, two Water Rails and a Kingfisher. A Jay was seen in Siden Hill Wood and 150 Jackdaws congregated on the Flood Plain.
24th October 2025
Sunny, breezy from the south-west, ground frost in the North Causeway Bay.
Aside from five Redwings and two Fieldfares over, there was not a great deal of change on the pools this morning, although male and female Pintail were also seen.
23rd October 2025
Cloudy and overcast with rain in the afternoon.
Another early visit yielded two adult Whooper Swans on Car Park Pool from 07.48 to 08.04 before they flew off to the south. The Bittern was also seen at dawn but luckily showed again in the late morning. There were three Pintail again today, two males and a female, and the usual Gulls included the adult Greater Black-back.
22nd October 2025
Sunny spells, light southerly.
Birdwatchers arriving at or before dawn were rewarded with two Otters at the southern end of the Reedbed, and the Bittern leaving its roost and flying across the Reedbed.
Meantime, one of the very infrequent visits of House Sparrow occurred today with a male on the Car Park feeders along with four Collared Doves.
At least four Cetti’s Warblers were in song, with two at the northern end of the Reserve, one at the east end of the Dragonfly Pond and the other at the west, wandering along the Top Stream.
Other birds included two drake Pintail, an increase in Wigeon to 173, one Great White Egret, a Kingfisher, a Water Rail and adult Greater Black-backed Gull.
21st October 2025
Sunny spells, fresh south-westerly.
The mild weather was conducive to a few late insects being seen, and these included a Comma on the Causeway, a Red Admiral on the Concrete Road, a lingering Willow Emerald on the edge of the Reedbed, three Migrant Hawkers (two Reedbed, one Dragonfly Pond) and two Common Darters on the Reedbed.
Early morning, a Tawny Owl was heard on the Bradnocks Marsh side of the Railway Embankment, a Peregrine made a brief sortie, and a young cow walking slowly up the far side of Car Park Pool flushed 42 Snipe.
A pair of Stonechats were visible on the Dragonfly Pond and additional birds today included three Pintail, 129 Wigeon, 306 Teal, Great White Egret, adult Greater Black-backed Gull, 15 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, four Herring Gulls and five Common Gulls.
20th October 2025
Wet start, some sunny intervals followed from 10.20, light south-westerly.
Two Otters, presumably an adult and a maturing youngster, were seen on the Reedbed Pool at 07.10 this morning. These have also been picked up on the RockCam on the Central Stream.
Further Redwing passage today included small groups either flying over or feeding on the Causeway. Twenty-four were counted in total, of which 12 in the Causeway area also included at least four first-winter Blackbirds and one to two Song Thrushes, plus a female Blackcap.
Indeed, the Central Stream area was busy with birds with at least four Goldcrests, three Robins, a Jay, Great Spotted Woodpecker and three Siskins.
A Skylark and Pied Wagtail went over, and there were at least three Cetti’s Warblers in song. Yesterday’s five Pintail were spread between the pools, with two males opposite Car Park Hide and two males and a female in the channels opposite Oak Hide, feeding with other duck in the puddles that have now formed there. Lastly, there were two Great White Egrets flying south.
A female Stonechat showed nicely in the Marsh during the morning, and wildfowl counts included 277 Teal, 127 Wigeon and a drake Pochard.
19th October 2025
Drizzly and overcast.
Today’s highlight was an immature Marsh Harrier which appeared over Railway Pool at 09.15 and later hunted the Reedbed before heading off south.
The Pintail count had jumped to five, four males and a female. There was just a single drake Pochard today, but Snipe had increased to 15.
An immature Stonechat was feeding around the Car Park area, and a late Swallow went south.
18th October 2025
Overcast and still.
Further Redwing passage today included nine over Railway and 13 in the Siden Hill Wood area. A pair of Stonechats were feeding from fence posts opposite the mobile phone mast north of Siden Hill Wood, and three Skylarks and a Siskin flew over, along with four Meadow Pipits.
Graham and Dave’s wildfowl and other counts included 36 Canadas, a Canada/Greylag hybrid, 440 Greylags, two Egyptian Geese, 18 Mute Swans, 40 Shoveler, 18 Gadwall, 54 Mallard, 119 Wigeon, two eclipse drake Pintail , 157 Teal, a pair of Pochard, seven Tufted Ducks, four Little Grebes, 30 Cormorants, four Herons, three Little Egrets, a Great White Egret, five Moorhen, 24 Coot, 117 Lapwing, one Snipe, 124 Black-headed Gulls, a Common Gull, a Herring Gull, four Lesser Black-backed Gulls and an adult Greater Black-backed Gull.
17th October 2025
Overcast and still.
Wildfowl counted today comprised of two drake Pintail and 125 Wigeon but just a single Great White Egret. A Kingfisher fished Car Park Pool, six Skylark went over, there were three Water Rails (two on Railway Pool and one in the Reedbed), a single Egyptian Goose, the roosting adult Greater Black-backed Gull, 13 Snipe and 14 Siskins, the latter behind Oak Hide.
16th October 2025
Overcast, light north-easterly.
The sightings of the first Redwing of the year started with eight feeding on the hawthorn berries by the Causeway screens, following by a further 24 flying over later.
The Siskin flock behind Oak Hide had increased to 20 today and raptors included two Peregrines (one juvenile), the juvenile Hobby, which had gone absent for four days, was perched on the streamline and a Sparrowhawk was also seen.
Ducks included just two Pintails today, along with a female Goosander, and the regular birds included one Great White Egret, two Little Egrets and a Kingfisher.
15th October 2025
Overcast, light north-easterly.
The Pintail count increased to three this morning, all on Car Park Pool, where the ever present Great White Egret was also in the shallows on the far side of the Car Park Pool islands. A juvenile Peregrine put in a brief appearance, the adult Greater Black-backed Gull roosted again and there were 10 Siskins in the Alders behind Oak Hide.
14th October 2025
Overcast, light north-easterly.
A late Blackcap, a male, was present on the Causeway this morning and four drake Pochard were new arrivals.
Other ducks included the two eclipse drake Pintail, 114 Wigeon and 12 Tufted. There were two Great White Egrets present this morning and Water Rails were seen or heard in the North Causeway Bay and below Railway Hide.
Wigeon – Photograph by Alastair Robertson
13th October 2025
Overcast and drizzle.
The Stonechats that have started to appear do not seem to have settled on a location, with just the male on the fence line across the Tip Field this morning and then later around the Dragonfly Pond, but there was no sign of the female.
Six Meadow Pipits were feeding on the Railway Pool islands, and a Peregrine went north over the Old Road.
The two long-staying drake Pintails were still on Car Park Pool, along with the Great White Egret. The adult Greater Black-backed Gull was roosting on the Car Park Pool islands and in addition, other birds making the log included four Common Gulls, 12 Snipe, a Water Rail calling from the Reedbed and a pair of Pheasants near the feeders.
12th October 2025
Overcast, mostly still but no records.
11th October 2025
Overcast and still.
The juvenile Hobby again graced the Reserve, with passage overhead extending to nine Skylarks and eight Swallows. Of note from the counts today, there were still two Pintails on site, Teal numbers had shot up to 252, the geese were slightly down to 554 Canadas and 528 Greylags. Wigeon have increased also with 80 on site today. Two Great White Egrets, 89 Lapwing and a Snipe were some of the other birds on site.
Only three brave souls attended the work party but achieved quite a lot with the path to River Hide strimmed back on both sides, and the view from Oak Hide opened to the right looking towards the Marsh. Strimming was also undertaken around River Hide on both sides to open up the view. Thank you to John Hunt and Richard King for joining me on site.
10th October 2025
Overcast, light northerly.
The juvenile Hobby was perched in the front of Lower Siden today, and the front of the wood is always worth a look for raptors.
The male Stonechat was joined by a female, and they were both present around the Dragonfly Pond. Two Pintails, a Great White Egret, the Kingfisher in the Reedbed and 94 Wigeon were present on or around the pools, whilst 12 Skylarks flew over to the south-west in a single flock, and an impressive 40 Lesser Redpoll were seen flying south over Railway Pool.
9th October 2025
Overcast.
The juvenile Hobby was again present on site, showing from Reedbed Pool in the late morning. There were two Pintails again today, and a Kingfisher at Patrick Bridge.
8th October 2025
Overcast, light north-easterly.
Yesterday’s juvenile Hobby showed well again today, and there were two drake Pintails on site, along with a single Green Sandpiper and a Great White Egret. Four Meadow Pipits dropped onto the Railway Pool islands to feed, and eight Siskins moved between the central streamline and Oak Hide. Other birds today included a single Raven, two Buzzards, a Ring-necked Parakeet and the long-staying adult Greater Black-backed Gull.
7th October 2025
Despite there being no records in the log, the WhatsApp group turned up useful information with two Otters again seen at 06.00 in the Reedbed, with a Water Rail showing well in the channels on the opposite side of the path. A male Stonechat was showing well during the day, and a juvenile Hobby was also seen. There was no sign of the Temminck’s Stint today.
Stonechat – Photograph by Stef Fraczek
6th October 2025
Thin cloud, sun breaking through, 15°.
The Temminck’s Stint was still on Car Park Pool this morning, and two Otters were seen in the Reedbed between 07.15 and 07.30. The Temminck’s Stint was initially seen from Car Park Hide but then moved on to the gravel bar visible from River Hide.
A juvenile Hobby was feeding on Dragonflies over the Reedbed, where a Water Rail was also heard.
There were again four Pintails on site.
5th October 2025
Dry, bright and breezy.
The Temminck’s Stint continued its stay, favouring Car Park Pool today, and there were still three Pintails on site. The Greater Black-backed Gull roosted and there was a single Great White Egret and a Kingfisher. Later in the morning a Stonechat was found on the margins of Railway Pool where a Sparrowhawk was also on the hunt.
4th October 2025
Overcast, rain late morning, very strong westerly on the back of Storm Amy.
Much to everybody’s surprise, the Temminck’s Stint remained on site. There were also four eclipse drake Pintails on Car Park Pool and, despite the weather, a Kestrel was hunting the Crop Field.
Other counts today, care of Graham and Dave, were 14 Mute Swans, 88 Shoveler, 20 Gadwall, 69 Wigeon, 118 Mallard, 185 Teal, nine Tufteds, two female Goosanders, 28 Cormorants, a Great White Egret, four Herons, five Moorhens, 44 Coot, 89 Lapwing, nine Snipe, 187 Black-headed Gulls, a single Common Gull, two Herring Gulls, 10 Lesser Black-backed Gulls and the adult Greater Black-back.
3rd October 2025
Overcast with rain, fresh south-westerly.
Fortunately, yesterday’s Temminck’s Stint was re-found today and showed on and off for most of the day, to a welcome stream of admirers. Other birds making the log were 71 Wigeon, 139 Teal, two Kingfishers on Car Park Pool and singles of Common Sandpiper and Great White Egret.
2nd October 2025
Overcast.
Today’s undoubted highlight was a Temminck’s Stint, which was visible from River Hide on Car Park Pool in the morning, but went absent late morning. This is the fifth record for the Reserve. Fifty-four Wigeon on Car Park Pool and singing Cetti’s Warblers from the Dragonfly Pool and the Reedbed were the only other birds of note.
1st October 2025
Overcast with drizzle, clearing, light southerly.
Another goose-fest with even more birds today, 669 Canadas and 776 Greylags which favoured Car Park Pool and generally dominated the pool.
Other birds of note including the long-staying three eclipse drake Pintails, 54 Wigeon, an increase in Teal to 132, 68 Shoveler, 12 Tufteds and also 10 Little Grebes.
The Goldfinch flock of 50 was back in the Crop Field and other birds making the log today were a single Green Sandpiper, one Great White Egret, three Little Egrets and seven Herons.