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Friends of Portbury Wharf Nature Reserve
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Nature Reserve
Portbury Wharf Nature Reserve This is a 150 acre nature reserve on the edge of the Severn Estuary between Portishead and Royal Portbury Dock. It was in 2008 that Portbury Wharf Nature Reserve was first conceived to offset… Read More
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What’s Happening
It’s DECEMBER already! We are well into winter and wish you all a wonderful December! Do you love butterflies? While the butterfly counting season is at an end for 2023 you might want to get involved next year…. Read More
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Wildlife Monitoring
Wildlife monitoring plays an important part in conservation. If you know what is around, and what isn’t, you can make the right choices in land management. So we are counting the wildlife here at Portbury Wharf Nature Reserve…. Read More
Learn MorePortbury Wharf Wetland
Wetlands are very important places and Portbury Wharf is no exception
Watch our slide show to see why:
For more facts about wetlands and World Wetlands Day visit www.worldwetlandsday.org
Goldfinches feeding on teasels are a wonderful sight at this time of year.![]()
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Did you know that goldfinches were once known as the "thistle finch" and their scientific name Carduelis carduelis comes from the Latin word for thistle, carduus.![]()
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It needs a long and pointy beak to extract the seeds from teasel heads so it takes a specialist bird like a goldfinch to make the most of this harvest.
After so many years of wading through the legal quagmire, it has finally happened! We look forward to continuing to work with other stakeholders as the reserve goes from strength to strength.Exciting news: we now own Portbury Wharf Nature Reserve at Portishead. 👏👏![]()
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For many years we’ve wanted to take ownership of the site to ensure the land can be maintained and protected, as a nature reserve, for the benefit of wildlife, local residents and the wider community.![]()
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The reserve provides a safe haven for many species who will continue to be safeguarded and encouraged to flourish.![]()
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Visitors are welcome at the reserve which provides excellent opportunities to watch the wildlife and enjoy views across the Severn Estuary. ![]()
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It’s free to visit and open all year round and everyone is asked to follow the countryside code when visiting.![]()
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Read more at https:// n-somerset.gov.uk/news/future-portbury-wharf-nature-reserve-secured
We are open! Come and say hello to us at Eat: Portishead from now till 4 pm. We need your feedback on our new information panels for the Reserve. We also have some wonderful goody bags courtesy of Bertie’s Pet Store. Sign up your canine companion as a Dog Ranger to win one. (While stocks last!). And please do support Bertie’s, our generous sponsors
Come and see us on Saturday at the eat Portishead Festival on the marina. You can find out the latest about our salt marshes as well as plans for the reserve's permanent nature trail coming next year.![]()
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AND ... if you have a dog you can sign them up to become a Portbury Wharf Dog Ranger helping to keep our wildlife safe. ![]()
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We will be midway along the marina on the pier side, come and say hello.😀
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We have been to central Canada for a few weeks and, as a birder, one of the highlights was the various sightings of the black-crowned night heron that we made. So I was intrigued to see that splendid bird feature on the front cover of the RSPB’s magazine this month asking what increased numbers of UK sightings of “exotics” tells us about climate change. The article references other species with similar statistics as well.Apparently there have been 76 sightings of the night heron across 34 counties in recent months, driven, they conclude, by the drought in SW Europe. But maybe it is too easy to make such conclusions. There are estimated to be between 570,000 and 3,750,000 night herons across the globe, so let’s take a mean of those figures and say that there are over 2.2 million individuals with, let’s say 25% of them living in Europe. That’s over 540,000 European BC Night herons! Given that these are large, impressive birds I would suggest that lots of the sightings reported are of the same birds so maybe 50 or 60 birds have decided to head northwards to the UK. It’s not a lot,given total ptential population and maybe, just maybe the effect of climate change is not just that birds are being driven out of SW Europe by the admittedly terrible conditions down there, but that the normal annual diaspora of large birds is resulting in greater survival rates out of their existing territories. OK, that is a reflection of climate warming as well, but it also a great demonstration of nature making its own accommodations to changes in climate, habitat or food sources. Again, birds have a lot more mobility than other genera, but I think that by oversimplifying the forecast consequences of global warming (from whatever causes), we do the problem - and the issues and solutions - a great disservice
We ambled along the top of the salt marsh and back through the reserve this morning whilst it was still cool and pleasant. There was so much birdsong around and the grasses on the salt marsh are at their most lush. A deer kept his eye on us from up past the Tower hide, but as we were sticking to the path, he wasn't that bothered. A female has been much in evidence nearer to the Marina, and I suspect she may have taken a fawn down there to stay cool and safe, so do please take extra care when walking out with your dogs! ![]()
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On our way back we were struck by how much growth was on the meadow they cleared around the old pylon right next to the power substation. Lots of sorrel seed pods ripening from green to brown and a great variety of grass species!![]()
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Finally we bid a fond farewell to the pylon itself. It will have gone by the time we walk that route again. I really do think the new pylons will simply disappear into the scenery, but I have always loved the old pylons. They have been stately, energising pillars of our countryside; colossi bestriding the levels and hills alike.![]()
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Farewell faithful friend!
If you want to see a glorious meadow awash with oxeye daisies and buttercups take a stroll along the seasonal path!🌼
Come and see us TODAY at the Penny Coronation Festival in the Portishead Flower Show Field from 11.00am.😀🌞 ![]()
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It is going to be a lovely day with lots going on!![]()
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The event is organised by Portishead Town Council
What a fabulous walk this morning! If you walk past the back of the substation have a look up at that coolant drum at top left and spot the nesting oystercatchers! The lovely eglantine is flowering alongside the paths and there’s a wonderful golden flush of buttercups in the meadows!
Not every spider spins a web. This rather well camouflaged flower crab spider will ambush unsuspecting insects when they come to feed on the flower.