Portbury Wharf’s Wildlife

It’s spring and lots of our wildlife is beginning to breed. At this important time we can all do two easy things to help the wildlife here; keep to the paths and keep our dogs on leads. These… Read More

It was twilight. The stars had faded away but it was not yet sunrise when hundreds of pairs of wings purred past my shoulder. What were they? Where had they come from and where were they going? I… Read More

Roe deer antlers regrow each year Only the male roe deer have antlers. Each year, in late autumn they shed their antlers and grow new ones. It doesn’t take long, after casting off the old ones, before these… Read More

Keeping water voles safe at Portbury Wharf is very important. So the warden and his Portbury Wharf Nature Reserve Volunteers have been busy repairing the hurdles alongside the rhynes. You may have noticed them along Water Vole Lane,… Read More

This morning at sunrise I watched 18 lapwing lift off from the North Pool. Once upon a time you would have seen flocks of a hundred strong. Sadly over the last 20 or so years, numbers have fallen… Read More

Whilst for us August is the height of summer, for much of our wildlife it’s almost the beginning of autumn. The breeding season’s over, lots of plants are ripe with fruit and some bird species are even starting… Read More

July is the start of high summer. The flowers and insects are at their best and busiest, but many of the birds will have finished nesting. In July and August many birds are winding down and moulting into… Read More

June is the month when the meadows and verges are full of flowers and the breeding season for the birds is in full swing. The emergence of butterflies, damselflies and dragonflies, which has been a bit slow in… Read More

Listen out for cuckoos in May. Cuckoos fly all the way here from Africa and beyond to lay their eggs in other birds’ nests. Did you know it is only the male bird that calls “cuckoo”?  A cuckoo… Read More

While some winter birds are yet to fly back north to their nesting sites, spring fever is definitely on its way.  March and April is such an exciting time of year with plenty of spring wildlife to look… Read More

  Look out for FROGS and TOADS! This is their mating time and they are on the move. February and March is the time when we are most likely to see them as large numbers converge on their… Read More

Happy New Year! It’s January and a new decade starts here. This month I thought we would concentrate on one species of bird which is on the reserve in big numbers at the moment. There are a number of… Read More

IT’S DECEMBER! December is the month of CHRISTMAS and that makes it hard to avoid references to mistletoe, robins, holly and ivy! Let’s learn more about these Christmas symbols which you might spot on a walk around the… Read More

Welcome to November! The clocks have gone back, so dusk comes early in November. The first frosts have arrived and the trees are rapidly losing their leaves….but it’s a good time for wildlife spotting. Winter visitors are streaming… Read More

Welcome to October! We are well into the autumn and this can be a lovely time of year with lots going on. Birds While the summer birds have gone south to find warmer climates, the winter birds are… Read More