October is a very busy time for the Reserve Team, as habitat management really gets underway. One of the biggest tasks for the autumn season is cutting & clearing the Wildflower Meadow. In total during 2025, 60+ volunteers helped over eight days to mow & clear two acres (0.8 hectares) of vegetation. As always, areas… Read more »

I think it’s fair to say that both Stuart and I were somewhat apprehensive about conducting the bird survey on a day when the weather forecast was one of rain all day with winds gusting to 40mph.  Alas, when we arrived it was dry, with minimal wind but an overcast sky. A wonderful start with… Read more »

It was a blustery cloudy morning but quite mild. A family of Blackcap in a shrub on the drive was a lovely start to the day. I knew that Nick needed to leave mid-morning so I wanted to start with the Scrape & Moon Water which are usually the hardest parts to count! On the… Read more »

Mark Hill and myself did the Pensthorpe bird count Thursday morning. It was a beautiful sunny day with a light south westerly and temperatures of 190c – 230c. The oppressive heat of the last week had gone and the air was much fresher. The water levels were extremely low. This was especially noticeable at the… Read more »

As the breeding season is in full force across the Reserve (just listen to all that wonderful birdsong!), the efforts of the Reserve Volunteers and Staff have moved to behind-the-scenes tasks. A concerted effort to clear and re-organize the work-yard as well as filling potholes on the main vehicle tracks may not have been the… Read more »

Here’s the latest update from WVBS following their visit to Pensthorpe on 4th November 2024   Pensthorpe monitoring Monday 4th November 2024 We arrived at 7.30am on Monday to a chilly, overcast and grey Pensthorpe with very little wind. Starting our survey in the car park we soon picked up over 50 Stock Doves, together… Read more »

Wensum Valley Birdwatching Society visited Pensthorpe on 23rd October 2024. Here’s their report.   Pensthorpe 23rd October 2024 Ray, Sue and I arrived at Pensthorpe at 8.30 with fog lights on and a hope that the heavy morning mist would lift. After all the forecast for 7am was VG on the visibility front (V Poor… Read more »

Wensum Valley Birdwatching Society visited Pensthorpe on 11th September 2024. Here’s their report.   Pensthorpe 11th September 2024 Very cold and windy start to the day and very little numbers of birds in the drive. Thing improved as we made our way to Wensum Wetland with large Tit Flock just before the Monet Bridge (Blue… Read more »

Wensum Valley Birdwatching Society visited Pensthorpe on 28th May 2024. Here’s their report.   Pensthorpe 28th May 2024 Pensthorpe Monitoring Tuesday 28th May 2024 A later start than usual, but the list still quickly accumulated around the car park area, with 2 Marsh Harriers quartering the fields beside the driveway, a Mistle Thrush feeding there,… Read more »