RSPB Leighton Moss

RSPB Leighton Moss has been on our list of places to visit for a while now and a recent trip to the Forest of Bowland finally gave us our opportunity to go. The reserve is famous for its Bearded Tits (insert your own joke about Richard Branson / Noel Edmonds here) and we were very excited to get the chance to see some. However, they tend to spend the spring and summer hidden away in the reeds and come out during the autumn months, so our chances were close to nil. So our first bit of advice is, go in October if you want to see them!

That's not to say there aren't plenty of other birds and animals to see on the reserve during the rest of the year, indeed on our trip we saw over 40 different species of bird and heard a few others. RSPB Leighton Moss is a huge wetland reserve and has the largest reedbed in the north west of England, which makes it a haven for some of the UK's rarest and most elusive birds. Birds such as the Bittern, Marsh Harrier and Bearded Tit make a home in reedbeds and as you would expect the reserve has good populations of each.

Leighton Moss was previously an area of agricultural land in the ownership of Richard Gillow, who in 1882 used steam technology to drain the moss and turn it into agricultural land. Over time this became un-economical and by 1918 the land was thankfully, once again flooded. The area was then used for duck shooting, until in 1964 the RSPB leased the land and then in 1974, finally bought it. The reserve was first opened to visitors in 1965, on a permit basis.

The reedbeds, which dominate Leighton Moss are a complex ecosystem, even if on first look they don't appear to be. Within them are areas of water of differing depths, reed density and other plants which all help to create a diverse mosaic of habitat. There are also areas of woodland, grassland, saltmarsh and mudflats (at the nearby Morecambe Bay part of the reserve) and open water.

Some of the key species that are found at RSPB Leighton Moss, and are of national conservation importance are:

Bittern (Botaurus stellaris): The bittern is an incredibly secretive bird that resembles a heron, only brown, which helps it to disappear into the reedbeds. In the spring the males “boom” to attract females and we were lucky enough to hear this on our trip, which made up for us not seeing them. One of the rangers told us they had 11 males on site. The booming actually sounds more like someone blowing over the neck of a large empty jar, a sort of low pitched “Whooom” noise, that can be heard for quite a distance.

Marsh Harrier (Circus aeruginosus): The marsh harrier is probably my favourite bird of prey and one we had not seen until recently. Formerly very rare this bird has been thriving of late and we were lucky enough to see five or six on our visit. They can be spotted from the way they soar over the reedbeds hunting for small birds and mammals and also by the V-shape their wings make while flying.

Bearded Tit (Panurus biarmicus): The bearded tit is a small, acrobatic bird that lives almost exclusively in reedbeds, although they are not part of the Tit family. The males have a distinctive black moustache, although I think it looks more like Alice Cooper's eye make-up, and they can be located by their call which sounds like a 'Ping' noise.

Water Rail (Rallus aquaticus): Water rails are, like the bittern, shy birds. They are far smaller than a Bittern so are even harder to see, though they do occasionally come out of the reedbeds for a wander.

Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta): This wader is the symbol of the RSPB and is a recent arrival at the reserve. They are black and white in colour and have a very distinctive upturned bill.

You can also see other wetland birds, waders, red deer, otter, frogs, toads and newts.

There are a number of hides on site that you can use, each giving a different outlook and opportunity to see different species, along with a skytower which is a 9m high open tower you can climb and get amazing views over the reedbed systems and Morecambe Bay in the distance. During the autumn you can see the Bearded Tits along the boardwalks where they come to feed on the grit trays, which they need to help grind up the seeds they eat.

RSPB Leighton Moss is an amazing place to spend the day, it is accessible to all, has some fascinating wildlife to see and has the all-important toilets, café (very good tiffin!) and gift shop. Who knows, you may be lucky enough to see one its famous Bitterns or Bearded Tits.