Typical features of July here are the tail-end of the breeding season, the return of some of our winter resident birds, and increasing hope of passage migrants as the month goes on.

June is a month which is all about breeding. Towards the end of the month thoughts start to turn towards early autumn migrants, and although some interesting birds do turn up in London every year…

The first knot for six years - and perhaps the first ever in summer - was the highlight of a month which is good enough to merit its own round-up rather than merging it as usual with July.…

A strong passage of black terns and tame sanderling and turnstones were the May highlights at the Wetlands. The month also saw cuckoo, hobby and ringed plover added to the year list while the good…

May here is generally a month of two halves. The tail-end of the spring migration period dominates the first half of the month, with passage migrants likely and the last of our summer breeding…

April is always an interesting month here, and in some years can be the best birding month of the year. It is the peak time for the return of our summer breeding birds but also a good time to see…

April again lived up to its reputation as the best birding month of the year, Although there was no outright rarity, black-necked grebes, osprey, tree pipit, ring ouzel and avocets were among the…

After the quiet and settled months of a mild winter, March is the month when things start to change. Short-distant migrants are already starting to arrive at the start of the month, and before the…

A flock of crossbills and a nuthatch - both genuine rarities at the Wetlands - were the stand-out birds in March. The month also saw the first brent geese since 2021, an unprecedented three…

February here is usually the last quiet birding month of winter before spring migration gets underway in March. If the weather is mild there is little reason for birds to move around, so most of…