Guest blog by Laura Smith, RSPB Portmore Lough WardenAutumn is well and truly underway at Portmore Lough nature reserve.The leaves on the trees have turned various shades of golden brown before falling and lining the boardwalk. On the lough, the whooper swans noisily herald their arrival from Iceland. Along with flocks of greylag geese, they will spend the winter grazing on the fields around the reserve, returning to roost on the lough at dusk.
Portmore is home to huge numbers of wintering wildfowl, which migrate from all over northern Europe. Coots, pochards and tufted ducks all come to the lough in their hundreds.The fen habitat often floods over the winter months, creating new feeding opportunities for dabbling ducks. Keep a lookout for wigeons, with their distinctive cream head stripes, and teals with their striking green ‘bandit’ eye-masks.On a late afternoon walk in the winter, starlings can be seen in large flocks, twisting and swirling over the reedbed in their murmuration before pouring into the reedbed to roost.Dusk is also great time to spot harriers over the meadows and reedbed, with both hen harriers and marsh harriers seen on the reserve in recent winters.Tree sparrows, linnets and chaffinches feed on the seed in the crop field behind the car park, whilst other small birds congregate at the bird feeders. On a still winter’s day, listen for the contact call and ‘ball and stick’ shapes of long-tailed tits as they move in small flocks through the trees. Winter thrushes such as fieldfares and redwings can be seen in the fields and in the bushes, feasting on any leftover berries.Autumn and winter can be great times to see fungi, especially on deadwood in the wildlife garden and along the woodland edge path to the hide.