I hear your groans, but I couldn’t possibly write this blog without using that awful pun. Without question, the star bird of the past week was the single white-winged tern, a rarer relative of the vagrant black terns of which there were multiple sightings in the North West this spring, including at Burton Mere Wetlands.
Around 3 pm on Friday, the staff and volunteers were alerted by a keen-eyed visitor of the unexpected yet distinctive bird over the main scrape in front of the Reception Hide, much to the delight of everyone present and the scores of birders who “twitched” once the news was made public, with many still present at 9 pm when the car park was due to be locked.
White-winged black tern by Anthony Lovatt
Despite best efforts of Site Manager, Colin to find the bird on Saturday morning there was no sign, suggesting it had moved on. There were still plenty of highlights over the weekend, most notably the increasing little egret activity in the top of Marsh Covert as the young birds on the nests approach fledging.
Amongst them, an immature great white egret was displaying some interesting nest-building behaviour – of course, too late for this year, not to mention the absence of a mate and the fact it’s not of breeding age – but perhaps following its instincts and getting some practise in for next year?
Little egret having a bad hair day by Lynne Greenstreet
To add to the numerous duck broods mentioned last week, a family of little grebes has been showing well at the Reedbed Screen, whilst the mute swan family have taken up residence on the Reception Pool with their four growing cygnets.
One of our summer fixtures, the non-breeding black-tailed godwit flock, seem to be enjoying the slightly higher water level on the scrape after last week’s rainfall, with numbers over 200 in recent days. Some are even braving the Reception Pool, offering fantastic close views, which bodes well for when we drop the water level there in the coming weeks to attract more waders during their migration. Just today, a single spotted redshank and a funky orange-plumed ruff joined the party, suggesting the beginning of the "autumn" migration is imminent.
Away from the birds, the common lizards have been putting on a show on the fence at the beginning of the Reedbed trail, basking on the warm wood during recent sunny days. Stoats have also been showing their face a lot along the Burton Mere trail and close to the Marsh Covert Hide.
The bee orchids continue to delight our visitors with their unusual, ornate flowers; over 100 “spikes” are now in bloom, perfect timing for our Wonderful Wildflowers guided walk on Sunday. There are still places available so call or email the reserve if you’d like to attend: 0151 353 8478 or deeestuary@rspb.org.uk
We’re also now taking booking for this year’s Big Wild Sleepout; for one night only, we’re inviting families for an evening adventure discovering the nocturnal wildlife that makes its home here, then spend the night camping on your favourite nature reserve! Click here for full details or contact the reserve on the details above.