Reserve round-up: week commencing 9 July

As we move into July, the return migration begins in earnest, most notably with the waders; up to 600 black-tailed godwits are currently spread around Burton Mere Wetlands, many in striking full summer plumage.

Three spotted redshanks, four ruffs, and a single greenshank were the stand-outs of other passage waders, but single green and common sandpipers were often the closest to be seen, making the most of the shallow edges of Reception Pool.

With the low water levels and lots of muddy edge it’s no surprise even the smallest waders have been more visible, with a peak of six little ringed plovers on the main scrape and four snipe from Marsh Covert hide.

Shovelers have had a great year here, with the handful of broods being a site best, whilst broods of gadwall and tufted ducks are now emerging too.

Green woodpeckers including at least one juvenile have been seen frequently in and around the garden, whilst a cuckoo was spotted in the sacrificial crop field adjacent to the Inner Marsh Farm trail.

A grasshopper warbler was seen along the boardwalk on the Farm and Fen trail, plus another one of our elusive summer visitors, the yellow wagtail, showed well in the cattle field opposite the entrance to Bunker Screen.

The warm, dry weather means there’s still plenty of butterfly and dragonfly activity, whilst the common lizards have been basking brilliantly on the wooden fences along the beginning of the Reedbed trail.

On Sunday a group of 10 goosanders graced Bridge Pool, a very infrequent visitor to Burton Mere Wetlands and even more so in such high numbers.

 Three of the goosanders present on Sunday morning (C.Wells)

Sadly we bid farewell to our assistant warden John at the end of June, who leaves the RSPB to take on a PhD at Bangor University. We're nearing the end of the breeding season but it is still vital to carry out regular surveys to get accurate figures for the season's breeding birds.

Lots of effort at this time of year goes into cutting back vegetation around the nature trails to keep it accessible to visitors; resi-vol Alice recently passed her brushcutter training, so her and already-qualified Gwen were let loose on the strimming. They didn't stop there though, with some much-needed attention given to resurfacing many of the trails, and building them up a little to reduce flooding in the wetter months.

The obvious drought has seen water levels drop to near their lowest in Burton Mere Wetlands' lifetime, with some inventive water management being done to redirect water from the currently redundant cattle trough onto the grassland near Marsh Covert Hide to give a few late-nesting avocets the best chance to reach fledging.

 

Not long until the schools finish for summer, so don't forget about the ever-present activities available to families on any visit to Burton Mere Wetlands, such as the family quiz trail, explorer backpacks and den building.

We're also fast approaching our biggest family event of the year, the Big Wild Sleepout, on Saturday 28 July, which is booking up fast but a small number of places are still available. Check out our events page for more information.