Today is the winter solstice, the shortest day, which means the days will soon start getting longer and the optimists amongst us can start looking forward to spring! Of course, we have the small matter of Christmas to enjoy yet, so here’s a little round-up of what to expect if you visit the reserve over the festive season.
That’s right, Burton Mere Wetlands is open every day except Christmas Day (though don’t forget you can always enjoy a stroll by Burton Marsh or Parkgate that day if you’re desperate for a Christmas hen harrier or short-eared owl!). Also, we have ever so slightly adjusted opening times on Christmas Eve and Boxing Day; closing at 3pm on Christmas Eve, and opening at 10.30am (car park 10am) on Boxing Day.
This is also a good chance to mention that we will be doing our annual one-day closure of the short section of Burton Marsh Greenway that crosses our land, over Christmas Day. Locks will be put on the gates at the bottom of Station Road and at the start of the boardwalk near the bottom of Burton Point, at 3pm on Christmas Eve and unlocked at 8.30am on Boxing Day. Doing this is a legal requirement to maintain the route’s status as a permissive access rather than a public right of way, and we hope to minimise the impact on Greenway users by choosing Christmas Day. For any further information please email the reserve on deeestuary@rspb.org.uk.
Back to Burton Mere Wetlands, and one of our undoubted stars of recent days has been the kingfisher(s), who built a reputation from early Autumn of being very active around the reedbed and many visitors were treated to breath-taking views from Marsh Covert hide. This is still the case, but at least one of them is making the most of the seasonally higher water level on Reception Pool, so can be admired from the comfort of Reception Hide.
In addition, bird of prey sightings have been regular and varied, with marsh harriers, peregrines and sparrowhawks all frequent, whilst hen harriers – including one of the two grey adult males currently on the estuary – and a merlin recently coming to the fore. The latter, normally a difficult bird to see due to its relatively small size and fast, low flight, has been showing off wonderfully by perching in a tree right beside the main toilet block near Reception Hide.
Merlin in tree near Reception Hide (A.Lovatt)
Other current highlights are the thousands of geese making regular movements around the estuary and to nearby farmland, including recently a small number of white-fronted geese, an increasingly rare winter migrant to this part of the country. Last week’s cold snap turned the reserve into a beautiful winter wonderland, and If we get some more of that kind of weather we could see more of these geese arrive, perhaps along with Bewick’s swans which are so far notable in their absence on the Dee this winter. We do have a decent whooper swan flock, with 40+ currently on or around the reserve and at times showing well from Reception Hide. If you’re interested, you can hear our recently-retired site manager, Colin Wells, talking about swans to BBC Radio Merseyside at around 8.25am on Friday morning.
Whooper swans on main scrape (A.Lovatt)
The current weather forecast, though, suggests we aren’t going to get a white Christmas, in fact conditions could be ideal for a casual walk to redeem those Christmas indulgences. We were recommended in the Top 10 Boxing Day walks, here https://www.birdguides.com/articles/top-10-boxing-day-walks-on-rspb-nature-reserves/ and remember it’s not just wetland birds and raptors that the reserve boasts, but lots of lovely small birds that spend winter on the reserve such as siskins, goldcrests, bullfinches and linnets.
One thing to note if you do visit, is that we will not have our usual delicious sandwiches on offer due to our local supplies closing for the Christmas and New Year period. However, all our usual drinks and snacks, plus lovely local mince pies, will be available throughout. Normal service will resume on Wednesday 3 January. Since we’re looking into the new year, I’ll mention our Parkgate High Tide Watch on Thursday 4 January; click the link for all the details.
With that, I’ll wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year – and most importantly, a thank you for all of your support, and enjoyment, of the reserve over the past year.