Dee Estuary reserve volunteer, Tom, whets our appetite for the Wirral Wader Festival with this guest blog about the rich diversity of wading birds that we're lucky to see here in the UK, whilst offering a flavour of the insight he's always keen to share in his role as a hide volunteer every Sunday at Burton Mere Wetlands.
"Wetlands attract a unique mix of species that are adapted to extract food from water and mud. Many of these travel great distances, exploiting the summer bloom of insect life in the northern summer but needing to leave as the water freezes. Prominent amongst the long distance migrants are the waders, a group of generally long-legged birds that peck and probe in mud and shallow water. Because they travel so widely, a large variety of species visit Britain.
This provides a challenge to identify them but also an opportunity to experience the variety of bird life across the northern hemisphere. Birds from Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Scandanavia and Russia are regular visitors. Vagrants can come from even further. The distances waders can cover are staggering. For instance, satellite tracking has shown that bar-tailed godwit fly non-stopacross the pacific ocean, without an opportunity to feed, between New Zealand and eastern Siberia/Alaska, a distance of 6400 miles!
Mixed wader flock at Hoylake by Ron Thomas
Identification is the key that allows us to appreciate the journeys that are happening around us. Many books describe the detailed plumage features of waders but the number of different species and plumages can be bewildering. Knowledge of the habitat prefences, calls and behaviour can all help determine what species are present. A visit to Burton Mere Wetlands allows discussion with experienced birders where you can learn how detailed study can allow monitoring of populations and breeding success without traveling to remote breeding grounds.As Burton Mere Wetlands is a freshwater marsh habitat, species with a preference for saltwater shores in winter, whilst common on the nearby Wirral shore, are scarce on the reserve.For instance, bar-tailed godwit rarely gather to feed on freshwater marshes whereas black-tailed godwit commonly do. As a consequence we know that most of the godwits at Burton Mere are black-tailed. Similarly, golden plover prefer short grassland whereas grey plover are found on flat shores, so golden plover are regularly seen at Burton Mere whilst grey plover are rare. With this knowledge of habitat preferences, we can use a combination of feeding action, bill shape and size to distinguish most of the common species."
Join Tom from 3-4 pm this Sunday at Burton Mere Wetlands for a free introductory workshop in wader identification as part of the 2016 Wirral Wader Festival.