Our new intern, Heather, has written the recent sightings blog. Enjoy
I think it is safe to say Spring is definitely in full flow here at Fairburn Ings! We’ve had some (largely) sunny weather bringing classic lesser celandines flowering on the reserve. These simple buttercup-like wild flowers with their waxy yellow petals are some of the first to emerge in Spring, preferring damper, shadier patches so are easily spotted from the boardwalk and along the path-edges around Fairburn. The petite white blossoms of the blackthorn are slowly starting to emerge which for me, always bring fond memories of hectic lambing! These charming blackthorn blossoms appear the same time as the leaves of the hawthorn, which will flower later in the season- this is how I identify between the two! The furry catkins of the goat willow are also highly recognisable this time of year. These have a high value for nature as they provide an important source of early pollen and nectar for our bees and other insects, which are also starting to wake-up and kick start the rest of the chain into action ready for the full awakening of spring!
Blackthorn
Our sightings book is filling up with regular sightings of sand martins. These are one of the first spring migrants to appear and will stay until late July- early September time where they will start their incredible journey back to the Sahara in Africa. Its dark wings and white belly crossed with a distinctive dark chest bar is easily identifiable as they soar overhead with their paper-plane shaped wingspan. The cheery array of bird song is in full flow during these fresh spring mornings as you wonder through the reserve, with noisy great tits taking centre stage. One notable song includes the delicate chiffchaff. It always amazes me how the smallest birds manage to make the most distinctive calls. Even if you aren’t lucky enough to spot these tiny brown wren-like birds, their playful, repetitive ‘chifchaff chiffchaff’ call will leave you in no doubt of their presence.
Chiffchaff - David Kjear (rspb-images.org.uk)
Whilst I was out with the one of our rangers we managed to get a view of a smew, which I was very excited about as it was my first ever sighting of a smew. They are very elusive with their constant dipping and ability to stay under water for long periods you can spend quite a significant amount of time at our hides playing ‘now it’s there, now it’s not’ with this duck! If you are lucky enough to see a male smew, you will notice its black mask and black tuft against the striking white of its plumage. The females are less exciting, with a grey body and dark red head. Our kingfishers have also been showing off lately, I spent quite an exciting afternoon hooked to the Kingfisher screen with both the male and female kingfishers displaying annoyingly photogenic poses whilst I watched camera-less! The female is recognised by its orangey- pink tip on the edge of its beak compared to the solid black beak of the male. So feel free to bring your cameras to Fairburn and get a shot of these dashing birds whilst they are in a showy mood. Our cameras at the visitor centre are showing tree sparrows and blue tits checking out the nest boxes and prepping them for new arrivals! If you are keen to see what goes on ‘inside the box’ then please feel free to come have a look over some cake and tea at the centre.
Smew – Danny Green (rspb-images.org.uk)