We’ve had some rather wet and blustery weather over the past few days, and this has brought with it some unusual visitors, such as a couple of gannets on Friday, which were seen flying north-west over the flashes! Gannets are large and beautiful white birds with black wingtips and creamy yellow heads, and they have a wingspan of up to two metres! They hunt fish by diving from a height into the sea and chasing them under the water.

 Another lovely sighting over the weekend is the goldeneye – these medium sized ducks visit the UK from northern Europe over winter, although there are breeding goldeneyes in the highlands of Scotland during the summer.

Redwings and fieldfares have started to pass over the reserve in larger numbers, with 14 fieldfares and up to 100 redwings being seen this morning. Numbers of these winter visitors will build up across the UK as winter progresses, as they feast on the plentiful autumn fruits found on our trees and shrubs.

A small group of whooper swans have been spotted daily since Saturday, both over the flashes and at Pickup hide. These large white swans are mainly winter visitors to the UK from Iceland, although a couple of pairs nest in the north. The whooper swans' winter population and small breeding numbers here in the UK make it an amber listed species, so the estuaries and wetlands it visits on migration and for winter roosts need special protection. 

The ever-graceful and highly sought-after great white egret is still being seen around the reserve in various locations, including from Pickup hide as well as over the visitor centre this morning!

As most of our wildflowers have died away for the winter, it’s a great time of year to appreciate the beauty of lichens, which look lovely all year round! Lichens are so-called ‘symbiotic’ organisms, as they are made up of both fungus and algae. They can grow in some of the most extreme environments on earth, and are useful indicators of air pollution levels for scientists.

Pixie cup lichen can be seen carpeting the ground along the riverbank trail, especially where not much else is growing on the spoil heaps. If you look closely, it looks like a strangely beautiful miniature forest! You can also see lichen growing on trees, like the standing dead trees along the boardwalk round the discovery trail.

 

Pixie cup lichen

 

Lichen on dead wood

 

Why not come along for a wander on the reserve to see what autunal wonders you can discover?