Mid-summer is a busy time for waders. Many will be leaving their Arctic breeding grounds and moving south, either heading to the UK to spend the winter here or passing through on their way to the continent and beyond. Morecambe Bay is of major significance to a number of species and the area is recognised as one of the most important sites in Europe for both wintering and passage shorebirds, including curlew, oystercatcher, dunlin and knot. This is why the RSPB owns and manages huge areas of the intertidal areas; the equivalent of more than 2,500 football pitches! Here at Leighton Moss we are also blessed with notable numbers of waders during the late summer and autumn and our Eric Morecambe and Allen pools often attract an impressive array of birds at this time of year.
Curlew photo by David Morris
But, just like our extensive reedbeds, we also need to manage these coastal lagoons to ensure that they provide the best habitat for breeding birds in the spring, migrants during the peak passage times and also those birds that spend the winter with us! This isn't always easy as water levels and landscape features can be readily changed by a range of factors from high tides, to periods of constant rainfall or prolonged spells of dry weather. Periodically we need to get out there and make some serious changes in order to improve the habitat and we can only do that when conditions allow. The good news is our team are out there right now, cracking on with the job! Here's a brief outline of what they're up to:
Naturally, all this activity will cause some temporary disturbance but all being well it will be completed well before the peak passage season. The hides will remain open so visitors can observe the work taking place while they're also checking the pools for wonderful waders!
And if you'd like to learn more about shorebirds and why the Morecambe Bay area is so essential to their survival, why not book a place on our What's That Wader workshop on 20 August?
Now that bittern activity has eased off a touch and the marsh harriers have done their brief annual disappearing act, the main reserve may seem a little quieter than usual. But look closely and you may be surprised by just how much activity there is out there. Moulting wildfowl can be seen across the site while ospreys and otters are being seen most days and huge numbers of sand martins and swallows congregate at dusk to roost in the vast reeds. Sparrowhawks and hobbies may be spotted cruising overhead as dazzling dragonflies patrol the pool edges and if you look down you may spot an elephant hawkmoth caterpillar as it ambles across the path!
As always, we ask that you please write down all your sightings in our book at the visitor centre so that other visitors know what's being spotted where and when!