Misty mornings, crunchy leaves, skeins of pink-footed geese overhead - it can mean only one thing! October is upon us. Bearded tits are the stars of the show throughout the autumn. On a calm and sunny day, they visit the grit trays rather reliably, generally between 9am-11am. The “beardies” transition their diet from insects to seeds as the seasons change, and the intake of grit aids their digestion. The grit trays also offer them the prime positions to pose for photographs, and to many visitors delight, these little birds are undeterred by all the attention. If you’re interested in learning more about them, or maybe even seeing them for yourself, then why not join one of our Brilliant Bearded Tits guided walks throughout October?
We are still getting regular reports of bitterns, but great white egrets seem to be the heron of the hour. These graceful giants can be seen all about the site at the moment; it’s hard to believe that these birds were a rare twitch a few years ago – now our visitors are reporting three at once in on bino view!
(Photo by Jarrod Sneyd)
The pools are jam packed with wildfowl. Gadwall, shoveler, and teal are now joined by big numbers of pintail. While the ducks are still in their eclipse plumage, it’s always worth taking time to
scan through all of the birds on the pool. Last week, visitors saw a garganey, a summer visitor on the move – ready to make a mammoth migration to Africa. It’s always good to see familiar faces, and one particular duck is back for its fourth winter at Leighton Moss. A fan favourite and confusion bird, the cinnamon teal x shoveler hybrid has been regularly seen outside Lilians this past week. Its bill is most certainly shoveler, but its deep red chest is distinctive of cinnamon teal. The easiest way to pick it out in the crowd is its striking white bar behind the beak! Have you managed to see it yet?
It’s been an exciting week down on the saltmarsh, with sightings of three grey plovers and a little stint! The wader numbers are still building, with redshank, greenshank, spotted redshank and black tailed godwits present most days. Knot, dunlin and ruff have also been reported. Barn owl and marsh harrier have been seen down on the salt marsh – male marsh harriers are now becoming more present on site after a few weeks of post breeding absence. Whooper swans have been heard overhead, we hope we will soon have them stop off on the pools.
And it’s not all about the birds! Red deer have been caught on our livecams, clashing antlers ahead of the rut. Soon the reedbed will rumble with their roars, as the stags stake out their territory and attract hinds to their harem. Follow us on our Facebook and Twitter pages for updates on the rut!
We hope to see you soon!
Beth