October at RSPB Leighton Moss is the prime time of year for getting a good look at our resident Bearded Tits. They often live deep within the reed beds and can be very illusive as they have enough food resources within the reed beds during the spring and summer months so that they can remain well hidden! They eat insects and other invertebrates throughout the summer when they are in good supply. In the autumn when this protein rich food source starts to diminish, the birds need to look elsewhere for nourishment.
But why is October the peak time for seeing the Bearded Tits? This is when they change their diet to the reed seeds and in order to digest these small but relatively hard seeds, they need to break them up to get to the essential pulpy hearts. As they don’t have any teeth, and their bills are not designed to deal with the problem, they need to eat grit which sits in a pouch in their chest (known as a croup) and grinds up the seeds as they eat them. They do this from as early as September, commonly in October and November and in more recent years have continued to grit into January.
This is the reason we have been providing grit trays since the mid 1990’s. The grit trays look like regular bird tables but instead of putting sunflower seeds and suet pellets on them we put small piles of grit and sand on. The Bearded Tits can’t get enough of it! This was initially done purely for the birds' benefit but also gave us a unique opportunity to focus study on the birds as the majority were colour-ringed for many years. This was a ringing programme established by our former Senior Warden, John Wilson. We also realised the location of the trays near the path gave our visitors amazing views of the Bearded Tits. Now, we have two areas with the grit trays. One is on the Causeway and another on the path just before the Grisedale Hide. These viewing areas are very popular with visitors and photographers. We also have a live stream on one of the screens in the cafe for you to watch these lovely little birds while you enjoy a bite to eat and a brew.
Why not come along to see the Bearded Tits for yourselves, here are a few tips to help you plan your visit.
Bearded Tits by Jarrod Sneyd
In other reserve news - Walking back up to the Visitor Centre from Lilian’s Hide one evening we heard a Yellow Browed Warbler singing in the tall trees by the Sky Tower and we managed to get a good view of it flitting about with a mixed flock of tits and a Treecreeper. Visitors have been reporting increasing numbers of Siskins around the woodland paths and one of our team spotted a Stonechat in a tree on the Grisedale path. October is also the time of year to start looking out for Redwing and Fieldfare starting to arrive. Small flocks of Redwings have been in the local area including the reserve already. So, far there has just been a single Fieldfare seen on October 7th - let us know if you see more. The Red Deer are continuing to show well from Tim Jackson and Grisdale Hides and the rutting season is underway!
Red Deer Stag by Jarrod Sneyd
The dabbling and diving duck numbers are continuing to increase on all the pools and Marsh Harriers are showing daily across the reserve. Little Grebes are showing well at both Lilian’s and Causeway. Bitterns have been active and seen flying over the reed beds a few times this week too! The Otters had been showing well at Lower Hide but as this is now shut for replacement it will be worth keeping an eye out for the Otters in the Causeway pool and the channel that runs under the Causeway (our Main dyke – that ultimately carries all the water out of the reserve towards the sea) . The WeBS (Wetland Bird Survey) team came across a stunning bright yellow Pale Tussock Moth Caterpillar on the way back from the last count, it was on the path between Grisedale and Lilian’s. Keep a look out for these and other bugs, caterpillars and wildlife that might be crossing the paths as you make your way around the reserve.
Pale Tussock Moth Caterpillar by Sue Westwood
The new mud banks over at the Eric Morecambe Complex seem to be attracting large numbers of Snipe this year, one count was 180 at the start of October! There are still large numbers of Redshank. Other waders on the Eric Morecambe and Allen pools have included six Greenshank, one Spotted Redshank and the odd dunlin and knot . Whooper Swans and Barnacle Geese have been dropping in for a rest on passage. Other wildfowl have included increasing numbers of teal and slowly building numbers of wigeon. As usual, there are often bird spectacles as the waders and wildfowl there are disturbed by the birds of prey, with Marsh Harriers, Peregrine and Sparrowhawks regularly reported. Cattle Egrets are still showing well and if they can’t find any cattle, they will happily settle on or around the resident sheep who don’t seem to mind!
Snipe by Jarrod Sneyd
Also, as highlighted above, at Leighton, we are excited that replacement of Lower hide is underway. Just to prove it here’s a ‘before and after’ of the demolition. Our wardening team, led by our trusty technical volunteer Mark Smith, have done a great job to ensure we can capture time-lapse imagery of the job - and a handy resource for potentially beaming images from Lower hide area back to the Visitor Centre in the future. Thanks Mark and everyone else involved.
Two images of Lower hide – before and after, (c) RSPB
Check out our Events link for information on What’s On at Leighton Moss. Plan your visit and book our popular events in advance to ensure your place.
Here is a list of what’s coming up in October and November:
Nature Tots – 16 October 10.30am to 11.30am - Booking essential
Nature Up Close - 29 October 10am to 16.00pm
Binocular and Telescope Open Weekend – 2 and 3 November 9.30am - 16.30pm
Winter Walks at Leighton Moss – 8 November 9am – 11am - Booking essential
Wildlife Explorers (8 to 12 years) - 9 November 10am to 12 noon
Check with our Welcome Team on arrival for any Family Activities or Quest Packs.
We look forward to seeing you soon.