Mornings are a magical time to get out and about exploring nature before work. Here, our Membership Recruitment Manager Anya Kuliszewski explains why she loves to do just that.... During my time working and volunteering for the RSPB, I have been lucky enough to visit many of the fantastic nature reserves we have in the north of England. You would think I spend a lot of my time out and about but I can normally be found in the visitor centre. I love to chat to visitors about the important work we do and all the latest wildlife sightings, but I do try and explore as much as I can too - this means I often come down to Leighton Moss in the morning before work. I love the reserve early in the morning. I usually head down to the Causeway and Lower hides. I regularly spot the family of otters hunting for breakfast. At the moment the three young otter cubs have been delighting visitors throughout the whole day. They are often fishing with their mother and it's great fun to watch them splashing around. As otters can stay under water for over four minutes, it's always entertaining to see where they are going to pop up next, often sending flocks of ducks into panic! Mornings are also a great time to spot some of the more secretive resident that call Leighton Moss home - water rails and bitterns. Could you get a better spot to have breakfast? The path down to Lower hide is one of my favourite spots on the reserve. At the moment it's fantastic for a range of small birds with regular sightings of marsh tits and even the elusive bearded tit. We are starting to have regular sightings of our iconic bearded tits. Throughout the whole of October they will be visiting the grit trays on the Causeway. It's always worth listening out for them when you are walking down our new boardwalk too. Their metallic pinging is really distinctive, if you hear it then just stand still and they may pop across the path in front of you! Over the past few days marsh harriers have once again been seen quartering over the reserve. Lots of these birds will migrate down to Africa but we are lucky and a few usually stick around through the winter - fingers crossed! One of the highlights at Leighton Moss at the moment are definitely the Allen and Eric Morecambe hides. At this time of year we get clouds of wading birds over the saltmarsh. My personal favourite is the dunlin. They are small, gorgeous silvery wading birds that flock together on the pools throughout winter. I love watching them move with such synchronicity - merlin often disturb them, sending them swirling up into the air. With the stunning backdrop of Morecambe Bay, the wading birds here are one of the most fantastic wildlife spectacles in the UK.
Dunlin flock (rspb-images.com) Starlings are another star species that call Leighton Moss home through the autumn. We are starting to get flocks of local birds creating mini-murmurations above the saltmarsh. Let's hope we get a big influx of starlings from Europe to create those fantastic displays! Keep an eye on future blogs, we will keep you posted!
Starling in the reeds by Ged Gill
If you're new to birdwatching and want to learn more about identifying our feathered friends, why not come along to one of our Birdwatching for Beginners events this autumn - details here