Immediately following the much-talked-about 'Beast from the East', things calmed down quite a bit and it seemed that spring was keen to forge ahead. Birdsong on the reserve has certainly ramped up a few notches; chaffinches, reed buntings, nuthatches, marsh tits and the like are all in fine voice, declaring territories and proclaiming their suitability as ideal mates for the breeding season.

Bittern by Mike Malpass

Most excitingly, we have had bitterns booming from two different areas of the reserve. One or two of these secretive herons have been seen regularly throughout the winter, mainly from the Causeway and Lower hides but thanks to their cryptic lifestyle it’s an impossible task trying to figure out just how many we have out there. It’s only in spring when on calm, clear evenings and some of the bitterns prepare to migrate that we can hazard a guess as to the wintering population. When conditions are just right, the bitterns will rise from the dense reed beds at dusk and fly over the reserve calling. This sound is nothing like the famous boom but is more like a gull call. On some evenings, we can witness multiple bitterns circling and ‘gull-calling’ in the fading light – quite magical!   

The potentially thrilling part of hearing this year’s booming birds is the possibility that some bitterns may remain to breed at Leighton Moss. A great deal of work has gone into improving the reed bed for bitterns and it would be a fantastic reward for the ecologists and wardens involved in that extensive management to see young bitterns fledging on site again. We’ll keep listening for the evocative booms and keeping our fingers crossed!

In other news, the marsh harriers have been showing exceptionally well, with up to six birds present at the time of writing. Two dazzling males have been sky dancing and food-carrying in their attempts to impress the females.

Avocet by David Mower

Out on the saltmarsh, avocet numbers have been building up again, though with the forecast cold conditions due over the next few days we may well see them disappearing for a short spell once more before they settle down to breed. A new anti-predator fence was installed at the Allen Pools this week to prevent foxes from raiding the avocet nests later in the season.

Our first sand martins of the year appeared briefly on Wednesday (14) with another present at Causeway for much of the following day. Despite the un-spring-like conditions we should see a few more of these dainty long-distance migrants in the coming days, along with the first chiffchaffs and wheatears if we’re lucky. A subtle and favourable change in wind direction should see an increase in the number of birds arriving and we can hope to add little ringed plover and osprey before the end of March.

Meanwhile, the starling murmuration, while still occurring, is starting to peter out a little. We still have a few thousand birds coming onto the reserve to roost but their display seems less extensive now and their numbers have certainly dwindled. How much longer will they be with us?  

New islands at Causeway Pool by Jon Carter

Visitors to the reserve may have noticed that we have put a few more small islands out on the Causeway Pool. This is primarily to attract nesting birds, though they're pretty useful for roosting on too. We'll be keeping a close eye on them to see which birds find them useful!

Jon Carter, Visitor Experience Manager