One of the many wonderful things about Leighton Moss is that you never know quite know what you might see on any given day-the changing of the weather, days, months, seasons and years always brings something different, exciting or unusual to discover. Even if it involves wildlife you have spotted previously, your visit can take an unexpected direction when you encounter that wildlife behaving in a way you have never observed before, or arriving in numbers you haven't ever witnessed. It is simply awe-inspiring.
Whilst on the reserve yesterday, one of our volunteers Roger, had what he described as an unbelievable morning, one of the best that he could remember anywhere! It started with a walk down to Tim Jackson hide, where at the bridge, he had great views of a water rail. We're seeing a lot more of these usually shy birds around the reedbed at the moment, so keep your eyes and ears open (they sound like a squealing pig when they call).
At Tim Jackson hide, Roger then spotted two majestic red deer stags on the embankment. As it is autumn, they can be heard roaring and bellowing across the reedbed at one another, and in the early morning, you may even see them clashing antlers as the rutting season is underway! It is very exciting!
The Causeway was Roger's next destination, where he had around a thousand ducks on the Causeway pool! As the wind was coming from the sea, the area directly in front of the hide was a flat calm, making it ideal for watching the birds on the pool. We have a great variety of ducks arriving here in the autumn-visiting from their breeding grounds in Scandinavia. Pochards, wigeons, pintails, gadwalls and shovelers are just some of the beautiful ducks to look out for when you visit.
Whilst Roger was at Causeway hide, a great white egret flew in and settled right next to the hide for about 20 minutes! We've had up to three of these large birds here over the past few months, so look out for them around the reedbed as well as on the saltmarsh from Allen and Eric Morecambe hides.
Great white egret impersonating a swan by Brian Salisbury
By this time, it was coming towards the end of his shift, so Roger headed back to the visitor centre for some well earned lunch, and as he passed the grit trays, he spotted several bearded tits there in full view. Although they are here year round, October is the best month to see these elusive little birds here as they are taking in grit most mornings. Why not come along to our bearded tit walk on Wednesday to find out more about them?
Thanks to Roger for sharing his wonderful experience.
If you visit the reserve over the next few weeks, you'll also notice some structural changes are afoot. Thanks to Heritage Lottery funding, we're currently installing a new boardwalk. It is being constructed by Gilleard Bros, expert hide makers who brought us the new Causeway, Allen and Eric Morecambe hides. The boardwalk will make access to the Causeway much easier as it will mean visitors can avoid the small stretch of road you currently have to walk on to get there. It will also make that route much more level and wheelchair accessible. Work has started moving patches of vegetation and erecting the posts to hold the boardwalk in place. We're hoping to have the project finished by the end of November.
the beginnings of the boardwalk by Richard Miller