It's certainly been an interesting few days here at Leighton Moss, with all manner of climatic shenanigans to contend with. We've seen some wild weather; a fair bit of rain, occasional busts of sunshine, some seriously gusty winds and as I write this, snow! Despite these sometimes challenging circumstances there is still lots to get out and enjoy all around the reserve.
Our first avocet of the year turned up at the Allen Pools at the back end of last week and just prior to the arrival of Storm Eunice yesterday (Friday) it, or another, spent the morning at Lilian's Pool before relocating to the island in front of Causeway Hide in the afternoon. These wonderful waders are always a joy to see and as relatively recent colonisers here in the north west we await their return with anticipation each spring. Over the next few weeks we'll see the mass arrival of avocets as they settle here to nest on the saline pools. The breeding avocets will be a feature of our much-anticipated What's That Wader guided walk and workshop in April, so if you'd like to find out more about these elegant birds and how to identify some of the trickier shorebirds, book you place now as numbers are strictly limited. (Avocet pic from archive by David Mower)
The onset of spring (honestly!) also means we're continuing to hear more tuning-up from our male bitterns; calmer mornings tend to be the best time to listen out for the distinctive hiccups and semi-booms of these cryptic reed dwellers. Before long we expect they'll be in full voice and the amazing booming will become a regular sound at all times of the day as the males proclaim their territories with vocal vigour.
As water levels go up and down, we often see a change in the distribution of wildfowl across the reserve. With a fair amount of rain in recent days we have seen something of a departure of dabbling ducks and conversely, an increase in diving ducks; we have recorded our highest counts of tufted ducks and goldeneye so far this winter. The always-impressive marsh harriers continue to show well - they seem to be particularly active on those blustery days when it almost looks as if the birds are actually enjoying themselves!
Talking of which, we had one of the most amazing starling murmurations on Wednesday afternoon when the wind was especially lively. The birds were swooping and swirling around the reserve for some forty minutes and those of us on the Skytwower were treated to an astonishing experience. We've noted on previous occasions that the pre-roost activities of starlings is often prolonged and highly energetic on those breezier days. These birds continue to be fairly unpredictable but at least have settled into a pattern of murmurating over the main reserve daily, sometimes best viewed from the Causeway and sometimes closer to the Skytower... With so many starlings around we have seen, perhaps unsurprisingly, lots of raptor activity too with peregrines, merlins and sparrowhawks all joining in the aerial displays on recent evenings. (Starlings pic taken on Wednesday from the Skytower).
While walking along the pathways, don't forget to look down occasionally - scarlet elf cup fungus may be seen in profusion at the moment. These uncommon fungi are truly dazzling and will brighten up any visit to Leighton Moss! (Pic of scarlet elf cup by J Carter)
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Jon