February is here and is offering us some early signs of spring. Snowdrops are blooming and blanketing the ground, whilst marsh harriers are displaying bonding behaviour already on the reserve. We mentioned a few weeks ago about bitterns grumbling; these grunts are now developing into fully fledged booms that are beginning to rumble through the reeds.  

In keeping with the high wildfowl numbers of the past few weeks, we have had large counts of pochard on the reserve over recent days. There’s a distinctly high proportion of drakes, with only two ducks in a count of twenty-eight being female. Amongst those diving ducks, we had a one-day visit from a dapper drake scaup so do keep your eyes peeled - you never know what might drop in!

Along with the great views of our marsh harriers, a pair of merlin have been seen on site throughout the week, coursing over the reeds; watch out for a flurry of ducks taking to the wing as these dashing falcons glide over the pools.

Starlings are starting to do pretty good murmurations now and are now reliably coming to roost in view from the Skytower on most evenings - Griesdale and Jackson hides also offer good vantage points from which to view these birds. If you’re after the most recent news of their whereabouts then please check in with the Welcome desk on your arrival!

The second of February marked World Wetlands Day. World Wetlands Day is a celebration to acknowledge the significance of this scarce habitat. Wetlands are in serous decline, with over 90% of the world’s wetlands having been degraded since the 1700s.

When immersed in the reedbeds of Leighton Moss, it’s easy to imagine that you’re walking through wilderness -- a place where nature has taken hold without any human interference. However, the reedbed’s existence is reliant on extensive habitat management. Reedbed is transient: without management the willow scrub would begin to dominate the site and the reeds would quickly generate into wet woodland. Naturally, this shouldn’t be a problem for species like the bittern. As areas of land become flooded elsewhere, there would be new reed growth for their populations to continue to thrive.  However, with land regularly being repurposed and the amount of space we have left to nature declining, this natural succession has been stifled. It’s essential for those reedbed exclusive species that the habitat here at Leighton Moss is constantly maintained; it’s easy to see why these species have been in trouble for so long when we look at the figures of wetland habitat loss.

 Whilst our freshwater pools amongst the reeds provide habitat for eels and bitterns, many wading birds are dependent on our brackish lagoons on the saltmarsh. Saltmarsh is another scarce wetland, flooded by water brought in by the tides and mostly seen along the edges of estuaries. Once again, over the years, many saltmarshes have been drained and repurposed with the habitat for wildlife has become less abundant. Restoring saltmarsh has been essential to the conservation success of species like the avocet – a bird which hadn’t bred in the UK for a hundred years until they recolonised in 1947.

As the bitterns begin to boom and we anticipate the return of our avocets here at Leighton Moss, we can reflect on the RSPB’s achievements in restoring and maintaining these habitats. However, the work is far from complete. Whist the populations of birds such as the bittern growing, it’s essential that more habitat is created for them to establish themselves in once they leave the nest.  Acquiring satellite reedbeds is part of our aim to be bigger, better, and more connected. We need to ensure that we can continue to restore more of these wetlands for these species to thrive.

And whilst it’s easy to focus on the benefits for biodiversity, wetland restoration is vital for people, too. Creating space for intentional flooding reduces flood damage to people’s properties and farmland; wetlands can also act as a sponge to absorb excess rainfall and relieve flooding pressures further downstream.  Whilst we often focus on tree planting when we talk about offsetting carbon emissions, wetlands are overlooked as a method of carbon sequestration. Saltmarsh has the advantage that decomposing plant matter is buried beneath sediment brought in by the tides and the contained carbon is locked under the mud rather than being released back into the atmosphere.

World Wetlands Day 2022 is focused on taking action: what can we all do to protect and restore our wetlands? Why not visit Leighton Moss and see the abundance of biodiversity that these declining habitats can support?


Beth