December here at the reserve brought with it a bout of ice-cold conditions that even the wildlife struggled with. Despite the freezing weather there has still been plenty of exciting wildlife seen around the reserve this month. The highlight of the month was definitely the drake smew which was first spotted by our assistant warden. The males are very distinctive as they are all white with a black mask which led to its old British nickname the "white nun". Smew are sadly on the decline with their winter visits to the UK which are becoming scarcer as the years go on. This has led to them being given a red status of conservation concern.
Drake smew
Another highlight of December was a handful of sightings of a bittern around the reserve. The bittern is a thickset heron-like bird with stunning brown markings. It is a very secretive bird which can be hard to see as it will move silently through the reeds. Bitterns were once common in wetlands but became extinct in the UK in the 19th century due to wetland drainage and hunting. Despite this due to changes in land management their numbers are starting to increase once again in the UK. There have been multiple species of goose on the reserve during December, including greylag geese, 15 of which were spotted landing on the Aird Meadow trail. There have also been large numbers of Canada geese on the Aird Meadow Loch as well as lots of pink-footed geese spotted around the reserve. Excitingly a small number of barnacle geese were also spotted on the reserve.
Canada goose photographed on the reserve
There have been plenty of wetland birds to see on the reserve during the cold weather with large numbers of wigeon, tufted duck, goldeneye and teal on both the Aird Meadow and Barr Loch. Pintails have also been spotted on the Barr Loch. The pintail is an uncommon dabbling duck which is most likely to be spotted during the winter months in the UK amongst other ducks. Pintails are beautiful birds with long necks, a curved back and pointed wings. A very exciting visitor to the reserve this month is the green winged teal which is a rare visitor to the UK although is becoming more frequent in recent years.
Goldeneye duck
Skylarks have been spotted along the Barr Loch trail, these small birds are well known for their display flight vertically up in the air. Unfortunately, recently the population has declined significantly resulting in it being a red listed species. A water rail was also spotted on the Dubbs trail, water rail is a small relative of the moorhen and coot and lives in reedbeds and freshwater wetlands. They are very secretive birds and are often heard rather than seen, they have a distinctive call which can sound like a piglet squealing. Other sightings on the reserve included a little grebe on the Aird Meadow Loch, lots of feisty robins singing around the reserve, 190 coot counted on the Barr Loch, two male hen harriers spotted flying over the Barr Loch and a kestrel seen at the Barr Loch.
Little grebe