Happy new everyone! It's been a cold, frosty and stormy start to the year but that hasn’t stopped there being some amazing wildlife sightings over January. The lochs have been busy this month with the Long-tailed Duck being spotted on the Aird Meadow Loch along with Goldeneyes and Wigeons. The Wigeon is a winter visitor to the UK, the male is very pretty with his yellow forehead and chestnut head and neck. The wintering population of Wigeon in the UK has increased significantly since 1983/1984. Pochards have been sighted on the Barr Loch this month, during the winter months Pochard will migrate to the UK to escape the freezing conditions on the continent. Pochard are red-listed in the UK due to their dramatic decline in numbers over past years, the UK is an incredibly important winter destination for these birds.
Wigeon on the Aird Meadow, Photo by Rachel Reid
The scrapes have also been full of life, with large numbers of Lapwings making good use of the habitat. These wetland bird species can make spectacular sights during the winter as they wheel through the skies in black and white flocks. As the spring approaches these flocks will get smaller as some of the birds return back to their continental breeding grounds while the remaining birds will disperse to breed in the UK. A Little Egret was also spotted on the scrape this month, this small white heron first appeared in the UK in large numbers in 1989 and has continued to expand its range throughout the UK.
Lapwing on the scrape,
Raptor sightings have been great this month with a Ring-tailed Hen Harrier seen flying over the reserve, both young and female Hen Harrier are brown with a white rump and a striped tail which is how they obtained the name "ringtail". A Sparrowhawk was also spotted on the reserve, first year Sparrowhawk birds will spend much of their winter trying to find suitable territory to breed although many will not succeed with fewer than 20% of birds breeding at one year of age. In the winter the Sparrowhawk population will grow due to being joined by migratory birds from Norway and Denmark.
Written by Rachel Reid - Volunteer