The 1st of March marks the start of meteorological spring and the wildlife certainly knows it.
We’re already seeing lots of breeding behaviour from the wildlife at Lochwinnoch. Black-headed gulls and lapwings have been performing aerial displays over the scrapes while frogspawn has already been spotted! But did you know that in particular Lochwinnoch is an important breeding site for the elegant great-crested grebe? March and April are the best time to spot pairs performing an elaborate display which commonly consists of synchronised head swivels and croaking calls. Further, more complex, parts of the display have been recorded and described with some unusual but descriptive names such as the ‘penguin dance’ where the pair rises up out of the water paddling their feet to remain in an upright ‘standing’ position. Another is the ‘weed ceremony’ where the pair dive to collect aquatic vegetation together and then resurface to present their catch to one another. Over the coming weeks the pair will go on to build their nests tucked away among the reeds or floating vegetation, safely out of reach of terrestrial predators.
Credit: Great crested grebes – Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)
While many birds are already well underway with courtship and staking out a territory the first bumblebees of the year are just beginning to emerge with the warmer days drawing them out. The queens have spent the winter in hibernation underground and will now be seeking out a suitable nest site in which to lay their eggs and establish a new colony. The availability of early spring flowers as a food source to the queen is critical as not only her own survival but that of the many workers she will produce will depend on it. Primroses, dandelions, willow catkins and hawthorn flowers will all form important native sources of nectar but the wider the variety available the better. Different species of bumblebee have long (common carder and garden) or short tongues (buff-tailed, early and white-tailed) which means they will feed preferentially on specific flowers. Deeper flowers like foxglove may only be accessed by long-tongued species whereas flatter flowers like the dandelion are more suitable for the short-tongued bumbles.
Left: common carder bee on bugle, right: early bumblebee on dandelion - Lauren McLean.
Our first wave of spring migrants will be imminently arriving from their wintering grounds in sub-Saharan Africa and southern Europe. Lochwinnoch’s first warblers regularly show up in March with 2022’s first chiffchaff recorded on the 15th, and the first blackcap and willow warbler both recorded on the 29th. Weather plays a notable role in the arrival date of these species with favourable winds hastening their journey or bad conditions delaying them. A look to the weather forecast then might give an indicator as to whether you might be hearing these small songsters earlier or later than last year. While their songs are what distinguish them they are visually very similar birds - roughly the size of a blue tit with only the blackcap being slightly bigger. The image below shows what to look out for when determining which warbler you’ve seen (especially when they aren’t singing!).
Credit: Chiffchaff, willow warbler and blackcap – Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)
March is an exciting time for wildlife-spotting so please feel free to share your sightings from Lochwinnoch and your local area – we’d love to see them!
Written Lauren McLean