As Februarys go, it's been rather lovely don't you think? We've had some gloriously sunny days when we could almost reach out and touch the spirit of Springtime that was hanging expectantly in the wings, waiting for her chance to pirouette playfully across the marshes. On those days, the blueness of the sky and the warmth of the Sun had arrived to gently coax the hibernating bulbs and buds into growth. The Snowdrops drooped their shy heads above tufts of glaucous foliage and the Willow gave her usual gift of delightful, tantalisingly strokable cat's paws.
The nights were still cold and frost was a regular visitor. Before the warmth of the day melted them away, ice crystals decorated the reeds and grasses with intricate, crystalline structures, delicate and worthy of close inspection.
In this period of near awakening, whilst the buds have not yet broken, our staff and volunteers were busy with essential tasks that can only be done during this narrow window. At Hesketh Out Marsh, hedges were laid to maintain their stock proofing capabilities with the resultant, dense growth making superb shelter and nesting habitats for many of our hedgerow species such as Song Thrush, Goldcrest, Bullfinch and Siskin.
A less than glamorous jobs saw our warden, Chester waist deep down a rather muddy hole, repairing a penstock pipe. The penstock system involves pipes and sluice gates which help to control flooding and the water flow into the marsh areas and surrounding farmland.
With temperatures still relatively low, cold nights and occasional frosts, some of our Winter migratory visitors can still be seen on the reserves. Bewick's Swans have enjoyed feeding on the remnants of harvested crops from the farms which surround the reserve and cropping the grass of the saltmarshes. Soon they will be getting ready to fly the 3,500Km back to their Spring breeding grounds in Russia. Thank you to Stuart Derbyshire for sending in this fabulous picture.
Why not take a look at the public blogs too to see what else has been spotted and some great ideas of how to spend your time on a visit.
Over at the Visitor Centre at Fairhaven Lake, Lytham the shop is well stocked with wonderful gifts and treats for Mother's Day, 10th March, and Easter, 31st March. There are beautiful household items, fascinating books, bird feeders and garden ornaments as well as RSPB organic cotton scarves which are perfect for this transitional season when you don't want something too thick and heavy but a bit of extra warmth is definitely needed.
I will leave you with this wonderful picture from another volunteer, Martin Campbell, who managed to capture this incredible sight of Black Tailed Godwits taking to the skies en masse, having been disturbed. It is estimated that there are around 8,000 of these winter visitors at Marshside. Like the Bewick's Swans, they won't be here for much longer so please do come along soon to enjoy them. The Black Tailed Godwits flock together in huge numbers, which is not only a spectacular vision but also wonderful to listen to as they generate a very calming, quiet wittering sound.
Thank you to Wes, Stuart Derbyshire and Martin Campbell for the photographs.