• And So it Begins

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 21st – 27th September 2024

    The seasons are changing as we leave summer behind and move forward into autumn. We began the annual task of cutting and nutrient stripping our wildflower meadows this week. Wildflowers thrive on poor nutrient depleted soils as this reduces competition from quick growing grasses which would smother out the wildflowers in a nutrient rich environment. At the end of summer…

  • New Beginnings and Strange Shrimp

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 14th - 20th Septemper

    Hi, my name is Keira, and I am the new residential volunteer here at RSPB Mersehead.

    I have spent the past couple of years living in the Lake District, so I am no stranger to natural beauty. However, since coming to Mersehead I can confidently say that it is a strong contender for one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever had the pleasure of visiting. I am extremely lucky to…

  • Seesawing Between Seasons

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 7th – 13th September 2024

    September Evening At Mersehead. Photo Credit: C Glass

    September at Mersehead is a time for taking stock as we slowly move from summer into autumn and prepare for the arrival of wintering waterbirds from the end of the month. Our survey programme will be changing, and focus will turn to habitat management to benefit next year’s breeding birds and Natterjack Toads. We also…

  • Buzzing About Bees

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 31st August – 6th September 2024

    Bumblebees are colourful, hairy insects that play a vital role in the pollination of crops, flowers, and fruits. Well known for their ‘bumbling’ flight, bumblebees are widely recognised for the loud buzzing noise they make. Unsurprisingly, this is where their scientific name 'Bombus' originates from, translating to ‘booming’.

  • The Fifteen Minute Voyages of a Butterfly Counter

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 17th – 23rd August 2024

    From Lillian to Lepidoptera

    It has been a wet, windy and wild week on the reserve to say the least! The combination of storm Lillian and some unusually high August tides saw the Merse spectacularly inundated.  Faced with such conditions, staff time is split between ensuring our livestock are doing well in the harsher conditions and checking for storm damage, such as fallen…

  • What a Difference a Day Makes

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 10th – 16th August 2024

    It’s been a mixed bag of weather this week with days of heavy rain and bright sunshine the next. But that doesn’t deter us at Mersehead!  In this week’s blog hear how our volunteers braved the rain to join us for our summer BBQ, see our Marsh Harrier fledglings in flight, and learn more about the variety of fungi we are finding near our woodland paths.

  • I'm Ready Wing You Are

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 3rd August – 9th August

    A truly momentous moment was recorded at RSPB Mersehead earlier this week. For the first time since the RSPB took over ownership of Mersehead in 1993, Marsh Harriers (Circus aeruginosus) have successfully bred on the reserve. You can see a photograph of the beautiful chicks below! 

    ‘Chick A’ and ‘Chick AB’ at nest location, RSPB Mersehead. Photo credit: G. Chambers.…

  • Purple Kaleidoscope

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 20th – 26th July 2024

    Flat, alluvial, frequently marshy land bordering upon a river, a river estuary or the sea, specifically applied to the land bordering the Solway Firth – definition of “merse” Scottish National Dictionary.

    The above definition gives a good indication as to where Mersehead obtained its name. The past couple of weeks has seen us spending time out on the merse…

  • A Trip Down Rainbow Lane

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 13th July – 18th July

    Colourful wildflowers at RSPB Mersehead. Photo credit: F. Sanders.

    ‘Rainbow Lane’ is the name given to the path that leads from the main entrance track at RSPB Mersehead to the sand dunes. As the story goes, previous tenants of Lapwing cottage observed numerous gorgeous rainbows over that path, eventually coining the name ‘Rainbow Lane’. Many moons later, that…

  • A Foray into the Worlds of Butterflies and Fungi

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 6th – 12th July 2024

    In this week of rather changeable weather, we have been continuing to focus on maintenance work at Mersehead.  While it sometimes feels like we are trying to beat a strimming world record, it’s important that we keep our electric fencing clear of vegetation and the water troughs in good working order for the livestock, during our summer of conservation grazing. 

    Moving…

  • A Moment of Prehistoric Proportions

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 29th June – 05th July 2024

    After the vibrancy of the breeding bird season, the summer months feel naturally calmer on the reserve.  Dawn and dusk choruses alongside the springtime territorial singing of our bird species have now faded into the bucolic bleats of sheep and lows of our grazing cattle.  While these moments may seem and feel quieter, the summertime offers a great opportunity to discover…

  • A Volunteering Opportunity

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 22nd – 28th June 2024

    Mersehead would not be the amazing reserve for wildlife that it is, if it were not for our dedicated band of volunteers.

    Our “Tuesday” Volunteers arrive week in, week out completing everything from practical habitat management such as scrub removal to benefit the UK’s rarest amphibian the Natterjack Toad, to completing wildflower meadow management and improving…

  • Maintenance Madness

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 15th June – 21st June

    Saturday 15th June marked the beginning of “Maintenance Week” at RSPB Mersehead. During this week, our holiday homes (Barnacle and Shelduck) don’t have any bookings, enabling us to give these cottages a little TLC! Thanks to the hard work of both our staff and volunteers, the insides and outsides of these holiday cottages are looking spick and span. Our volunteers whitewashed…

  • Hunting High and Low

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 8th – 14th June 2024

    We may be asking ourselves where the summer has gone but the weather hasn’t stopped us getting on with our survey and maintenance work on the reserve. 

    As you will have seen from recent blogs our focus has been preparing for the return of livestock to the reserve so we can reap the benefits of conservation grazing.  A special thanks to our Tuesday volunteers for their…

  • Four Seasons in One Day is Never 'Boreing'

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 1st June– 07th June 2024

    It has been another busy week this week on the reserve, with our staff and volunteers having to battle against some rather wet and windy moments in between some glorious sunshine.  Much of the focus of our reserve staff over the past months has been on our breeding survey work and while this is still continuing, you may have noticed the last couple of blogs have focussed…

  • Welcome to Your Summer Home

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 25th – 31st May 2024

    Following on from the theme of last week’s blog, we were delighted to welcome back the Aberdeen Angus herd to Mersehead for the summer. Currently in the wet grassland compartment to the left of main footpath up to the woodland, cattle are an important aspect of managing the habitats across Mersehead for various species.

    1. The cattle help control vegetation growth by…
  • A Conservation Community of Grazers

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 18th – 24th May 2024

    A Grazing Community

    Throughout our winter months Mersehead is descended upon by our beloved Barnacle Geese, while our Barnies return to their Svalbardian shores, a spring chorus of Natterjack toads can be heard for miles, however in the summer months one of our biggest visitor draws are of a slightly more domestic nature.  This week our reserve team have begun preparing for…

  • I Spy with my Little Eye

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 11th – 17th May 2024

    Survey season is in full flow at Mersehead and Kirkconnell Reserves and, over the past week, we have walked far and wide in search of breeding waders, Lapwing chicks, Natterjack Toad spawn strings, and butterflies. Exploring almost every square inch of a nature reserve can reveal interesting finds including amazing species of both flora and fauna, animal prints, and beautiful…

  • Fond Farewells and New Beginnings

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 4th – 10th May 2024

    Saying goodbye to the barnacle geese

    After staying with us over winter the Barnacle Geese have now left this part of the Solway Firth for their 2000-mile migration back to their breeding grounds in Svalbard.  The spring migration generally starts in April or early May, when the geese leave the Solway Firth and head to Helgeland on the western coast of mainland Norway.  They then…

  • May You Bloom and Grow

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 27th April – 3rd May 2024

    RSPB Mersehead has been transformed in recent weeks into a luscious, green landscape with plants rapidly growing and fresh leaves out on many species of tree.

    Trees out in leaf near Media Hide, RSPB Mersehead. Photo credit: F. Sanders

    If you haven’t been to the reserve for a while, you will certainly notice a difference in the amount of greenery. Grass is growing thick…

  • Balls of Fluff have been Spotted

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 20th- 26th April 2024

    Barnacle Goose numbers have dropped rapidly over the past week from 7,450 to 4,550. The geese are starting to depart from the area as they begin their 2,000-mile migration back to their breeding grounds on Svalbard. In 2023, the last geese left the reserve on 27th April so we may only have a matter of days left to enjoy their company. Pink-footed goose migration has also been…

  • The Ebbs and Flows of the Breeding Season

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 13th – 19th April 2024

    Throughout the breeding season our reserve team are out and about at all hours of the day and night diligently surveying a variety of species employing a variety of different methods and techniques.  To give you a flavour of the wide variety of survey work we undertake here at Mersehead, in the last week alone we have continued to survey our brilliant Barnacle Geese (Branta…

  • More than Spring Showers

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 6th – 12th April 2024

    It’s been a very wet start to April with heavy rain and wind combined with high tides.  But this has led to some spectacular sights at the Mersehead and Kirkconnell reserves.

    View along Rainbow Lane, Mersehead. Photo credit: R Chambers

    Usually, Rainbow Lane is part of our Coastal Trail but here is the view along the track on Sunday.  The water was higher than the team…

  • Spring Clean

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 30th March – 5th April

    Beach clean

    Following our third beach clean, the shorelines at RSPB Mersehead are now looking squeaky clean! A huge thank you to our hardworking Tuesday Work Party Volunteers who helped out with this. I was amazed by the amount of rubbish we collected over two of our beach cleans. 

    Rubbish collected from RSPB Mersehead during 2 beach cleans. Photo credit: F. Sanders

    Although…

  • Town Hall Clock spotted in the Woodland

    RSPB Mersehead Blog 23rd -29th March 2024

    Over the past week the amount of colour on the reserve has noticeably increased as wildflowers start to appear. A herald of spring is the Lesser Celandine, one of the earliest wildflowers to bloom. The bright yellow star-like flowers often blanket the ground beneath hedges and in damper places such as streambanks and meadows, closing their petals when the sun disappears.

    Lesser…