RSPB Mersehead Recent Sightings 11th – 17th August 2018
With the drought finally coming to an end at Mersehead we been experiencing sudden, sharp and heavy downpours throughout the week. The vegetation has immediately sprung back into life and the reserve has returned to emerald rather than parched brown. The Butterfly Meadow is full of Common Knapweed which is now being to set seed. This is a fantastic food source for a number of seed eating passerines. On stepping into the meadow at the moment, a charm of at least 50 Goldfinch erupt out of the vegetation. The Goldfinches long fine beak allows them to extract otherwise inaccessible seeds from plants such thistles and teasels.
Goldfinch. Photo credit: John Bridges (rspb-images.com)
Despite the showers, a good variety of butterflies were recorded on the survey this week with Green-veined White, Small White, Large White, Small Copper, Wall, Painted Lady and Speckled Wood all present on the reserve. There are only a few colonies of Speckled Wood in Dumfries and Galloway and the species range is thought to be expanding across the county. This butterfly has seen an incredible UK range expansion of 71% and an 84% increase in abundance in the last 40 years as a result of the changing climate. The Speckled Wood flies in partially shaded woodland with dappled sunlight so head to down to Meida Hide for the chance to spot one. The male usually perches in a small pool of sunlight, from where it rises rapidly to intercept any intruder.
Speckled Wood. Photo credit: Mark Chambers
The adult Fox Moth flies in a single generation throughout May and June. The female Fox Moth lays her eggs on the stems of grasses and on bramble leaves. The caterpillars hatch within three weeks and the fully grown caterpillars are often seen basking in the sun on paths and low vegetation before snuggling up in loose soil and leaf litter for the winter. The species is named after the colouration of the adult moth; males are usually foxy-red/brown. Fully grown caterpillars are up to 7cm in length and they have long brown hairs on the sides of the body and shorter dark orange hairs on the upper surface. Young caterpillars are darker brown with light orange bands along the body.
Fox Moth Caterpillar. Phot credit: Rowena Flavelle
There have been some glorious warm evenings this week which have seen the swallows and house martins hawking over the wet grassland. The majority of the swallows have reared their young and can be seen lined up along the telegraph wires readying for their departure. British swallows spend their winter in South Africa travelling at speeds of up to 200 miles a day across western France, across the Pyrenees and down eastern Spain into Morocco and then across the Sahara.
Our next Discovery Walk will be taking place on Thursday 30th August from 11am-1pm. Come join us and discover some of the amazing wildlife found at Mersehead. This walk will give you a chance to see the reserve up close and learn how we manage this important place for nature. There's a wild challenge for the kids to take on too.
For information on future events at RSPB Mersehead visit: https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/find-a-reserve/reserves-a-z/events.aspx?reserve=Mersehead
Rowena Flavelle, Warden