RSPB Mersehead Recent Sightings 11th January – 17th January 2020
Last week ended with a stunning day of cold bright weather and our monthly wetland bird count (WeBS) over at Kirkconnell Merse, carried out from the eastern banks of the River Nith against an early morning backdrop of a snow-capped Criffel and thousands of noisy Barnacle Geese and Pink-footed Geese flying out from their overnight roosting sites.
Kirkconnell Merse and the River Nith with Criffel in the distance. Photo credit: Donal McCarthy
A total of 19 different species were recorded during the survey, made up of over 2,000 individual birds. This included an impressive peak count of 29 Goldeneye, the most we’ve ever counted here! As an added treat, a number of the male Goldeneye were beginning to perform their elaborate courtship display, which involves a lot of head tossing and splashing! This somewhat comical routine, which has been described as “more spectacular than that of any other duck” is another early sign that the next breeding season is not all that far away.
Displaying male Goldeneye. Photo credit: Ben Hall
The wet weather returned over the weekend, however, bringing more flooding across the access road to the reserve. Things turned wilder still on Monday as the UK was hit by strong gusts of wind and heavy rain courtesy of Storm Brendan.
Despite the harsh weather conditions, we recorded an impressive 7,133 birds of 24 different species during our Mersehead WeBS count on Monday. This included notable totals of over 1,000 Teal (our smallest species of dabbling duck), over 300 Pintail and almost 600 Lapwing out on the wetland. Smaller numbers of the less common wildfowl species here at RSPB Mersehead such as Gadwall and Tufted Duck were also recorded, not to mention the several hundred Wigeon and Shoveler that we routinely expect to see here (aren’t we lucky!).
Male Teal. Photo credit: Andy Hay
At high tide along the shore, the blustery conditions made keeping a telescope steady rather challenging. Nevertheless, several different species were recorded including Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Shelduck, Oystercatcher, Curlew, Dunlin and Red-breasted Merganser.
One of the more numerous bird species counted along the shoreline was the Knot, a silvery-grey wader with white undersides that arrives in the UK in large numbers during the winter months, having migrated some distance from its Arctic breeding grounds.
When the conditions are just right, these birds put on a truly spectacular display. Concentrated into ever more tightly-knit flocks as the mudflats where they feed are covered up by the advancing tide, the birds take to the wing in a great swirling mass, twisting and turning and flashing their pale undersides, “snaking and shifting together in mesmerising co-ordinated twirls” that are reminiscent of the Starling murmurations we are also lucky enough to witness here at RSPB Mersehead. One of the best places to view this high tide roost is from the coast near Southerness Point. However, please note that these birds are particularly vulnerable to disturbance.
Knot gathering at high tide. Photo credit: Andy Hay
If you are down on the beach over the coming week, why not keep a look out for some of the more unusual shells that can be found along this beautiful stretch of the Solway coast, hidden amongst the numerous cockles and tellins. If you are lucky you might just spot one of these beautiful Augur (or screw) shells, which belong to a species of sand-dwelling sea snail.
Augur shell. Photo credit: Donal McCarthy
Once the wind died down on Tuesday (admittedly not for long), our volunteer work party got started with the scheduled improvements to the Wetland Trail footpath down to Meida Hide – although first they had to clear away all the fallen branches following the storm! The improvement works will be continuing over the coming weeks, potentially necessitating occasional closures of this part of the Wetland Trail.
Volunteers at work. Photo credit: Dave Jackson
There is not a lot of colour in the woodland on these grey January days, so it was nice to spot an impressive specimen of Turkeytail fungus on a fallen trunk. This robust, colourful bracket fungus grows on dead wood and bears a striking resemblance to the fanned tail feathers of a turkey! Several bright Bullfinches were again seen and heard softly calling up amongst the bare branches. Numbers of wintering thrushes have dropped dramatically, the hedgerows now almost completely stripped of bright red berries by these birds.
Turkeytail fungus on a fallen mossy log. Photo credit: Donal McCarthy
Out on the wetland, one species that it is hard to miss at the moment is Hemlock Water-dropwort, one of the UK’s most poisonous native plants. The bright leafy-green rosettes of next season’s growth are already starting to appear above ground, forming a striking contrast with the surrounding vegetation. This large, white-flowered member of the Umbellifer family is very common along waterways, ditches and in marshy ground across the UK and is also known by the alternative name of ‘Dead Man’s Fingers’ owing to the clusters of pale fleshy tubers from which it grows.
Hemlock Water-dropwort. Photo credit: Donal McCarthy
Over the course of the week a number of different mammal species – Foxes, Badgers, Hares, Field Mice, and Roe Deer – were caught on the camera traps put out around the reserve, as well as a pair of secretive Woodcock. We also had a sighting of a Stoat in the Sulwath Centre Garden on Wednesday.
The Starlings roosting in the reedbed continue to put on an impressive display. To be in with a chance of seeing this spectacle, head down to Meida Hide at dusk. The birds have been coming into roost from around 15.30 onwards. Up to two Marsh Harriers have also been seen hunting over the reedbed at dusk again this week.
Twite. Photo credit: Tom Marshall
There have been further reported sighting of Twite feeding along Rainbow Lane – listen out for their metallic “twai-eeet” calls if you want to be in with a chance of spotting them! Two Whooper Swans were a most welcome temporary addition to the pools in front of the Visitor Centre mid-week
If you’d like to become better acquainted with the richness of wildlife that can be seen at RSPB Mersehead, why not book onto one of our upcoming guided Winter Discovery Walks (January 23rd, February 6th, and February 20th) or Sunset on the Solway events (26th January and 9th February) – see our Facebook page for more details.
Donal McCarthy, Mersehead Trainee Warden