Mersehead Recent Sightings from February 17th – 22nd
Without doubt spring is almost here. Skylark sightings are becoming more frequent as the days pass, delighting everyone at Mersehead with their persistent song and hovering flight. Snowdrop patches are found on every single track around the reserve. Their opening flowers are providing essential food for the flies and pollinators insects that are awakening.
Sunset at Mersehead. Photo credit: Adaica Rodriguez
The weather has been amazing throughout the week, breath-taking sunrise and sunsets have been celebrating the sunny days and nature spectacles taken place at Mersehead. On Monday the Wetland Bird Survey was carried out, in which 24 wildfowl species were recorded accounting to over 15,000 individual birds, the highest count so far this year! Some of the highlights are 9,594 barnacle geese, 30 snipes, 6 gadwalls, 5 tufted ducks, 618 lapwings, plus a dunlin murmuration on the coast consisting of 1,190 birds.
Dunlin. Photo credit: Andy Hay
The wintering dunlin flocks commonly seen in the UK breed in northern Scandinavia and Russia, consisting of over 700,000 birds. However, the UK breeding dunlin spend their winter in West Africa. Depending on their age and sex, the timing of dunlin’s migration is complicated but fascinating. As the females leave the breeding grounds first, while males stay behind to look after the young for around 20 days after their hatching. Then, males start their migration. Finally, when the young birds are ready their migration starts, arriving to their wintering grounds 2 months after the females.
Common toad. Photo credit: Ben Andrew
The hibernating period for some species has come to an end. Signs of frog spawns have been found around the reserve. Hence a common toad and a common frog have been spotted this week. However, natterjack toads are hibernating still; for that reason, final preparation works around their breeding grounds are taking place yet. Additionally, new pools are going to be created this season to keep expanding the natterjack toads breeding grounds and hopefully increase their population.
Additionally, last Sunday the bird ringing demo event took place in the visitor centre, where over 70 garden birds were ringed; including, yellowhammers, dunnocks, house and tree sparrows, great and blue tits, greenfinches and chaffinches.
Other sightings on the reserve have been a mistle thrush in front of the visitor centre fields, 8 ringed plover at end of rainbow lane, a couple of ravens near the woodland trail, a rook carrying around some branches to build its nest on the Sulwath centre garden and over 9 roe deers in different parts of the reserve.
Adaica Rodriguez
Residential Volunteer