Mersehead Recent Sightings 6th – 12th May
Despite enjoying the glorious weather we can’t help but wonder when we’ll see some rain; our wetlands could do with some water! Luckily (for us at least) rain is forecast for the early part of next week. The reserve is really bursting with life at the moment, with birds singing from every corner of the reserve. Walk along the hedgerows and you can hear a host of singing species such as whitethroat, wren, bluetit and dunnock, whilst in the reedbed there are reed warbler, sedge warbler and reed bunting. Even if you’re not normally an early bird, it really is worth getting up just once to hear the dawn chorus. On Monday (8th) a common crane was spotted from Meida hide, what a bird! The common crane is a rare vagrant to Dumfries and Galloway with the last sighting being recorded in 2012. This majestic bird has an interesting story behind it; in 1978, after a 400 year absence from the UK, it returned to breed. The first birds returned to breed in the Norfolk Broads and have spread out to Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Humberside and the east of Scotland. There has also been a reintroduction programme aimed at boosting the numbers of the wild population. The latest common crane survey undertaken in 2016 produced a record breaking 48 pairs and a total population of 160 birds. These are the highest numbers of cranes we’ve had in the UK since the birds returned in 1978.
Common crane at Mersehead. Photo credit: Eric Neilson
Also of interest this week was a sighting of a speckled wood butterfly in the woodlands as you head towards Meida Hide. Although quite common in other parts of the UK, in Scotland in the 1970’s this butterfly was mainly restricted to the far north and west as well as around the Moray Firth area. In the last couple of decades it has started to spread with Dumfries and Galloway also having a few colonies which appear to be expanding. If you spot a speckled wood, Butterfly Conservation would really appreciate any records, so they can map the range of this lovely little butterfly, just head to www.butterfly-conservation.org to input your sightings. The best places to look for them are on shaded woodland edges, rides, and lanes and tracks that have tall hedgerow.
Speckled wood. Credit Chris Shields
Here at Mersehead we carry out a weekly butterfly transect; this week’s survey was characterised by the green-veined white, with a total of 36 recorded. The habitat here is perfect for them as they prefer damp areas that support their foodplants such as the cuckooflower. This is something we have an abundance of here on the reserve.
Damp field filled with cuckooflower and daisies, perfect for green-veined white butterflies. Photo credit: L. Blakely
There have been more sightings of lapwing chicks this week and we can now just hope that they make it to fledging. If you’re interested in seeing these beautiful chicks a good place to see them is when the adult birds bring them down to wet edges to feed. In previous years they have been viewed in the wet area just outside the visitor centre window so it is always worth keeping an eye out if you are visiting in the next month or so.
A new flower for the year that was found in the Sulwath Garden this week was the star-of-bethlehem, so called due to its star shaped flower that has a likeness to the star in the biblical account.
Star-of Bethlehem. Photo credit: L. Blakely
In other news, this week the Tuesday volunteers have been busy (once again) helping to repair the disabled parking bay down near the woodlands. We’ve taken out the old boards that were rotting and installed new poles as well as given the area a good weed.
The disabled parking bay getting a revamp. Photo credit: L.Blakely
Lana Blakely, Assistant Warden