Mersehead Recent Sightings 9th- 15th June
Here at Mersehead it’s been a week of two halves, with Storm Hector disrupting the sunny and warm conditions we’ve all become used to. We recorded a total of 15mm of rain overnight on Wednesday, which was much needed by the wildlife across the reserve. Strong winds prevailed overnight and during the best part of Thursday, although thankfully the damage was minimal, with just a few branches coming down along the woodland trail.
There has been lots of fledglings seen across the reserve; Pied Wagtail can be seen near the Sulwath Centre garden, House Sparrows along much of the road near the visitor centre, whilst at the visitor centre itself there has been sightings of a mass of juvenile Starlings seen at the feeders, up to 10 tiny Pheasant chicks, as well as newly fledged Blue Tits, Great Tits and Goldfinch. Out on the wetland in front of the Visitor Centre, visitors have been treated to views of Lapwing chicks feeding on the muddy margins. There have also been sightings of fledged Lapwing chicks out on the wetlands. The House Martin's that were constructing their nest last week took only a few more days to finish it and it is now perfectly completed. We will keep you updated with the progress of this nest as the season develops.
Completed House Martin nest. Photo credit: L. Blakely
We’ve carried out the last of our breeding bird surveys for the reedbed this week. A number of Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Reed Bunting were seen carrying food to undisclosed nest sites. Most were seen with a variety of protein-rich insects but one Reed Warbler was more ambitious, bringing in a small fish! Other than the target birds of the survey, a pair of Canada Geese were sighted making their way across the muddy parts of the wetland with 4 well grown goslings in tow. There was also a male Teal feeding in front of Meida Hide, which should suggest that there is a female nearby sitting on a nest. Keep an eye out if you are heading down to the reserve soon, as there may be a chance that you could spot the tiny Teal ducklings.
We’ve been out counting Natterjack Toadlets and tadpoles again this week. Most of the pools have now dried up, which is beneficial to Natterjacks as this decreases the amount of aquatic predators, such as dragonfly larvae and great diving beetle larvae, which would otherwise eat the tadpoles. The Lagoon (a natural dune slack on the reserve) has only just dried up and is still damp in many places; luckily the toadlets emerged the previous week so they are now feeding and growing amongst the vegetation on the damp surface. During the count on Monday we recorded a total of 1964 toadlets. This is a fantastic result for the site and as the toadlets are so tiny (ranging from 6mm to 1cm currently) this is thought to be a conservative figure! We are also waiting for many hundreds of Natter tadpoles to emerge from a ditch present on the site. They currently have 4 legs so it should be any day now.
Extremely tiny (c.1cm) and camouflaged Natterjack toadlet. Photo credit: L. Blakely
Natter toadlets taking shelter in tiny cracks amongst the damp mud. Photo credit: L. Blakely
We completed our third wader and wildfowl survey over at our Kirkconnell Merse reserve on Thursday morning. The 4:30am start was more than worth it as the distinctive sound of Curlew displaying filled the air. The Merse is looking particularly beautiful at the moment as Sea Milkwort is at its best, creating a pink carpet across much of the reserve. We also stumbled across a Barrel Jellyfish that had been washed up into one of the saltmarsh creeks. This is a large Jellyfish which can reach a diameter of up to 90cm, lending it the nickname Dustbin-Lid Jellyfish. In warm summers such as that in 2014, plankton blooms can cause this Jellyfish to swarm in large numbers close to the coast, with the result that many get washed up onto our shores. Despite its large size, the sting from this species is fairly mild as it only feeds on microscopic plankton.
A carpet of Sea Milkwort out on Kirkconnell Merse. Photo credit: L. Blakely.
The large Barrel Jellyfish (with a wellie for size comparison) Photo credit: L. Blakely
With the cooler and windier conditions over the last few days the moth trap has been quieter than it has in previous weeks. Despite this we still had some interesting species; highlights were: 2 Elephant Hawk-moth, 2 White Ermine, 5 Buff Ermine, 1 Small Magpie, 2 Heart and Dart and 1 Gold Spot. Whilst out on the wetlands the attractive micro-moth Beautiful China-Mark was disturbed from nearby vegetation. There has been a lot of sightings of large Drinker and Garden Tiger moth caterpillars around the reserve. These caterpillars will be getting ready to pupate; they will do this on grass stems or under logs and can be seen on the wing from June onwards.
Beautiful China-Mark. Photo credit: L. Blakely
Drinker moth caterpillar. Photo credit: L. Blakely
Every fortnight from 7 June to 20 December, come along to our Mersehead Discover Walk to discover some of the amazing wildlife looked after on this farm. As the season's change, so too do the habitats and special creatures found here. These walks will give you a chance to see it all close-up and learn how we manage this important place for nature in our fields and on the wetlands. And for the kids, there's a wild challenge for them to take on too. 11am - 1pm, price: Adults £4 (RSPB members £3), Children half price. Car parking charges apply for non-members. To find out more head over to our website: https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/events-dates-and-inspiration/events/details.aspx?id=tcm:9-455314
Lana Blakely, Assistant Warden