RSPB Mersehead Blog 15th – 21st October 2022
The constant chatter of geese is lovely to hear as more and more Barnacle Geese arrive to Mersehead. This week’s count recorded around 8000 geese on the reserve, up from 3000 last week. It was also nice to spot a leucistic barnacle goose among them! These unusual geese have nearly all white feathers due to a genetic condition called leucism, which leads to a partial loss of pigmentation.
A white, or leucistic, barnacle goose at Mersehead. Photo credit: A. Sutton
As the geese have been busy arriving, it has also been a busy time for the staff and volunteers who are working on the events happening over the Halloween period and the Wild Goose Festival. On Wednesday we held a Badger Banquet, where visitors could view wild badgers tempted to the Sulwath Centre by peanut butter. Several badgers showed up to the fully booked event, so if you want a chance to see some badgers, head over to our Facebook and book your place at the next Badger Banquet on Saturday the 29th. Big Wild Halloween also continues till the 30th October (except Tuesday and Wednesday), so come down with the kids for some spooky fun! To book events and see what we've got going on at Mersehead, use the link here: https://events.rspb.org.uk/mersehead
On the habitat management side of things, one of the recent tasks has been to mow the Butterfly Meadow and some other areas of species-rich grassland, which is needed to prevent them becoming overcome by rank vegetation and grass. The cuttings have been left for several days to allow the seeds settle down to the ground, but will soon be removed to avoid adding extra nutrients to the soil. If the soil is too fertile more competitive species like grasses and common weeds will dominate, so maintaining a lower soil fertility is important for supporting a greater diversity of plant species, which in turn will support a variety of pollinators and other invertebrates. While it might not look particularly exciting now, come next spring and summer it will be alive with colourful wildflowers and pollinators!
The species-rich grassland and Butterfly Meadow have been mown, helping them to come back next year in all their colour!
There was a great selection of moths in this Friday’s moth trap with 39 individuals and 16 different species recorded. Some nice ones included Feathered Thorn, Feathered Ranunculus, Setaceous Hebrew Character, Angle Shades, the rare migrant the Vestal, the lovely Merveille du Jour, and the Red Sword-Grass with its brilliant camouflage just like a piece of wood!
Red Sword-Grass. Photo credit: S. Doyle
Merveille du jour. Photo credit: J. Lister
The Vestal. Photo credit: S. Doyle
Another nice sighting was a Common Lizard spotted while working on the new path to the beach. Unfortunately for this little guy, it had no tail – when threatened, common lizards can shed their still-moving tail to confuse the predator and make an escape. Luckily, they are also able to grow their tails back! Another interesting fact about the species is that it is viviparous, meaning it gives birth to live young (though not in the same way as mammals) rather than laying eggs – hence its other common name, the viviparous lizard, and its scientific name, Zootoca vivipara.
Common Lizard. Photo credit: J. Lister
Notable bird sightings this week included:
To learn more about these and other birds, check out the RSPB wildlife guide: Birds A- Z | Bird Guides - The RSPB
Sorcha Doyle, Resident Volunteer
Reserve Announcements:
Take action against marine litter and join us at RSPB Mersehead for our next beach clean in collaboration with the Solway Firth Partnership.
The state of our oceans has a massive impact on the birds and wildlife which rely on the beautiful wetlands and shores which surround our coastlines. Find out how green you are and what positive changes we can make by reading the RSPB’s Green Living facts. If everyone did something, it would add up to something big!
Upcoming events:
Autumn Discovery Walk
Thursday 27th October
11:00-13:00
Guided walk
Goose Roost on the Sandflats
Sunday 23rd October
Sunday 30th October
17:30-19:30
Badger Banquet
Saturday 29th October
18:30-20:30
Wildlife Watching from a hide
*Flooding - Please note that Mersehead nature reserve is prone to flooding during periods of high rainfall and/or strong winds and tidal surges. To avoid disappointment at these times, please contact the reserve in advance of your visit by email in the first instance at mersehead@rspb.org.uk or check the RSPB Dumfries and Galloway Facebook Page for daily updates.