RSPB Mersehead Recent Sightings 22nd – 28th February 2020
After so much wet and windy weather recently, the several days of bright sunshine and blue skies that we’ve enjoyed this past week have been welcomed by staff, volunteers and visitors alike.
As for the wildlife, with the days getting longer we are moving into a critical time of year for our wintering population of Svalbard Barnacle Geese. These birds spend most of the daylight hours feeding, but on short winter days they can struggle to take on enough food to maintain a constant body mass. As the breeding season approaches, the geese need to start accumulating body stores in the form of fats and proteins to fuel the 2,000-mile return flight to their breeding grounds in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago come April.
Barnacle geese in flight. Photo credit: Donal McCarthy
We recorded just over 3,000 Svalbard Barnacle Geese during our weekly goose count on Thursday – the most we’ve recorded since mid-November – with the biggest flocks over towards the West Preston end of the reserve. However, flocks of these geese are highly mobile across the site and the Solway as a whole. Close-up views (including of a leucistic bird) continue to be enjoyed in the fields close to the Visitor Centre car park and either side of the footpath to Bruaich Hide.
Leucistic Barnacle Goose [Left]; Purple Saxifrage [Right], the flowers of which “brighten the tundra during the early breeding season” and are a favoured food for nesting Barnacle Geese thanks to the nutritious nectar they produce on sunny days (Black, Prop, and Larsson, 2014). Photo credit: Donal McCarthy
The male Willows in the woodland are beginning to “light up” as their furry-white catkins emerge from the many shiny “conker-coloured” buds that line every twig. Slowly, the catkins will turn golden with pollen, an important early food resource for hungry queen bumblebees and over-wintering butterflies waking from hibernation.
Willow catkins [Left]. Photo credit: Jenny Tweedie (rspb-images.com); Brimstone butterfly nectering on a Willow catkin in springtime [Right]. Photo credit: Donal McCarthy
Lesser Celandine is now in flower along the access road to the reserve, with the leaves of Bluebell and Wild Garlic plants appearing above ground in nearby Southwick Wood. At RSPB Mersehead, the leaves of wild Honeysuckle are already out in the woodland, emerging along trailing woody branches so full of promise for the season ahead. Elsewhere on the reserve, the Snowdrops in our Wildlife Garden have been joined by flowering Daffodils and Crocuses.
Daffodils in the Wildlife Garden [Left]; Honeysuckle leaves in the woodland [Right]. Photo credit: Donal McCarthy
The RSPB Mersehead team have been busy completing essential vegetation management works this week in time for the official start of the bird nesting season on 1st March. We’ve also been busy with fence repairs, making sure that the electric fencing around key sections of the reserve is in good working condition for the benefit of nesting Lapwings and other ground-nesting waders. Male Lapwings have been seen performing their spectacular songflights again this week, as winter flocks start to disperse and birds pair up for the breeding season.
Lapwing with chicks – painting in Bruaich Hide. Photo credit: Donal McCarthy
The Meida Hide footpath was closed for most of the week as staff and volunteers worked hard to complete the path improvement works started back in late January. It is fantastic to have been able to see the practical aspects of this project through from start to finish, which will significantly enhance the accessibility of this hide.
Staff and volunteers at work along the footpath to Meida Hide. Photo credit: Donal McCarthy New signs of spring this week have included our first singing Blackbirds and Yellowhammers of 2020. The name Yellow-hammer derives from the German word ‘ammer’ which means ‘bunting’ (the genus of birds to which this species belongs). This is a red-listed species in the UK due to recent population declines, but can be regularly seen on the Visitor Centre feeders and along the hedgerows lining the trails down to the woodland and out to the beach (do listen out for their cheerful ‘little bit of bread and no cheese’ song).
Yellowhammer. Photo credit: Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)
A male Siskin was seen alongside the usual mix of finches, sparrows and buntings at the Visitor Centre bird feeders on Monday, and a Sparrowhawk was sighted on Wednesday. A glossy-black Raven was seen and heard ‘cronking’ over the saltmarsh in the bright sunshine on Thursday afternoon, when a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers were also reported. Hundreds of Oystercatchers and Curlews continue to use the high-tide roost at the western end of the beach, with the latter species also seen in good numbers on the wet grassland areas of the reserve (do listen out for their glorious ‘bubbling’ songflights at this time of year).
View down across Mersehead Sands. Photo credit: Donal McCarthy.
Kestrel and Buzzard have again been regular sightings this week, while a pair of Sparrowhawks were seen assessing possible nest sites in the woodland. A Barn Owl has also been seen on a number of occasions – fingers-crossed that they too will breed successfully on the reserve this year. On Thursday, one visitor was lucky enough to spot a female Hen Harrier from Meida Hide.
Female Hen Harrier. Photo credit: Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)
Other sightings this week included several Little Egret and the usual mix of wintering waterfowl (e.g. Pintail, Shoveler, Teal, Gadwall, Wigeon, Mallard, Tufted Duck) and waders (e.g. Redshank, Curlew, Lapwing) on the Wetland Trail. Starlings are continuing to murmurate over the reedbed at dusk but in smaller numbers now and later in the evening as the days get longer. Elsewhere, species such as Twite, Reed Bunting and Stonechat have all been seen along Rainbow Lane. Excellent views of Roe Deer continue to be enjoyed by many visitors, with these wary mammals regularly seen feeding out in the open fields either side of the main footpath down to the woodland and out to the beach. One visitor reported seeing a pair of mating Brown Hares on Tuesday!
On Sunday, attendees at our sold-out ‘Badger Banquet’ event were treated to close-up views of up to four Badgers, snuffling around in search of the tasty snacks laid out for them in the Wildlife Garden (an irresistible combination of peanut butter, sunflower seeds and strawberry jam!). If you are interested in coming along to our next 'Badger Banquet', check out our Facebook page for details of future events.
Hebrew Character. Photo credit: Donal McCarthy
Our first moth trap of 2020 was put out on Thursday night. However, we only managed to record a single species – the Hebrew Character moth – on this occasion. We will be taking part in the Garden Moth Scheme again this year, a citizen science project that involves recording moths on a weekly basis between March and November. Moths are key indicator species for assessing the health of the environment, and they are not doing very well. According to one study, two-thirds of common and widespread moth species have declined in abundance over the last 40 years (particularly in the south), with more than one-third of these declining by at least 50%.
Images of RSPB Mersehead. Photo credit: Donal McCarthy
My six-month placement at RSPB Mersehead comes to an end next week, meaning that this will be my final weekly sightings blog. I’ve absolutely loved my time here, it really is such a special place. Many thanks to all the staff, volunteers and visitors for making my time here so enjoyable.
Donal McCarthy, RSPB Mersehead Trainee Warden
Great, Donal.