Mersehead Recent Sightings: 24th – 30th September
At the end of last week from the Meida hide, 2 Shoveler, a Little Grebe and a large flock of Greylag geese were seen. At the Bruiach hide, 240 Pink Footed Geese were seen at the wetlands. 2 Grey Heron were seen on the salt marsh.
Photo credit: John Bridges
This morning, members from the Scottish Ornithologist’s Club arrived at Mersehead to search for wildfowl. They saw 250 Pink Footed Geese from the Meida hide as well as 2 Little Grebe, 2 Pintail, a Peregrine and some Wigeon.
Today, a Kingfisher was seen fishing by the drain to the left of the trail to the Bruiach hide. Linnet were also seen on the hedgerows on the trail to the Bruiach hide.
The wet weather has really muddied the field in front of the viewing area in the visitor centre. Whimbrel and Curlew have been taking advantage of this and have been seen feeding regularly on the mud by visitors.
The mischievous stoats have been continued to be sighted this week. One was seen running around the holiday cottage gardens. Yesterday morning when I was opening up the visitor centre a stoat ran past me carrying what looked like a Wren in its mouth.
The cold and blustery conditions meant it was a quiet day on the weekly butterfly transect; just 2 Red Admiral, 2 Small White and a Green Veined White were seen. While walking across the fields I flushed 20 Snipe and startled a female roe deer. Even so, despite the windy conditions visitors have seen Peacock, Painted Lady and Red Admiral at the woodland belt near the Meida hide.
The starlings have been assembling on the telegraph wires by the visitor centre. As autumn progresses they will gather in vast clouds and will be one of the reserve’s most spectacular sights as the huge flocks swoop and swirl in unison as they come to roost in the reedbeds.
This will be my last blog for Mersehead as I’ve reached the end of my placement here. It has been a real pleasure to work on a such a varied reserve and the staff and local volunteers have been extremely friendly and made me feel welcome as part of the team. I hope I have done my part to contribute to the management at Mersehead as I have learned a lot from my time here. In a week’s time a new chapter of my journey will begin as I depart for RSPB Saltholme for the next 6 months.
Jonathan Taylor, Residential Volunteer