RSPB Mersehead Blog 13th November – 19th November
A Red Kite has been a regular visitor to the reserve with it being sighted on a few different occasions throughout this week. Our feeders situated in the woodland on the way to the Meida Hide are attracting an array of different birds including Great Tits, Blue Tits and Chaffinches. Nearby in the woodland Treecreepers and Long-tailed Tits have also been seen.
Great Tit digging into some peanuts. Photo credit: Luke Jones
The main activity for the volunteer party this week was a beach clean heading in the direction of Southwick water. Some interesting finds were discovered including a child’s shoe and one half of a dustpan and brush. One find also cemented the fact that the festive period is almost upon us with one of the volunteers uncovering a reindeer Christmas decoration.
Festive reindeer. Photo credit: Rowena Flavelle
A washed up jelly shoe. Photo credit: Amy Blachford
Beach clean in full swing. Photo credit: Luke Jones
Also 20 Twite were sighted along the merse. In Britain this species is most abundant in Scotland and winters mostly on saltmarshes. Due to the reduction of flower and herb rich hay meadows and more intensive grazing, twite distributions have been retreating northwards.
Other work carried out this week was continuing to open up the tracks to allow easier access, this time in the woodland. This consisted of removing nettles, brambles and low-lying branches.
Bit of tidying up. Photo credit: Amy Blachford
Ducks are plentiful down on the wetlands with a Water Rail and Gadwall both being spotted along with the more regular suspects of Teal, Wigeon, Shoveler and Pintail. Gadwalls breed on either lowland lakes or slow flowing rivers that have vegetated edges however in winter they make use of larger bodies of water, estuaries being one of them. In winter their distribution is more spread out and additional individuals arrive from Iceland and northern and eastern Europe.
Gadwall in the wetlands. Photo credit: Luke Jones
Our trail cameras managed to catch some action this week with footage of a stoat possibly hunting a hare. As you can see from the video below it’s hard to believe that such situations occur due to the shear size difference between the stoat and hare. Stoats commonly hunt rabbits which are regularly five times their own size. They have been known to target young hares also. The most distinguishable difference between a stoat and weasel are their tails. As stated by the Woodland Trust a stoat’s tail is approximately half the length of its body and ends in a black tip whereas a weasel’s is relatively short and stubby.
Barnacle geese numbers were unsurprisingly still within the thousands with 2,152 being counted in our reserve count. This number would have been significantly higher however several thousand were sighted just outside of the reserve’s boundary.
Our view doing the reserve goose count. Photo credit: Amy Blachford
There have been several stunning sunsets this week so make sure you head down the shore to see the colours reflecting on the waters surface. If you are lucky at the same time the Barnacle Geese may fly overhead to roost out on the sandflats.
One of the sunsets this week. Photo credit: Amy Blachford
Our fortnightly reserve count was also carried out at Kirkconnel Merse. Highlights include 465 Barnacle Geese, 591 Lapwing, 254 Wigeon, 52 Teal, 41 Oystercatcher, 29 Goosander, 22 Shelduck, 4 Little Egret, 4 Whooper Swans and 4 Pintail.
Also, a huge congratulations to New Abbey Primary School Eco Warriors on winning the Nature of Scotland Youth and Education award. It’s great to see young people getting involved in conservation and eager to preserve Scotland’s precious wildlife. The many different habitats that they have set up in their school grounds for instance the creation of a pond and wild flower patch will benefit the local wildlife immensely. Keep up the good work!
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.
Covid advice
Please follow our advice on Covid restrictions and updates on our website:
https://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/rspb-news/news/stories/coronavirus/reserve-reboot/
Festive opening times:
From 23 December - 4 January the visitor centre (including toilets) will be closed at this reserve. The carpark, hides and trails will remain open with the exception of the dates below.
Amy Blachford, Trainee Warden