The first round of wildfowl and wader surveys have been completed this week. Initial surveys are looking good with 28 lapwing and 5 oystercatcher recorded at Mersehead. A pair of redshank have been seen displaying in the wetland field directly in front of the Visitor Centre whilst on Saturday night a drumming snipe was heard from Rainbow Lane. Surveying Kirkconnell Merse is always a challenge but extremely good fun as there are small winding creeks to jump, holes to fall down and oozing mud to get stuck in with the possibility of losing your wellingtons! Good numbers of redshank and oystercatcher were recorded this morning on the southern section with 5 displaying curlew recorded on the northern section. Around 850 barnacle geese were busy feeding on the merse whilst 2 eider and 4 red-breasted merganser were spotted leisurely floating along the River Nith. Although there is no visitor access to Kirkconnell Merse, great views of the reserve can be obtained from the quay at Glencaple.
The River Nith Photo credit: Eric Neilson
Around Mersehead a very late skein of 300 pink-footed geese were seen flying low over the sandflats and at least 3 (as many as 7) little egret are making a daily appearance out on the wetlands. Although the first wheatear was recorded 3 weeks ago, they had been keeping a fairly low profile however this week, male wheatears have been spotted all over the reserve. A single sighting of marsh harrier was reported to the Visitor Centre at the beginning of the week so keep an eye out for this spectacular bird of prey. Barnacle goose numbers have been high on the reserve this week with 7240 recorded on Wednesday’s count. Great news from the Sulwath Garden is the visual confirmation of a tree sparrow carrying nesting material after chirping was heard on a survey last week.
The dust and cobwebs have been brushed off the moth trap after spending the winter months on a shelf in the shed. The still fairly chilly nights have meant a slow start but a start has been made with 4 hebrew character and 1 common quaker recorded so far.