RSPB Mersehead Blog 11th-17th September 2021
From September to April, wader and wildfowl surveys are conducted every other week across both our Mersehead and Kirkconnnel reserves. Once a month this data is sent to the British Trust for Ornithology's (BTO) Wetland Bird Survey database (WeBS) that is used to monitor the UK's internationally important non-breeding waterbird populations. As expected, the numbers recorded on the first count were lower than mid-winter counts, with numbers building up with the arrival of overwintering geese and ducks come wetter and colder weather. The counts saw mostly waders and gulls, with highlights including 360 Curlew and 1113 Oystercatcher at Mersehead. Smaller numbers of other waders such as Dunlin (10), Knot (20), Bar-tailed Godwit (2), Redshank (2) and Snipe (2) were present at Mersehead, along with 1,181 gulls.
A large number of gulls were recorded at Kirkconnel (1156 Black-headed Gull, 460 Common Gull, 295 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 11 Greater Black-backed Gull and 3 Herring Gull were recorded), with the highlight being one Black-tailed Godwit, which is not commonly seen on the reserve. 533 Lapwing, 308 Redshank were also seen.
Monthly litter pick along the coast. Photo credit: Luke Jones
On Tuesday our volunteers spent the day collecting rubbish from a stretch of the beach from the coastal trail and east towards West Preston. Some interesting finds included the back cover of a 1970s Hitachi TV. Who knows how long this could have been buried under the sand or floating around the seas. Many items along this stretch of the coast were buried under the sand and had to be dug up, such as an inflatable dinghy. The team did a great job and managed to collect a tractor trailer full of rubbish from the beach.
Old Hitachi TV found during the litter pick compared with what it looked like back in the 1970s. Photo credit: Luke Jones
As Autumn draws in, the flight seasons of the moths and butterflies starts coming to an end, with the butterfly survey conducted on Tuesday returning a count of only 11 butterflies. But on a nice day, a number of Speckled Wood butterflies can still be seen fluttering about on the woodland section of the coastal trail, basking in sunny spots.
Speckled Wood butterfly on woodland section of coastal trail. Photo credit: Luke Jones
The moth survey this morning also saw a lower number of moths and species recorded. 10 species of moth were recorded, including this year’s first record of a Lunar Underwing, identifiable by the dark crescent moon-like feature on the hindwing (underwing). This moth is an Autumn species, with a flight season from August to October. Another moth recorded during the survey was the Setaceous Hebrew Character, named after the triangular marking on the leading edge of its forewing, thought to look similar to a letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
Lunar Underwing moth. Photo credit: Luke Jones
Work has continued this week on the expansion and improvement of the wetland habitat ahead of winter. A number of scrapes have been dug in order to create wet features with shallow edges that will provide ideal feeding areas for a host of waders such as Lapwing, Snipe and Redshank. This work is being done in the field adjacent to the Bruaich Hide path and the coastal trail track down towards the woodland, and will enable visitors to also benefit from seeing these birds. Work has also been done to create linear rides in the reedbed opposite the Meida Hide pool, and will hopefully give visitors the chance to catch a glimpse of elusive Water Rail once water levels have risen after such a dry summer on the reserve.
Creation of scrapes in new wetland habitat extension. Photo credit: Paul Radford
On Thursday the team spent the day at RSPB Wood of Cree as part of the regional (South Scotland) annual conference working party. The group spent the day collecting vole guards off some of the 208,000 mixed broad-leaved trees that were planted on the Barclye section of the reserve in 2007. This reforestation aims to restore and connect gaps in the fragmented ancient native woodland habitat that stretches all the way from Newton Stewart to Glentrool. These vole guards were placed over the young saplings during planting to protect them from voles and mice, but in the years since have grown large enough to not require any protection.
You can see for yourself some of this ancient native woodland at the original (north) section of the reserve, which contains part of southern Scotland’s largest native woodland. Located just 4 miles north of Newton Stewart, RSPB Wood of Cree is a lovely reserve to visit, with plenty of wildlife to see along its numerous woodland and moorland walks, with a beautiful view of the Galloway Forest Park from the top of the Mill Hill trail.
View of RSPB Wood of Cree (Barclye) from Mill Hill trail. Photo credit: Luke Jones
Luke Jones, Trainee Warden