Osprey Overhead

RSPB Mersehead Blog 1^st – 7^th April 2023

It has been a week of two halves on the Solway, with driving rain turning to dazzling sunshine and blue skies. Spring is starting to unfurl across the reserve with more wildflowers blooming and the first butterflies on the wing with Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and Small White seen this week.

Small Tortoiseshell. Photo credit: R. Chambers

A herald of spring is the Lesser Celandine, one of the earliest wildflowers to bloom. The bright yellow star-like flowers often blanket the ground beneath hedges and in damper places such as streambanks and meadows.

Lesser Celandine. Photo credit: R. Chambers

With green flowers just 5mm across Moschatel is also known by the name town-hall clock due to the arrangement of the five petals in a cube – four around the side with one on top.

Moschatel. Photo credit: R. Chambers

Delicate white petals with lilac veins reveal the presence of Wood Sorrel on the footpath to Meida Hide. This low creeping herb has trefoil-shaped leaves with both the leaves and petals closing as darkness falls.

Wood Sorrel. Photo credit: R. Chambers

With the survey season now in full swing we have been out monitoring a multitude of species. The week kicked off with Lapwing nest monitoring. As you walk down Rainbow Lane, scan across the grassland fields and you should see their distinctive sitting position indicating that the Lapwing is incubating eggs. Lapwings will fiercely defend their nests as our resident leucistic Barnacle Goose discovered this week.

Lapwing. Photo credit: Ian Francis (rspb-images.com)

Lapwing Attack! Photo Credit: A. Sutton

With the first Natterjack Toads appearing at the breeding ponds last week, we completed a search of the pools looking for spawn strings. Overnight temperatures have remained chilly, so it was not unexpected that we did not find any on this survey. A Palmate Newt was a nice record with the willow trees drawing the eye as they start to flower.

Palmate Newt. Photo credit: R. Chambers

Photo credit: R. Chambers

A 630am start this morning found some of the team monitoring the reedbed for breeding birds. Our star bird of the reedbed, the regional scarce Reed Warbler is yet to return with the focus of this morning’s survey mapping the Reed Bunting territories. The first Willow Warbler of the year was heard singing.

Photo credit: C. Farrell

Although a chilly night with the thermostat dropping to 1.8^oC, a total of 6 species of moth were recorded in the moth trap; Early Grey, Dark Sword-grass, Hebrew Character, Common Quaker, Powered Quaker and Clouded Drab.

It was great to see 19 Whooper Swans stopping off at Mersehead to feed up on the start of their migration this week. An Osprey was spotted flying over the reserve just this afternoon.

Rowena Chambers, Warden