Mersehead Recent Sightings 23rd – 29th July
Every day this week in the early morning, there has been a grasshopper warbler singing away at the end of the woodland just before you go down the slope to the beach. Perched on the driftwood house a raven has been cawing most mornings too. Linnets are starting to flock together and can be seen feeding on the merse. This week a kingfisher has been spotted zooming along the Southwick Water whilst a regular whitethroat perches on the telegraph wires by the car park.
Photo credit: J.Bridges
This week, the Solway Ringing Group caught a garden warbler during the Constant Effort Ringing monitoring. The Constant Effort Sites (CES) scheme is the first national standardised ringing program within the BTO ringing scheme and has been running since 1983. Ringers operate the same nets in the same locations over the same time period at regular intervals through the breeding season at over 130 sites throughout Britain and Ireland. The Scheme provides valuable trend information on abundance of adults and juveniles, productivity and also adult survival rates for 24 species of common songbird.
On Wednesday, a group of ecologists from The Lodge in Bedfordshire visited the reserve. As we were out walking the reserve we heard reed warbler singing in the reedbed, found two natterjack toads under a log and saw a grayling.
The most exciting find of the week was parasols. The parasol mushroom is found commonly throughout Southern England and Ireland but is not as frequent in Northern England and Scotland except for in sheltered coastal locations. It is a very sought after and popular fungus in Europe, due in part to its large size, seasonal frequency and versatility in the kitchen. In the UK, it may be found from July through to November.
Photo credit: E.Neilson
Photo credit: K.Thomas
Rowena Flavelle, Warden