Pink Elephants, Emeralds and Tigers in your Garden

RSPB Mersehead Recent Sightings 21^st – 27^th March 2020

At Mersehead, we have two staff cottages with both the Warden and Assistant Warden living on the reserve. We are going to try and keep you updated on the wonderful wildlife we see at Mersehead during our daily walks.

Following the latest clear instructions from the Government for us all to remain at home apart from a limited number of allowed activities, we have closed our reserves to visitors until further notice. This means we have now closed the car park and playground to the public in addition to the closure of the Visitor Centre. Remember, you are advised not to drive to a location for your daily activity, hence why we have closed the gate on the access road at Mersehead. It is with great sadness that we ask people to refrain from visiting RSPB during these challenging times.

Our efforts will now move to helping the millions of people spending time at home. We are determined to do our bit to try and help connect people with the amazing wildlife to be seen in gardens or from balconies and windows and offer some hope and joy in these difficult times.

Mersehead Cottages. Photo credit: Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

The most exciting sighting of the week must go to a fly-past by 3 Common Crane. Cranes were a widespread breeding bird in the UK up to the 17^th century but were driven to extinction through wetland drainage and hunting. A small breeding population re-established in Norfolk in the late 1970s but this group appeared vulnerable. Successful initiatives with red kites and white-tailed eagles have shown that re-introduction projects can be very effective. In 2015, The Great Crane Project completed a 5-year reintroduction project with 180 birds now resident in the UK and over 50 pairs breeding annually.

 Common Crane. Photo credit: R.Flavelle

Although currently closed to vehicles, the Mersehead access road has seen a high volume of traffic - Common Toads. Common Toads are very particular about where they breed and often migrate back to their ancestral breeding ponds each year. They follow the same route, regardless of what gets in their way, which leads to them meeting dangerous obstacles such as roads.

Common Toad. Photo credit: R.Flavelle

Moths are great indicators of biodiversity and can tell us a lot about changes in the environment. The Garden Moth Scheme is a citizen science project open to anyone interested in recording moths regularly in their garden, anywhere in the UK and Ireland. A total of 8 species were recorded between the moth trap in the Assistant Warden’s garden and my own garden this morning; Hebrew Character, Early Grey, Powered Quaker, Small Quaker, Common Quaker, Oak Beauty, Red Chestnut and Clouded Drab. You do not need expensive equipment to explore the amazing world of moths in your garden - check out these great ideas from Winterwatch and discover pink elephants, emeralds and tigers hiding in your garden at night.  

Oak Beauty. Photo credit: R.Flavelle

Early Grey – Hebrew Character – Red Chestnut. Photo Credit: R.Flavelle

Spring continues to unfurl around us with the tiny Goldcrest’s song coming from the depths of the hedgerow and the distinctive “little bit of bread and no cheese” of the Yellowhammer. Great Spotted Woodpecker has been heard drumming whilst our winter visitors linger on. Quietly fuelling up for their 2,000-mile migration back to Svalbard, hundreds of Barnacle geese suddenly erupted into the sky earlier this week as a Red Kite soared over the field. Whooper Swans have been dropping into the wetlands to refuel on their migration, with 12 seen on Monday.

Red Kite. Photo credit: R.Flavelle

Although I live in an amazing and beautiful place, it has taken these difficult and challenging times to remind me, that I need to slow down, really look around me and appreciate the tiniest detail. Without a seemingly endless list of jobs required to be completed in a day, I have taken more time to cherish the wildlife surrounding me, to watch and listen at a greater depth than before.

Wood Anemone. Phot credit: R.Flavelle

Both the Assistant Warden and I are extremely lucky to live at Mersehead and to still be able to walk across the reserve. We are going to change the format of the blog to keep you updated on the wonderful wildlife of Mersehead by providing shorter reports on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday during these challenging times, when many of us are prevented from visiting the places we love the most.

Rowena Flavelle, Warden