Shapes of Spring: Fluffy balls to Swallow-tails

RSPB Mersehead blog 22^nd - 28^th April 2023

Mersehead was a buzz of excitement on Monday, with the first fluffly balls of the year seen wandering around the fields! These were of course not actual fluffy balls, but our much anticipated, newly hatched Lapwing chicks. 

Over the last month, several members of the conservation team have been monitoring Lapwing nests in the fields, to assess how successful their breeding season will be. This is an important part of conservation management, and feedback that helps inform the success of installing costly and high maintenance electrified anti-predator fences. In recent years, the majority of our successful Lapwing broods have been reared within our anti-predator fences, so it's proving a worthwhile investment in trying halt the decline of this iconic species.

Two fluffly lapwing chicks and mother lapwing. Photo credit: A.Sutton

Lapwing chicks are born with a striking appearance, covered in soft, fluffy, yellowish-brown feathers that helps camouflage themselves in sparse undergrowth. However, it's not just their appearance that makes lapwing chicks fascinating. These birds are also what we call 'precocial', which means that they are able to move around and find their own food very shortly after hatching. Unlike songbirds, that rely on their parents to bring them food until they've fledged, precocial birds like lapwings start to look for food by themselves, pretty much as soon as they've hatched. The chicks do still rely on their parents for protection and guidance, and adult lapwings can be seen fiercely defending chicks against predators, but being able to explore and eat independently gives them a fighting chance at survival.

Newly hatched Lapwing chick have a good stretch of its legs. Photo credit: A.Sutton

Elsewhere, the reserve has other new influxes with the return of Swallows, Sand Martins and now House Martins too. The birds have made the journey back to Scotland from places as far south as South Africa, and can be seen swooping around the farm buildings or sometimes having a rest on the overhead power cables. They'll shortly be joined by Common Swifts, which we expect to see back as Mersehead any day now.

Swallows a swooping around the Mersehead farm buildings. Photo credit: A.Sutton

On the fauna front, new flowers blooming around the reserve include the pretty Stitchwort plant. These small white flowered plants can be found in woodland, hedgerows and meadows, and are usually white with five petals that are deeply divided, giving them the appearance of ten petals. Some species of stitchwort are actually used in traditional herbal medicine for a range of ailments, including digestive disorders and skin conditions. In folklore meanwhile, stitchwort is associated with love and protection. It was believed that carrying a piece of stitchwort would help to attract the love of your life, and keep away evil spirits.

Greater Stitchwort outside Lapwing holiday cottage. Photo credit: CJE Farrell

Linnet on a gourse bush, rainbow lane. Photo credit: A.Sutton

Notable bird sightings at Mersehead this week included:

• Grasshopper Warbler
• Sedge Warbler
• Reed Warbler
• Cuckoo (heard only)
• Marsh Harrier
• Marsh Harrier
• Red Kite
• Lapwing chicks!

With May nearly here and several bank holidays around the corner, don't forget we have an array of events being run at Mersehead over the next couple of weeks (see table below).

Adam Sutton, Mersehead volunteer