Mersehead Recent Sightings 1st – 7th February 2020
It may only be the start of February, and we’ve certainly had a few rather frosty starts this week, but there’s nevertheless been a definite feeling of spring in the air!
The warm sunshine on Wednesday morning was translated into “glorious rolling sound” by a chorus of several territorial male Skylarks, an ensemble of “hovering specks” singing from on high to stake out a breeding territory and attract a mate. Up to 25 of these red-listed farmland birds were counted across the reserve this week, making use of the winter stubble fields and wild bird cover crops planted last year.
Winter stubble, an important food resource for farmland birds. Photo credit: Donal McCarthy
Other bird species really singing in earnest now include Great Tits (‘tea-cher, tea-cher’) and Chaffinches, whilst male Reed Buntings are already looking resplendent in their striking breeding plumage of streaky-brown back, bold black head and throat, and distinctive white collar.
Reed Bunting. Photo credit: Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)
Our noisy resident Rooks have been spotted flying back and forth to the woodland with nesting material in their beaks. These sociable and intelligent birds nest colonially in the treetops, with the first eggs usually laid from late February onwards. The raucous clamour as they come in to their roost at dusk is an underappreciated wildlife spectacle.
A pale moon through the branches at dusk. Photo credit: Donal McCarthy
The distinctive ‘drumming’ of Great Spotted Woodpeckers has also been heard in the woodland this week. This evocative sound is another early sign of spring, as the woodpeckers demarcate their territories by rapidly hammering their beaks against standing dead wood. They can do this thanks to the sophisticated ‘shock absorbers’ in their skulls. Another sound heard in the woodland this week has been the high-pitched song of our diminutive resident Treecreepers (‘tee-tee-tee-tititidooee’), their speckly-brown plumage making them appear like moving fragments of tree bark as they spiral vertically up the tree trunks in search of tiny morsels of food.
Great Spotted Woodpecker. Photo credit: Tom Marshall (rspb-images.com)
As darkness descends each evening, the territorial hooting of our resident Tawny Owls can be heard. This is another species that breeds early, but did you know that the ‘twit-twoo’ sound popularly associated with these birds derives from the separate calls of the male and female? Their duet encompasses a long wavering ‘hoo-hoo-ooo’ by the male and a sharper ‘ke-wick’ by the female.
Work has continued on the widening of the footpath through the woodland to Meida Hide. One of our hard-working volunteers was pleased to spot the delicate leaves of Moschatel (also known as ‘Town-hall-clock’ after its flowers) appearing above ground along the edge of the footpath. This dainty species typically flowers in deciduous woodland between March and April, so is one to look forward to in the months ahead.
The leaves of Moschatel. Photo credit: Donal McCarthy
You may have noticed that many of the smaller Beech trees in the woodland have yet to drop their copper-brown leaves. This phenomenon is called ‘marcesence’. It is thought that the retention of the dead leaves by young trees throughout the winter may help to protect their newly developing leaf buds from browsing by large herbivores such as deer.
Beech tree with leaves in winter. Photo credit: Donal McCarthy
Elsewhere on the reserve, we’ve been busy managing the vegetation around the Natterjack Toad breeding pools in anticipation of the emergence of these rare amphibians from hibernation in the coming months. It is important to ensure that the vegetation is kept nice and short so that these active toads can hunt effectively whilst also keeping an eye out for potential predators. RSPB Mersehead is home to the UK’s most north-westerly population of these rare amphibians! We are very much looking forward to their emergence, and to the sound of the males 'singing' to attract females on warm spring nights (they can be heard from up to a mile away!).
Natterjack Toad. Photo credit: Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)
Despite all these preparations for the spring, our very special winter visitors are still here with us for some time to come yet! Several thousand Svalbard Barnacle Geese continue to use the reserve as an important feeding and roosting site, whilst skeins of Pink-footed Geese are frequently seen and heard passing overhead. Thousands of Starlings (many of which are likely to be winter visitors from elsewhere in Europe) continue to put on a dramatic aerial display as they murmurate over the reedbed at dusk.
Up to 20 wintering Twite have been seen from the beach, feeding out on the merse on the abundant seeds of specialist saltmarsh plants such as Sea Purslane. These small, streaky-brown birds are easy to miss and can be tricky to separate from the closely related Linnet. In distinguishing them, the stubby orange-yellow bills of Twite are a key feature to look out for at this time of year. Elsewhere on the reserve, large number of Lapwing have been seen out on the wetland all week, while a lone Whooper Swan has been reported from Meida Hide on several occasions.
Twite. Photo credit: Mike Langman (rspb-images.com)
Our high tide count over at Kirkconnell Merse on Friday yielded an impressive 1,874 birds. Highlights included 5 Scaup, 13 Whooper Swans, 42 Goldeneye (up from 29 last month), 104 Redshank, 109 Shelduck, 212 Curlew, and 427 Pintail! A hunting female Merlin was also seen briefly.
In the chilly dawn air, a pair of Ravens were seen performing their spectacular aerobatic courtship display, “an elaborate dance of chases, dives, and rolls” that is yet another sign that spring is on the way. Groups of male Goldeneye were once again seen performing their rather amusing courtship display, throwing their heads back and splashing their feet in the hope of impressing one of the watching females. The best place to view these ducks displaying is from the footpath running along the eastern bank of the River Nith near Glencaple.
Raven in flight. Photo credit: Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com)
There have been good views of a Stoat from the Visitor Centre, popping out from under one of the piles of dead wood near the bird feeders! We are hoping to get some footage of it on one of our camera traps that we can share on our Facebook page next week.
Stoat. Photo credit: Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)
Many thanks again to the volunteers who came to our beach clean event last Saturday morning –have a read of our beach clean blog to find out how we got on. Further events are planned for later in the year so do keep an eye on our Facebook page for details closer to the time.
If you would like to discover more of the special wildlife here at RSPB Mersehead, why not book onto one of our upcoming guided walks? And remember that our popular Badger Banquets will be returning on 22nd February, please call 01387 780579 to book.
Donal McCarthy, RSPB Mersehead Trainee Warden