Silhouettes

Mersehead Recent Sightings 3^rd -9^th December

The weather has turned very mild this week and we have seen some fabulous sunrises over the Solway Firth with the Lakeland fells as a backdrop. The barnacle geese have been roosting closer to the sand dunes this week and have been silhouetted against the glow of the sandflats. Heard before they are seen, several small skeins of pink-footed geese have flown over the reserve high up in the sky.  

Mersehead sunrise (photo credit: E.Neilson)

 This week the elusive kingfisher has been spotted perching on the log in front of Meida Hide by some eagle eyed visitors. The wetlands are looking great with a wide diversity of wildfowl present.  Key highlights this week include female goldeneye, hundreds of pintail and 17 whooper swans. A ringtail has been hunting over the reedbed and water rail can regularly be heard squealing away from the depths of the reeds. The starling murmuration has been very varied with some incredible evenings and some not so good. Sunday night was definitely an incredible night with tens of thousands of starlings giving a fantastic display. Walking back through the woodland there has been treecreeper and great spotted woodpecker.

With the leaves and foliage dropping away from the hedgerows it has been a lot easier to spot some of the smaller birds such as goldcrest. A more unusual sighting for Mersehead, 2 male bullfinch were seen flitting down the side of the hedgerow near the Visitor Centre and a magpie was spotted in the car park. The feeders at the Visitor Centre are always worth a look; the wind has picked up today and the feeders are currently swinging from side to side with a brave goldfinch clinging on. The amount of yellowhammer present at the feeders is always a highlight; coal tit and brambling have also been seen. In a sheltered corner of the reserve a single pink campion is still lingering on.

Yellowhammer (photo credit: J.McDougall)

Male hen harrier has been present over the merse and the usual flock of around 20 twite have been on Rainbow Lane. The haunting call of redshank and curlew can be heard on the beach with the higher pitched call of a ringed plover flock. The majestic raven soars across the sand dunes nearly every day.

As dusk was settling over the reserve on Wednesday 2 barn owls glided swiftly and silently out of the barn and out into the deepening darkness. The cloud cover this week has meant that it has been exceptionally dark this week, without a torch you can literally see nothing and can easily get disorientated. Hardly ever seen but always present an otter left a clearly defined footprint in the mud.

 Rowena Flavelle, Warden