Mersehead Recent Sightings 3rd- 9th March
With only traces of snow left on the ground and temperatures having risen again from sub-zero, spring is definitely back at Mersehead. Lapwing have started displaying on the reserve, their pee-wip, wip-wip calls ringing out as they carry out their territorial aerial display and song flight. This won’t be the start of their territorial displays, as males will first visit their territories at dawn and dusk, and will initially display at night, gradually building up to displaying during the day. Lapwings are very territorial, with the size of the territory being defined by the amount a male can hold and defend from other birds, and competition is fierce! However, despite this, boundary disputes can be quite a gentlemanly affair, where males will stand and face one another, puff out their breast feathers, and pace along their invisible boundary, they may even turn their back to their adversary, the ultimate insult. Usually this will be enough to maintain a territory boundary but there are occasions where things will escalate and the birds will take off and perform acrobatic aerial displays to settle the matter. These disputes can last for half an hour or more! Lapwings are strongly site faithful, meaning that they will more than likely come back to the same area, even the same field, that they have bred in previously, year after year. If you are interested in seeing these wonderful birds carrying out their aerial acrobatics now is a great time to visit the reserve to see it. Birds can be seen displaying from the visitor centre most mornings.
Lapwing. Photo credit: Andy Hay
The wetlands are looking great at the moment, the Little Egret can still be seen from the visitor centre most days, with 3 birds seen together on Friday; plenty of ducks are also present including Wigeon, Teal, Shoveler and Pintail. In the last week a pair of Oystercatchers have been present and have also started displaying.
Wonderful wetlands. Photo credit: L. Blakely
Another Red Kite was seen this week flying around and over the visitor centre. At the start of the week 14 Whooper Swans were seen flying low over the reserve whilst hundreds of Pink-footed Geese have been noted flying north most days, having roosted in their thousands on the protected sand and mudflats of the Solway Coast. The Pink-footed Geese that are seen in Britain will have arrived in September from their breeding grounds in Iceland and parts of Greenland. Having spent the entire winter here they will start to leave again in mid-April. As well as at Mersehead, there are many great places to see these geese on the Solway, including Wigtown Bay where at RSPB Crook of Baldoon you can see many thousands of birds feeding on the saltmarsh there.
Pink-footed Goose. Photo credit: Andy Hay.
Another sign that spring is here at Mersehead is the appearance of the Lesser Celandine. This bright yellow, star-shaped flower is one of the first to come out, and can be an early nectar source for Queen Bees emerging from hibernation as well as other early insects. At Mersehead they are growing along rainbow lane, preferring the damp, shaded edges of the path. You can also find it in woodland, along streams, in damp meadows and even in some gardens.
Lana Blakely, Assistant Warden