Mersehead Recent Sightings 8th – 14th April
The dust and cobwebs have been brushed off the moth trap after spending the winter months on a shelf in the shed. At Mersehead we use a Robinson trap to catch moths at night; the moths fly towards the light and spiral down towards the source of the light and are deflected into the box. Moths which fly into the trap are further contained by the eggboxes placed within and will snuggle up in the dark corners they provide. The Robinson trap has been out twice this week and we have caught a total of 11 hebrew character, 6 common quaker, 1 early grey and a female emperor moth along with a buff-tailed bumble bee. The emperor moth in particular is an amazing sight and has an eye pattern on its wing to deter predators. The male emperor moth has distinctive orange hindwings whereas the female is all grey. This fabulous moth is reasonable common across the UK and can be found as far north as Orkney however it is only on the wing in April and May so you will need to get the moth trap out soon if you wish catch one. Once you have identified all the moths, it is best to let them go at dusk to reduce the chance of them being predated by hungry birds.
Emperor moth (photo credit: R.Flavelle)
We have been busy surveying the reedbed this week for water rail. Water rail is a very elusive species and difficult to see so we survey them using the tape playback method and record how many birds respond to the tape. We recorded 7 calling birds in the Mersehead reedbed this week and will be repeating the survey again next week. Whilst out in the reedbed we spotted marsh marigold in flower adding a splash of bright yellow to the banks. Also going by the name kingcup, it was traditional in parts of Ulster for the postman to deliver marsh marigold to every house on May Day Eve to ward off evil fairies and witches. Hidden in the depths of the reedbed we stumbled across a graceful mute swan sitting proudly on her nest. Skimming low over our heads were at least 50 sand martins.
Marsh Marigold (photo credit: R.Flavelle)
Mute swan (photo credit: R.Flavelle)
Last year the first swallow was noted on the 3rd April and we have all been eagerly looking to the sky over the last couple of weeks in the hope of spotting the first Mersehead swallow of 2017. This year, first prize went to the Farm Manager who spotted a swallow on Monday afternoon. Although the natterjack toads have not started croaking out a full chorus yet we have already found 2 spawn strings this week. A reminder of winter, our barnacle goose count this week recorded 7,035 on the reserve. A pair of goosander flew over the saltmarsh. Wild Pansy, common dogs-violet, common stork’s-bill and thyme-leaved speedwell are just a few of the wild flowers starting to appear.
Rowena Flavelle, Warden