Mersehead Recent Sightings 11th June – 17th June
The first swift of the 2016 was spotted soaring over Rainbow Lane yesterday evening. To begin with there were just 2 and then suddenly they had increased to 16 and then 37. Then, just as suddenly, they had all disappeared. Swifts only return to the UK for a very short time, just 3 months, before returning to Africa. They almost never land and have the ability to sleep on the wing. Swifts can’t feed in wet weather in the UK, so fly around storms to find dry areas – the only UK birds to do this. The swift is the fastest bird in level flight (the peregrine is the fastest of all birds, but only in a steep dive called a stoop).
The other new arrival this week is the cattle; 36 cows, 36 calves and 1 bull have made their way out to the wetlands. These ‘munching machines’ will be hard at work until October helping to keep the reserve in good shape for breeding waders.
Photo credit: Eric Neilson
The merse is starting to turn a shade of red and pink as ragged robin and thrift come into flower. Along the edge of Rainbow lane, red campion, meadow vetchling, tufted vetch, yellowrattle and meadow buttercup add more colour. The splash of white out on the merse is common scurvy-grass, a common saltmarsh plant. Skylark are still filling the merse with song whilst in the hedgerow along Rainbow Lane a whitethroat and yellowhammer are singing along too.
Whinchat has been reported to the Visitor Centre this week. The whinchat is a summer visitor and passage migrant to the UK. Birds breed in upland areas of northern and western Britain with a few in Ireland. Tree sparrow are regularly appearing at the feeding station along with a single redpoll. In the evening, the barn owl has been seen hunting over the merse and carrying prey back to the Sulwath garden.
THIS WEEKEND IS THE MERSHEAD BIOBLITZ COME DOWN AND JOIN US