Variety is the spice of life!

Mersehead recent sightings 29th October - 4th November 

Although the week has had mixed weather, we have enjoyed a few days of clear skies and sunshine. Perfect conditions for watching wildlife and completing reserve work, we have also enjoyed amazing views from the reserve across the Solway Firth towards the Lake District and the Isle of Man. I even ventured to the Bruaich hide just after dawn on a clear and chilly morning and was rewarded with a fantastic view across the pools and surrounding fields of pink-footed geese, lapwing, curlew, snipe, a wonderful variety of ducks, as well as a large flock of barnacle geese landing in a nearby field, all very active, feeding and calling to one another.

Photo credit: A.Hay

Even though I am only in my second week of a new winter volunteer placement I have already been involved in a variety of interesting work on reserve. This week we completed reserve counts which provided a fantastic opportunity to get to know the layout of the reserve as well as see some really interesting wildlife and expand my survey skills. Good numbers of ducks were recorded on Mersehead with 293 wigeon, 100 shoveler, 105 shelduck, 211 teal, 41 mallard and 71 pintail. We also recorded 2 gadwall, 1 little grebe and 2 tufted duck from the Meida hide, as well as 1 black-tailed godwit from the Bruiach hide. Wader numbers for Mersehead and West Preston varied slightly from previous counts, with 1445 oystercatcher, 323 lapwing, 110 curlew, 13 dunlin and 480 golden plover recorded. The highlight for me during the reserve counts were 3 little egret recorded on the beach at West Preston. During this weeks’ reserve barnacle goose count a total of 6,440 barnacle geese were recorded for Mersehead, West Preston and Kirkconnell Merse.

My fellow trainee warden Sarah and I have also been busy completing practical work on reserve which has included clearing the cattle shed and anti-predator fence checks. With the help of the weekly volunteer party, we were also able to remove an extensive amount of willow scrub in a small area near Rainbow Lane, putting us a step closer to creating suitable habitat conditions for natterjack toads. Working in the Visitor Centre has also given us the opportunity to meet new and regular visitors to the reserve, who have reported seeing a wide variety of wildlife on reserve, including a sparrowhawk, buzzard, fox and roe deer. I look forward to seeing and hearing about more species highlights as we push forward into winter, as well as continuing to gain new skills and experiences during my volunteer placement throughout the season, as it is clear that whether it is wildlife, weather or the jobs to be completed, no two days are the same when working on reserve.

Lynne McKenzie, Residential Trainee Warden