Mersehead Recent Sightings 3rd October - 9th October 2020
Thousands of geese have been seen, roosting on the mud and sandflats, including pink-footed and Svalbard barnacle geese and lesser numbers of Canada and greylag geese. On Monday, over 9,500 barnacle geese were counted on the reserve (mostly in fields at West Preston). One leucistic barnacle goose (lacking pigment, thus appearing whitish in colour) was found to be feeding with a small flock of barnies, in the field next to visitor centre.
Barnacle geese filling the skies. Photo credit: Dave Jackson
Close-up of barnacle geese in flight. Photo credit: Dave Jackson
Duck numbers are beginning to increase as more wintering visitors arrive on the wetland, with teals, pintails, mallards, shelducks and wigeons counted in small (yet growing) numbers during the reserve count and visitors reported both shovelers and gadwalls in small numbers.
Waders are beginning to increase, as these birds migrate to the Solway for winter. Over 1,300 oystercatchers have been recorded on the reserve shores. And on the receding tides and saltmarsh (merse) up to 60 curlews and a couple of whimbrels (their smaller cousin) were seen probing the sands and soils for various worms. Almost 800 gulls were seen on the shore, with mostly herring gulls and black-headed gulls but a small few lesser and greater black-backed gulls.
Oystercatchers on shoreline. Photo credit: Calum Murray
As usual, all this activity hasn’t gone unnoticed, with two peregrine falcons commanding skies above the merse last Sunday and one was seen again today, flushing a flock of lapwings up from the wetland. Our warden managed to see their first marsh harrier of the autumn this week and on the same early morning walk, also spotted one of the kingfishers on the wetland.
Kingfisher perched on the wetland. Photo credit: Calum Murray
Meanwhile out on Kirkconnell Merse (best seen across from Glencaple Harbour, south of Dumfries), similar species were counted in varying numbers. Two additional species were spotted, with 10 little egrets viewed feeding in and out of channels and four red-breasted mergansers on the water (River Nith).
Back on Mersehead, the woodland walk (to shore and/or Meida Hide) has been providing visitors with chances of seeing various titmice, great spotted woodpeckers and nuthatches, as they visit hanging feeders just off the path, on way to our hide.
Nuthatch on peanut feeder, in the woodland. Photo credit: David Lewis
Bullfinches, lesser redpolls and goldcrests continue to flit around in the hedgerows and on woodland edges. Yellowhammers and tree sparrows ofetn feed close to the holiday cottages and by the visitor centre, along with the usual array of chaffinches, gold and greenfinches and abundant house sparrows. Undoubtedly, some will fall prey to a male sparrowhawk, seen flying low along the road past our holiday cottages one afternoon. Small (hundred-strong) flocks of starlings now gather on powerlines and around the farm buildings. It won’t be too long before they are joined by thousands more over the reedbed, in spectacular sunset murmurations.
There are still lots of common darter dragonflies and seasonal butterflies around, along trail paths. At this cooler time of year, look ahead as you walk around in search of small tortoiseshells or red admiral butterflies basking in sunlight on the paths.
Common darter dragonfly resting on wood. Photo credit: Calum Murray
Moths were trapped last week in the woodland to Meida Hide. With less species now active as we get into colder months, four kinds of macro-moth were trapped in total, including: Large Wainscot; Red-line Quaker; Pink-barred Sallow, and; Chestnut moths.
Chestnut and Red-line Quaker moths, trapped in woodland. Photo credits: David Lewis
As with every Tuesday, our volunteers were out this week helping with conservation work on the farm. It was the annual task of removing cut vegetation in the Butterfly Meadow (near car park). This is essential in managing the meadow, by de-nourishing the soil beneath. Once raked into piles, the plant biomass is taken away rather than being left to decay back into the field. This process ensures that competitive grasses don’t dominate next summer, enabling other plants species to succeed and grow and consequently, results in a greater variety of pollinating insects - like butterflies, moths, hoverflies and bees. But before removal, nature was already inhabiting the decomposing matter. Common frogs had moved in from the wetland, seeking good places to hibernate over winter. Many were varied in colour, from light yellow to darker greens. Without cover, they will search for shelter nearby under hedgerows, leaflitter and undisturbed cover.
A common frog, exposed after removing its cover. Photo credit: Paul Radford
We welcome our new residential trainee warden, Beth Taylor, who started this week. Beth (studying Natural Sciences at the University of Nottingham) joined us on Monday and is already enthusiastically helping on the reserve. Having a ‘basic’ knowledge of her wildlife, I am sure she will be a quick learner and get to expand her abilities in identifying nature, which will of course be shared in forthcoming blogs.
If you are keen to help out and volunteer with us, we are looking for more help for our visitor experience work. As we move towards ways to engage visitors, could you get involved? If so, please contact me by email (mersehead@rspb.org.uk) or message us on Facebook @RSPBMersehead.
Poster advert for new visitor experience volunteers. Credit: RSPB Mersehead
And finally, some good and long-awaited news!
Meida and Bruiach Hides are now open at last, after six months of closure. Measures are in place for you to safely use these hides, including provision of sanitising gel, a regular cleaning schedule, and guidance signage. Plenty to see as well as an abundance of wintering wildfowl and waders start use the wetlands. Please respect others wishing to use these facilities and so we ask you to be considerate and if necessary, please keep your visits short to allow others the privilege of seeing wildlife too.
One toilet is open for visitor use at the visitor centre (10am to 4pm) but the rest of the centre remains closed. The Sulwath Gardens are also re-opened but the play area remains off limits to visitors (and more specifically, children) at present. In the coming weeks, we will be improving features in these gardens, to discover nature and inspire visitors with some ‘take-home ideas’ to help nature.
We hope you can continue to visit and stay safe at this time, while following Scottish government Covid19 guidelines. Please keep updated about the re-opening of RSPB reserves and facilities at: Reserve Reboot
Calum Murray, Assistant Warden