Woodland Path to the Beach Re-opens!

RSPB Mersehead Blog: 19^th – 25^th November 2022

It's been an exciting week for the staff and volunteers at Mersehead as we're pleased to announce the re-opening of the woodland path that leads to the beach! After several months of hard toil, sweat, and our very resolute Tuesday and Saturday volunteer work parties, the final touches have now been completed to the path. The completion of the woodland path to the beach means our Coastal walk is now open again without any diversions, and marks a major milestone of bringing disabled access to more parts of the reserve.

Volunteer work parties testing the new path after 'officially' opening. Photo credit P.Radford

Residential volunteers Adam, Jess and Sorcha and reserve warden Rowena were out again on Thursday carrying out the Supplementary Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) and high tide count with 8,783 birds spotted with their eagle eyes.  Top of the list were the Barnacle Geese naturally (5118) but there were large numbers of Knot (1000) and Dunlin (887) on the shore, with Teal (243) topping the wintering duck species across our wetlands. Not to be outdone, Lapwing (494) and Oystercatchers (350) had high counts whilst it was also nice to see Sanderling on the count list, whose contrasting winter plumage is always a pleasant addition on overcast days.

The reserve count along with the count from Kirkconnell Merse survey are shown below.

Two of the 5,118 Barnacle geese having a drink and swim. Photo credit A.Sutton

Male Northern Pintail enjoying our wonderful wetlands. Photo credit A.Sutton

As the winter nights draw in and food sources become more scarce, our visitor centre bird feeders continue to get busier and busier at this time of year. Viewable from our viewing room, their are often good sights of finches, sparrow and tits on show.

Bird feeder regulars; Chaffinches, Goldfinches and Tree Sparrows. Photo credit A.Sutton

Greenfiches fighting over the best seeds. Photo credit A.Sutton

Male Chaffinch posing by berries. Photo credit A.Sutton

Some of the sightings at Mersehead this week included:

• Scaup
• Little Grebe
• Wigeon
• Teal
• Pintail
• Shoveler
• Gadwall
• Tufted Duck
• Great Spotted Woodpecker
• Tree sparrow
• Red Kite
• Marsh Harrier
• Ringed Plover
• Grey Plover

To learn more about these and other birds, check out the RSPB wildlife guide: Birds A- Z | Bird Guides - The RSPB

Adam Sutton, Residential volunteer

Upcoming Events:

*Holiday Cottages - Discover the breath-taking scenery, wildlife, cultural and history of Dumfries & Galloway whilst staying in one of the Mersehead cosy semi-detached holiday cottages – Barnacle and Shelduck – located in the heart of reserve.

*Flooding - Please note that Mersehead nature reserve is prone to flooding during periods of high rainfall and/or strong winds and tidal surges. To avoid disappointment at these times, please contact the reserve in advance of your visit by email in the first instance at mersehead@rspb.org.uk or check the RSPB Dumfries and Galloway Facebook Page for daily updates.