Mersehead Recent Sightings 2nd- 8th September
It’s been a dreich week here at Merseahead but between breaks in the rain there’s been a lot going on. Our Wetland Bird Surveys started this week which saw us over at Kirkconnell, our saltmarsh (or Merse as it’s known in Scotland) on the bank of the river Nith just outside of Dumfries, and Mersehead, where we have incorporated our 79ha of new land for the first time. With waders, wildfowl and geese still travelling from their breeding grounds, this is a great time to see a variety of different birds passing through. The Solway coast, which includes Mersehead and Kirkconnell, acts as an important ‘fuelling station’ where birds will stop off to feed up before carrying on their journey. Many birds, most notably the entire world population of Svalbard Barnacle Geese, will make the Solway Firth their home for the winter, with Mersehead holding over 10,000 of the 40,000 plus birds that will travel here. Despite many species still being a few weeks away (stay tuned, we’re hedging our bets and calling the 23rd September as the first ‘Barnie’ arrival) there was a nice array of birds seen on the surveys. At Kirkconnell we had a count of 4 Red-Breasted Merganser, 1 Great-crested Grebe, 3 Cormorant, 3 Heron, 311 Lapwing, 46 Curlew, 453 Redshank, 1 Whooper Swan and 1 Common Scoter, whilst as Mersehead we had 83 Mallard, 1 Heron, 286 Oystercatcher, 351 Curlew, 436 Black-headed Gull, 264 Common Gull, 24 Lesser Blacl-backed Gull, 2 Great Black-backed Gull, 13 Herring Gull, 1 Little Grebe, 17 Cormorant, 9 Pink-footed Geese, 10 Greylag Geese and 110 Teal.
Common Scoter. Photo credit: Andy Hay
If you have visited the reserve recently you may have noticed a distinct lack of water in our wetlands! Over the last few weeks we’ve been carrying out essential works in preparation for the wintering ducks, waders and geese that will winter here. The last few days have seen us rotovating areas around the wetland including outside both of the hides. This management technique turns over the soil so that the plant material increases the nutrient level, which is great for invertebrates and as the soil is broken up, birds are able to access this food source more easily. Waders will feed along the muddy edges so keep an eye out, last year we had over 80 snipe feeding on newly rotovated edges! We are currently letting water back onto the wetlands so levels should be perfect for waders and wildfowl in the next week or so. The next few months is when Mersehead really comes alive, with thousands of geese, waders and ducks present around the reserve. It’s a great time to visit.
Dramatic skies whilst rotovating the wetlands. Photo credit: Lana Blakely
Also around this week were 3 Little Egret on the beach, 3 Heron and 18 Canada Geese on the wetland, and 300 starlings in the reedbed. Friday saw an Osprey pass over the reserve, heading out along the coast. The starling numbers should gradually build and we hope to reach the numbers we had last year where there were up to 50,000 birds creating spectacular murmurations. Red Admiral butterflies are still around in good numbers this week and there was also a sighting of a Painted Lady.
There has been a number of sightings of Garden Tiger moth caterpillars recently. They are incredibly hairy, with a bold black and orange body with long white hairs. This distinct look has earned them the nickname ‘woolly bears’. The hairs serve a useful purpose, deterring birds and offering some protection against parasitic flies and wasps. It is fairly sizeable, measuring up to 60mm long when fully grown. Garden Tiger moths are on the wing in July and August, with eggs being laid soon after. The caterpillar will overwinter and then resume growing in the spring, becoming fully grown by the end of May.
Garden Tiger Caterpillar. Photo credit: Lana Blakely
Lana Blakely, Assistant Warden