Mersehead Recent Sightings 24^th – 30^th March

Spring migrants have been arriving at Mersehead this week with our first singing Chiffchaff of the year recorded on Rainbow Lane yesterday. Sand Martin has also been reported to the Visitor Centre. There was excitement last Saturday as an Osprey was sighted over the wetlands. This bird will have been almost at the end of a journey averaging 4000 miles, migrating from…

Mersehead Recent Sightings 17^th- 23^rd March

After the milder weather we had last week, this week began with a cold snap that resulted in heavy frost. After spawning across the site, there was a chance that the Frog’s breeding season was over before it had ever really begun as spawn can be killed by heavy frosts.  Luckily only the spawn at the surface had been lost; the majority under water and in the centre of the…

Recent Sightings Week 10th - 16th March 2018

After a wet start to the week on Saturday, we took a reading of 11mm of rainfall on Sunday morning. Although the day had been miserable for some, the damp conditions were perfect for frogs, and subsequently on Sunday we found masses of frog spawn in pools around the reserve, even in shallow puddles along our Rainbow Lane which we carefully moved to deeper water.

Frog Spawn…

Mersehead Recent Sightings 3^rd- 9^th March

With only traces of snow left on the ground and temperatures having risen again from sub-zero, spring is definitely back at Mersehead. Lapwing have started displaying on the reserve, their pee-wip, wip-wip calls ringing out as they carry out their territorial aerial display and song flight.  This won’t be the start of their territorial displays, as males will first visit their…

Recent Sightings 24th February - 2nd March

This week has been the polar opposite (or rather Siberian) to the week before. Although we humans were forewarned by the meteorologists, we can’t imagine the shock the birds & mammals have experienced as the promise of spring became unsprung with temperatures suddenly plummeting and the country transformed into a deep freeze.

Photo Credit: Jon Foot

Here at RSPB…

Mersehead Recent Sightings from February 17^th – 22^nd

Without doubt spring is almost here. Skylark sightings are becoming more frequent as the days pass, delighting everyone at Mersehead with their persistent song and hovering flight. Snowdrop patches are found on every single track around the reserve. Their opening flowers are providing essential food for the flies and pollinators insects that are awakening.

Mersehead Recent Sightings 10^th- 16^th February

Winter and Spring sit side by side at this time of year.  With the hedgerows coming alive with the songs of Greenfinch, Robin, Wren and Blue Tit but with thousands of wintering Svalbard Barnacle Geese, wildfowl and waders still present as well 100’s of wintering finches, it’s a time of anticipation. Animals are building up strength for the trials and tribulations of the year…

Mersehead Recent Sightings 3^rd – 9^th February

February has arrived and signs of spring are appearing. The woodland is starting to wake up with the distinctive song of the Wren trilling out from the undergrowth. Great tits are singing high up in the branches and Skylark can be heard over the meadows. The days are growing noticeably longer with the light lingering on until at least five thirty. At the start of the…

Mersehead Recent Sightings 27th January - 2nd February

There has been a steady improvement in weather conditions as the week progressed. The weekend was unfortunately unsettled, and there has been a cold wind blowing through the early part of the week, however Thursday & Friday have been quite glorious, with wall to wall sunshine & clear skies.

Visitors may have noticed a drop in water levels on the wetland…

Mersehead Recent Sightings 20th - 26th January 

This week our visitors, volunteers and staff have been practicing and improving their bird identification skills at the visitor centre’s feeders in preparation for this weekend’s event. The finding included 70 birds from 12 different species consisting of 22 greenfinches, 4 goldfinches, 13 chaffinches, 5 yellowhammers, 7 house sparrows, 6 tree sparrows, 3 great…

Mersehead Recent Sightings 13^th – 19^th January

While inland areas of South West Scotland have disappeared under a heavy blanket of snow and the M74 ground to a halt on two consecutive evenings, Mersehead has been enjoying the warming effects of a coastal location and only saw a light scattering of snow on Thursday morning.

Photo credit: R.Flavelle

Although snowless, the wind has been sharp and the ever popular…

Mersehead Recent Sightings 6^th- 12^th January

It was another cold and bright start to the week with temperatures dropping to lows of -4 degrees overnight. However, with hundreds, if not thousands of Barnacle geese making their morning flight from their roosting areas to the grass fields around Mersehead where they will feed for the day, farmland birds such as Yellowhammer, Reed bunting and Tree Sparrow calling from the…

^{Mersehead Recent Sightings 1st - 5th January}

A big amount of birds have been congregating around the reserve wetland throughout this week, due to the harsh weather conditions brought by storm Eleanor. There is no doubt the birds needed a safe place to pass the storm after a Guillemot was found dead near the entrance of the Bruaich hide and with the erosion caused in the sand dunes. However, the condition of sand dunes…

Mersehead Recent Sightings 16th - 22nd December

 Saturday was another stunning, cold & crisp day, as the temperature has risen during the rest of the week we have experienced fog, drizzle, sunshine and mist, all adding to the atmosphere of winter. As the wetlands have thawed, the wildfowl & waders have been enjoying feeding and moving around freely.  On Monday we completed our Kirkconnell reserve count, which was…

Mersehead Recent Sightings 9^th- 15^th December

With night-time temperatures dropping as low as -7^oC at the start of the week the wetlands have spent most the week covered in a thick layer of ice, a dusting of snow and glistening cobwebs. From Bruiach Hide, the distinctive call of Wigeon can be heard drifting across the ice. From the deeper pools within the reedbed, great swirling clouds of wildfowl appear in mixed flocks…

Mersehead Recent Sightings 2^nd- 8^th December

Last week we reported that a Little Egret flew over the reserve, not a bird that we see every day here at Mersehead so a welcome sight.  This week we were spoilt when 5 were spotted on Monday.  Smaller than the commoner Grey Heron, the Little Egret more than makes up for its lack of stature with its brilliant white plumage, jet black legs and bright yellow feet.  It first bred…

Mersehead Recent Sightings from November 25^th to December 1^st

The weather has been cold throughout the week dropping almost to zero during day time, fortunately it has remained dry and sunny, providing astonishing sunrise and sunset. The Starlings have felt these chill temperatures and their murmuration spectacle has been brief, but with magical dusks. The wetland edges have been frozen since the middle of the week,…

Mersehead Recent Sightings 18th - 24th November

Saturday & Sunday saw the crisp cold weather conditions continue, allowing us to experience stunning atmospheric sunrises. However, as the Gulf Stream began to bring in warmer temperatures overnight on Sunday, along with it came the rain, where we experienced three wet days on Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday and approx. 69mm of rainfall. Along with high(ish) tides…

Mersehead Recent Sightings 11^th – 17^th November

Some cold and frosty mornings this week have given the reserve a very wintery feeling and the hedgerows are bursting with the winter migrants Redwing and Fieldfare. With the leaves having now fallen off, it has become easier to spot smaller birds such as Goldcrest lurking within the depths of the hedgerows. The goldcrest is one of the UK’s smallest birds only weighing…

Mersehead Recent Sightings 3rd - 10th November

Perfect autumn weather with an amazing sunny bright day, clear sky and a chilly atmosphere can better describe the beginning of this week. However, the weather has been very variable but mostly dry for the rest of the week, consisting of heavy rain, plenty of sunny spells and a mist that covered the reserve most of Wednesday.

Mist approaching in the reserve. Photo credit…

Mersehead Recent Sightings 28^th October - 3^rd November

Arguably one of the most impressive of winter scenes, the mesmerising Starling murmuration has begun with gusto this week where up to 10,000 birds were seen swirling, surging and rolling in the sky above the reedbed. Studies have shown that when an individual bird moves, it only affects its 7 closest neighbours, which then affects the next 7 neighbours and so on…

Mersehead Recent Sightings 21st - 27th October

Although the start to the week was windy, wet & misty, there has been a steady improvement in the weather as the week has gone on, ending in a stunning clear, crisp sunny day today, Friday. On Monday we completed our Kirkconnell reserve count, resulting in 1 mute swan, 31 shelduck, 133 wigeon, 129 teal, 5 mallard, 258 pintail, 30 scaup, 1 goldeneye, 8 goosander, 4 c…

Mersehead Recent Sightings 14th - 20th October

What an amazing week it has been for Pink-footed Geese. They have been feeding and roosting on the wetlands every evening and with skeins migrating high overhead during the day, the air is constantly full with their distinctive chatter. Yesterday, a black line appeared on the horizon which just kept getting darker and nearer, 5500 pink-footed geese eventually whiffled their…

Mersehead Recent Sightings 7^th – 13^th October

Without a doubt the sunny days are over, as rainy and cloudy weather conditions have persisted during most of the week. However, the amount of wildlife in the reserve is at its peak, as finally the Svalbard Barnacles Geese flocks have started to arrive since Sunday, two days later than last year. Quoting my experience, this is the first time I have seen a Barnacle …

Mersehead Recent Sightings 30^th September – 6^th October

This week we have been ever hopeful that we will hear distinctive barking and yapping sounds in the distance and see the subsequent line of Barnacle Geese fly down into Mersehead. The patient wait continues….  The Barnacle Geese that winter on the Solway Coast have spent the summer breeding in Svalbard and are now winging their way to us.  Last winter…