A quick update from Mersehead, I'm glad to say that we've survived the recent wild winds and rubbish rain unscathed! The bad weather we have experienced recently has meant that we aren't getting many decent bird sightings at the moment. I wouldn't fancy trying to fly in those blustery conditions! However we are counting down the days to the return of our fabulous Svalbard Barnacle Geese! We would expect to be seeing the first flocks arriving in about 3 weeks! As those of you that are familiar with Mersehead will know winter is the season when the reserve really comes to life! We'll be getting flocks of Pintails, Wigeon, Teal and Shoveler arriving on the wetland areas over the next few months as well as flocks of Buntings, Finches, Sparrows and Linnet feeding on our wild bird cover. With them will come the raptors, we hope to get the same amazing sightings of the Hen Harrier this winter that we had last year.
We will be running a number of events next month. The Sulwath Centre at Mersehead is pleased to be hosting a Wildlife Art Exhibition, a selling exhibition of artwork by local artists including John Threlfall, who created the amazing artwork in our 2 hides, as well as the large Red Kite painting in our Access for All Kite Garden. The exhibition runs from Saturday 15th - Sunday 30th October opening 10-5pm daily. There will also be prints available to buy and profits will go to our Galloway Local Group to raise funds for RSPB conservation work in the region.
Also on these dates we'll be running "Goosey Gander" guided walks 11am-12pm daily, this is a chance for visitors to come on a walk with one of our team to learn more about the fantastic Svalbard Barnacles, we should be able to get some fantastic views of these birds too and at that time of year who knows what else we might see on our wander!
We're having a special event on Saturday 15th October to launch our special edition Mersehead flying Barnacle Goose pin badge! A must have for collectors and enthusiasts alike! These badges will only be available to buy at Mersehead! On this day we'll also be launching "Wild Autumn" a Dumfries and Galloway wide celebration of all the amazing wildlife spectacles that occur at this time of year through a series of exciting, informative and fun events throughout Dumfries and Galloway at different venues. So whether you want to see the Swan Feed at WWT Caerlaverock, join us for the events already mentioned at RSPB Mersehead, do some orienteering in the Galloway Forest Park or take your family on a Hedgerow Safari at Cream of Galloway, look out here for details. Or you can find out more on at facebook.com look out for the Wild Autumn in Dumfries and Galloway page! Wild Autumn also hopes to launch its own website soon - keep watching this space for details or check out the sites individual websites.